Ghana's longtime ruler, Mr Jerry Rawlings, handed over yesterday to his elected successor in the country's first peaceful democratic transfer of power since independence in 1957.
President John Agyekum Kufuor, draped in traditional Kente cloth, was sworn in outside Parliament House in Accra as Mr Rawlings, wearing a white smock and his trademark sunglasses, looked on.
The tall, diffident Mr Kufuor, a 63-year-old lawyer and onetime government minister dubbed the "gentle giant", pledged "to be faithful and true to the Republic of Ghana" and to uphold the constitution.
His election as the 10th president is a sign of hope for west Africa. With a population of over 18 million, Ghana is one of Africa's most dynamic countries. It was one of the first African colonies to secure political independence from Britain.
It is the first time the state has witnessed a peaceful and democratic transfer of power from one civilian government to another. Mr Kufuor, of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), defeated the vice-president, Prof John Evans AttahMills. In a post-election speech, Mr Kufour described his victory as a "real achievement for our infant democracy". He appealed to supporters and opponents to join hands to make the country a model for the new century. Sub-Saharan Africa desperately needs such a model. Many countries in the continent are either still in the grip of military despots or dominated by a oneparty oligarchy.
Ghana's democratic success comes after the transfer of power through the ballot box in Senegal last March, the sacking of the dictator Robert Guei in Ivory Coast in November, and the restoration of democracy in Nigeria after 16 years of military dictatorship.
The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, himself a Ghanaian, called on the international community to rejoice at "this orderly and democratic transfer of power", adding: "Ghana has demonstrated that democracy and its institutions continue to take root in Africa."
This view is supported by Freedom House, the Washington-based think-tank set up by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1941. In its 25th annual report published last week, it listed only two African countries, Libya and Sudan, among the 11 most repressive states - although it noted that "free societies and electoral democracies remain a distinct minority" in the continent. Of the 53 countries in Africa, nine are "free", 25 are "partly free" and 19 are "not free". Only 21 countries are electoral democracies.
To prevent a slide back to the dark days of incessant military coups, however, democracy and freedom must put food on tables, provide medicine for hospitals and improve social welfare.
President Kufuor has promised to tackle some of those problems. It won't be an easy task. Ghana's underdeveloped economy is deteriorating. Its national currency, the cedi, is in a free-fall against other major currencies; inflation remains high, social amenities are poor, and per capita income has hovered around $390 for the past three years.
Mr Kufuor possesses a wealth of experience and knowledge and his party has an overall majority in parliament. He is perceived as a leader who can forge national unity, and heal the ethnic and religious divisions exacerbated by a long and acrimonious election campaign.
Mr Kufuor failed narrowly to win a decisive victory in the December 7th first round, taking 48 per cent of votes cast, but his NPP broke the stranglehold of Mr Rawlings's party. In the run-off, the other five presidential candidates rallied to Mr Kufuor.
Mr Rawlings (53), an air force lieutenant, he shot his way to power in 1979 and summarily executed three former military heads of state.
Under a constitutional two-term limit, Mr Rawlings could not stand for a third mandate.
Abel Ugba is a Nigerian freelance journalist, contactable at augba@Ireland.com