Remembering John Bitar
Not quite long ago, I read an obituary notice in the Daily Graphic announcing the death of John Bitar at the age of 95 in Lebanon.
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Naturally, I felt sad at the news. But I was not surprised that he left Ghana to go and die in his native Lebanon. Many Lebanese who made it in Ghana returned home to spend their last days on home soil.
Who was John Bitar? He was a popular businessman in Kumasi in the late 50s and I am sure he was still around in the 60s and 70s. He was not somebody I ever met one-on-one but was very well-known in social and business circles in Kumasi in those days before and after independence. I was too young then and had had nothing to do with him.
John Bitar was a timber merchant who owned a big sawmill in the Ahensan area of Kumasi, giving employment to many Ghanaians.
But the man also had a passion for horses and was one of the leading figures of the Ashanti Turf Club, owning many horses, providing entertainment for hundreds of fans who thronged the Kumasi Race Course every Saturday in those days.
The announcement of the death of John Bitar brought back many memories of life in Kumasi in the late 50s when I was still in my early teens. It was the time when the economy of Kumasi was dominated by the Lebanese, Syrians and Indians. Most of the shops in Adum, the central business district, were owned by these expatriates who also lived in this exclusive area.
They, however, offered employment to the locals as store boys, acting as go-between in the retail business. The expatriates were agents to multinational companies such as GB Ollivant, UTC, UAC, AJ Seward, Edward Nasser and others whose goods they retailed to the local people.
Domination of expatriates
Apart from the timber industry which was under the control of the expatriates, they also dominated the film industry, owning all the popular cinema houses in Kumasi. Some of these cinema houses were Rex, Rivoli, Odeon, Roxy, Royal and the popular Royal Picturedrome, also known as Ocansey, near the railway station. The cinema industry was the preserve of the Indians. Today, those cinema houses have outlived their usefulness. They are now homes to many churches.
The main source of entertainment in Kumasi in the years before and after independence were horse racing, movies and soccer. While football fans reserved Sundays to go and watch league matches at the Jackson’s Park and later the Kumasi Sports Stadium, which was built for the football-loving people of Kumasi by UAC and opened in 1959, Saturdays were for horse racing. Movie going was, however, a daily affair with films shown in various cinema houses from morning to evening.
However, it is horse racing, popularly called the Sport of Kings, I want to turn my attention on as I remember John Bitar. If my memory serves me right, the Ashanti Turf Club was opened around 1954. It was an instant hit as many residents patronised the race course every Saturday with the hope of winning some prize-monies as they betted on their favourite horses.
New craze
At the time horse-racing started in Kumasi, I was still less than 10 years old. But those who were privileged to go to the race course came back with interesting stories about the new craze in town.
Unfortunately, we were told children under 16 were not allowed to enter the race course. Even if a child managed to enter or was smuggled in by an elder brother or father, the security men would fish him out and throw him outside.
As we grew up we were praying for the day we would also attain the age of 16 and be allowed to enter the race course without any problem.
In spite of all the handicaps, I still followed with keen interest what was going on as I entered my teenage years. I went to the race course in the company of those who were coming from the villages since they realised I knew all the horses. Most of the time, I would play hide and seek with the security people but occasionally they would get me and throw me out.
By 1959 and 1960, horse-racing was the most popular pastime of the people of Kumasi. All roads led to the race course every Saturday. Taxis and trotros were only plying the race-course route. In fact, by midday, areas such as AllaBar, Aboabo, Asawasi, and Ash Town would be empty as everybody would be heading towards the race course either on foot through Kejetia and the Zoo or by taxi through Bantama.
I was about 14 or 15 and was still barred from entering the race course but my height always deceived the security men who thus, rarely disturbed me.
Some of the great horses of the time included Volis, the champion horse, owned by John Bitar; Gilbert, Black Velvet, Red Velvet, Beautiful Amarna and Ban Jagara.
Some Kumasi horses used to take part in some of the races at the Accra Turf Club where they competed with leading Accra horses like Hip Hip Hip, Go Ahead, The Best, Jupiter and Quo Vadis. It was a day of great joy for Kumasi race goers when it was announced sometime in 1959 at the race course that Volis from Kumasi had won the Governor’s Cup in Accra. It was the first and only time a horse from Kumasi had won the most important race in Accra.
Asantehene’s Cup
Accra horses also used to come and challenge others for the Asantehene’s Cup in Kumasi.
There were some outstanding jockeys both in Kumasi and Accra and they could ride horses anywhere. I still remember champion Jockey Amadu Alhasaan, Jim Meckerness, Issa Alhasan and Ibrahim Gado, one of the popular jockeys from Kumasi. He was the father of Alhaji Yussuf Ibrahim, Managing Director of Dar-El-Salam Group of Companies.
Jockey Ibrahim Gado was a good friend of my father’s and his son, Yussif and I grew up in the same neighbourhood in Kumasi. In fact a few months ago, I went to meet somebody at the Accra Polo Club. It was my first visit to the place. Lo and behold there was Yussif in the company of other members of the club. I could only murmur “like father like son.” I was not surprised to see him among other horse riders knowing where he came from.
Mother’s curse
My interest in horse racing was, however, cut short by my mother. Maybe it was good she did. It was around June 1960 and I was preparing to go to secondary school in Accra. But I had started dreaming of going to the race course in Accra. On that particular Saturday, however, I had won a lot of money by the fourth race. Unfortunately by the last race, all the money was gone.
Meanwhile, those who left the race course early and met my mother told her I had won a lot of money. When I got home, my mother asked me about the money and I told her I had lost everything.
The woman was mad at me. At that time, my father had travelled out of Kumasi. There and then she cursed me that the next time I went to the race course, I won’t come back home alive. I was frightened and that ended my romance with horse racing.
While remembering John Bitar and what he did for horse racing in Kumasi, I also wish to dedicate this piece to former editor of the DAily Graphic, Nana Addo Twum, known in horse racing circles as Dan Rana, and who was the leading authority on the Sports of Kings in the 60s and 70s.