Lecturer at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Dr. Abraham Gyamfi, has strongly criticised the decision to name Ghana’s international airport after General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, describing it as a historical mistake that must be corrected.
Speaking on Oyerepa Radio, Dr. Gyamfi linked the ongoing debate to President John Dramani Mahama’s second-term vision of resetting Ghana.
“President Mahama made it clear in his second term that Ghana was going to be reset,” he said. “And when you say reset, it means correcting wrong things in our past that were not helping us as a country.”
According to Dr. Gyamfi, the naming of the airport after Kotoka falls squarely within those historical wrongs.“We all know what brought Kotoka into power, it was a coup,” he stressed.
“And I believe it was completely wrong to name such an important national facility after a coup leader.”
He explained that the passage of time has blurred public understanding of the airport’s name, with many Ghanaians no longer aware of its historical roots. “People have forgotten the history behind the name ‘Kotoka, and all they know is the name because it has been used for a very long time, not because they understand what it represents,” he noted.
Dr. Gyamfi also took issue with comments made by the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, describing his defence of Kotoka as deeply unfortunate. “The statement made by Afenyo was unfortunate, and he should not have defended a coup, because a coup by Kotoka is still a coup,” he said.
He questioned the political logic behind the Minority Leader’s arguments and warned against selective outrage.
“There are other renaming exercises that the NDC government is undertaking, Is he going to say that those changes are because the NDC does not like certain names because of the tribes they come from?”, Dr. Gyamfi asked.
According to him, injecting tribal sentiment into such national discussions is dangerous. “We expected him to be objective,and turning this issue into politics and tribalism is not right and could raise serious trouble for this country,” he stated.
Dr. Gyamfi further pointed out what he described as a troubling inconsistency in Ghana’s historical honours.
“No coup leader, except Kotoka, has been honoured with a national monument in this country,” he said.
“Even the late former President Jerry John Rawlings rejected the idea when it was offered to him.”
He concluded with a firm position on the matter:
“No coup leader should be named after a national monument,” Dr. Gyamfi emphasised.
“If we are serious about democracy and history, then correcting this mistake is the right thing to do.”
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