Irish Trade Minister calls on University of Ghana Vice Chancellor

Mr Joe Costello, Irish Trade Minister, has called on the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana on the anniversary of the tenure of Dr Conor Cruise O' Brien, a former Vice Chancellor of the university.

Mr Costello on Monday met Prof Ernest Aryitey, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana on account of the 50th anniversary of the commencement of the tenure of the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana.

Dr O’Brien, an Irish, was Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana-Legon, from 1962 to 1965, after which he took up a position at the New York University.

Mr Costello said Dr O' Brien was someone who challenged conventional wisdom during a long and cherished career in government, at the United Nations, in academia and in media.

"He believed that true scholarship is not only worth pursuing for itself, but also, one of our best defenses against political oppression and violence."

Mr Costello said Dr O' Brien's lifetime of writing and research, debate and public service, had a deep impact on Irish life and beyond.

"I understand that his time in Ghana likewise, left a legacy that is acknowledged with great warmth and respect to this day."

He said Dr O' Brien, "if he were with us today", would have taken pride in acknowledging the role the University of Ghana had played in the education of some of Ghana's leaders.

"We are conscious of the loss of the late President, John Atta Mills, who died suddenly earlier this year Former President Mills was himself a graduate of this University and spoke warmly of Dr O' Brien, when our Ambassador presented his credentials to him last year."

Mr Costello, presented a copy of a book by Dr O' Brien entitled, "Memoir, My Life and Themes", to Prof Ernest Aryitey, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, as a future resource for academic study in the University.

He also, together with Prof Aryitey, agreed to hold an annual "Conor Cruise O' Brien Memorial Lecture in the University of Ghana, beginning from 2013.

"I know that in a few weeks, Ghana will elect a new President, and that you will continue to set the bar by which democratic governance across Africa is measured," he said.

Prof Aryitey said "we are elated by the visit of this delegation."

He said Dr O' Brien, apart from being an academic, stood for strong principles such as integrity, honesty with one's convictions among others.

Prof Aryitey said whilst the university was fulfilling its duty to feed young people with knowledge, "the integrity need is almost forgotten".

He said the lectures would rekindle the need for certain values, such as integrity, accountability, to be made a part of the process of grooming young people into future leaders of the country.

Referring to Dr O' Brien, he said "It is befitting for a man who did so much within a short time, to have annual lectures held in his memory," Dr Cruise O' Brien, 1917 to 2008, was an Irish politician, and academic.