Ohene Djan Did Not Warrant Honour - Adjin Tettey

... He was an ex-convict
... Ga-Dangme proposed Ofori Atta, Akuffo Addo

An Olympian and Sports consultant, Mr. Adjin Tettey has alleged that the late Ohene Djan was once jailed for malfeasance and therefore was an ex-convict that did not warrant the honour of being named after the Accra sports stadium.

"Ohene Djan's social life did not merit the honour bestowed on him!" he exclaimed.

Mr. Tettey, who did not mince words, recounted that the late Djan and one Atta Mensah were indicted in the Tibou committee report.

According to him a committee headed by Mr. Tibou, the then Deputy Commissioner of Police in the late 50s, found the late Djan legally responsible for fraudulent activities at the erstwhile State Farms Corporation whilst he was at the helm of affairs.

He consequently called for the immediate removal of the Ohene Djan tag from the Accra sports stadium and replacement with a renowned sports hero, preferably, a Ga-Dangme indigene.

Mr. Tettey, expressing his sentiments to The Chronicle during the Ga-Dangme protest march last Tuesday, said, "the choice of the late Ohene Djan was an insult and affront to the integrity of sports heroes in the Ga-State in particular, and the country as a whole."

Mr. K.B Asante, president of the Ga-Dangme Council, on his part said, that the committee assigned for the job did not follow proper procedures. He maintained that as the custodians of Accra lands, they were not consulted.

He added that they had proposed to government to consider the two of the "Big Six" - the late William Ofori-Atta and Edward Akuffo Addo, who were yet to be honoured, when the issue came up for discussion.

It would be recalled that the Ministry of Education and Sports late last year honoured citizens who, in their life time, had recorded meritorious achievements to glorify the nation. The recognition took the form of the establishment of a hall of fame, to display action pictures of sports heroes, laced with brief records of their achievements.

The Ministry named 12 sports facilities, structures and events. Consequently, the Accra sports stadium was named after the late Ohene Djan, who was identified as the first Director of Sports for the new independent Ghana.

The citation on his award read, "He rose to become executive member of both CAF and FIFA. He revolutionized Ghana sports in general and football in particular with his popular mass participation concept. He mooted the idea of the nation's favourite pastime - the national soccer league."

Other structures and events named after past heroes were as follows:

Library (Accra sports stadium) - H.P Nyemiteye

Sports Hall (Accra sports stadium) - D.G Hathiramani

Press Centre (Accra sports stadium) - Kofi Badu

Stadium Clinic - Dr. Nkansa Gyane

Resource Centre (Accra sports stadium) - D.K. Poison

National Hockey Pitch - Theodosia Okoh

Kaneshie Sports Complex - Azumah Nelson

Cape Coast Stadium - Robert Mensah

And recently, the Kumasi sports stadium was named after Baba Yara.

Annual National Championships events like Athletics, Table Tennis and Amateur boxing had been named after Mike Ahey, E.A Quaye and Roy Ankrah respectively.