Are you not ashamed of renaming what others have built? – Ablakwa jabs Akufo-Addo

The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has taken a swipe at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his suggestion to rename the University of Ghana after one of the ‘Big Six’, J. B. Danquah.

Speaking in an interview on GHOne TV on Monday, August 16, 2023, the MP said that it is unfortunate that the president is content with unnecessarily renaming facilities built by other presidents.

He added that President Akufo-Addo would go down in history as the only president who added nothing to Ghana’s university infrastructure, which he should be worried about.

“… we have had enough of President Akufo-Addo just renaming. He should try and build something. Look, in this 4th Republic, he's going down in history as the only president who cannot lay claim to the public university that he has built. Isn't he worried about that?

“President Rawlings won a hunger prize, and dedicated all of it to the establishment of UDS. President Kufour elevated the Tarkwa campus to a full-fleshed university... Professor Mills said that look, it is not right that we have some regions in this country without public universities. Let's give every region that doesn't have a public university, one. And the University of Energy and Natural Resources was born; the University of Health and Allied Sciences was born.

“President Mahama, University of Environmental and Sustainable Development, I was with him when he secured the funding and cut the sword for what is now called the Somanya University. So, President Akufo-Addo where is yours? You are not ashamed that all you do is go about renaming other people's universities,” the MP said.

Background:

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo suggested that the University of Ghana might one day be named after one of the ‘Big Six’ Joseph Boakye Danquah (JB Danquah).

In his address at an event to mark the 75th Anniversary of the University of Ghana, President Akufo-Addo highlighted how JB Danquah's commitment to ensuring Ghana had its own university led to the founding of the University of Ghana.

He noted that his visionary work extended to challenging the British recommendation for a single university in West Africa, which was intended for Nigeria. Instead, he rallied Ghanaians to support the establishment of their own university.

President Akufo-Addo further remarked that the legacy of Joseph Boakye Danquah might even warrant consideration for naming the University of Ghana after him, given the historical significance of his contributions.

He mentioned, "Indeed, in many other jurisdictions where there is less heat in their politics and more attachment to the fact of historical record, it would not have been out of place to have this university named after him. Who knows, one day it may well happen."

Watch the interview below:



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