Why AKWAABA and not Oobakɛ by aggrieved Ga(s)

It’s quite interesting that the Airport itself is named after Kotoka, an Ewe man, yet no one seems to have any problem with that. Instead, all the attention is fixated on the Akwaaba inscription. If this is truly about heritage preservation, then why not call for the removal of both Kotoka and Akwaaba since neither has any direct link to the Ga people? Why single out Akwaaba and leave Kotoka untouched?

The truth is, this isn’t about cultural preservation at all, it’s about your deep-seated resentment. You hide behind “heritage” as a cover, but what really drives this is your disguised hatred and open disdain for Akans.

But let’s not pretend. The reason “AKWAABA” (a Twi word meaning Welcome) sits proudly at Kotoka International Airport since Nkrumah’s time is simple, because Twi has become so popular and is widely spoken across Ghana. Whether Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, Fante, Ahanta, Nzema, Sefwi, Wassa, Bono, Wassa etc, all the Akan tribes, it has become our unofficial national language. It’s our unifying medium of communication beyond English. Try as you may, burn the sea, move the skies, Twi remains the one indigenous language that allows Ghanaians to communicate freely beyond English anywhere at any time.

Check the numbers, out of Ghana’s 16 regions, 9 speak Twi, and 8 are Akan-majority (Ashanti, Ahafo, Eastern, Central, Western, Western North, Bono, Bono East, and parts of Oti). In all these regions, “Akwaaba” is the common way to welcome guests. So, it made perfect sense for it to be the word chosen for Ghana’s premier airport, Kotoka International Airport.

But strangely, while some of our Ga brothers and sisters had no issue with the name KOTOKA, a man who wasn’t even a native of their land, they questioned “AKWAABA.” 

The same way they demonstrated over Ohene Djan Stadium (named after an Akuapem man whose contribution to Ghanaian football is unmatched), until the then government was forced to change it. Ironically, if we are to go by boundaries, the Akuapems and Gas are cousins, Accra to Akuapem is literally a walking distance. Yet, they rejected the name of an Akuapem man from their stadium.

Meanwhile, in Akuapem land, nobody protested when their biggest hospital was named Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital, after a Ga man. Akuapems honoured his legacy because of his immense contribution to cocoa in Ghana. They didn’t cry foul, they didn’t ask for the name to be removed. That’s the maturity.

Time and again, attempts are made to create animosity against Akans. In the name of Akans are tribalists. In Kumasi alone, we have Anloga, Moshie Zango, Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Fante New Town, Agric Nzema, Dagomba line, and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, all named after other ethnic groups or individuals. Has any indigene of Kumasi or Asanteman ever complained?

We have Abbey’s Park in Ashtown, named after a Ga native. We have Sagoe Lane in Kejetia, also after a Ga native. At the Kumasi Cultural Centre, there is Quarshie Idun Hall. Even the Akuapems have named their biggest hospital after a Ga native, Tetteh Quarshie. Did you see any Akan rising up in protest or calling for the removal of these names, as you did with Ohene Gyan? Is this really how we build a united nation?

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