Samia Yaba Nkrumah is daughter of Dr Kwame Nkrumah
Daughter of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Samia Yaba Nkrumah, has rejected calls suggesting that the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) be named after her late father.
She said her late father, who was overthrown through a military coup d’état in 1966, remained an iconic leader and a great Pan-Africanist who does not need more accolades.
Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, she said the current name of Ghana’s International Airport could be reverted to its original name, which was changed to Kotoka International Airport.
Though she maintained that the present name must be changed, she insisted that the airport must not be named after her late father, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
“It was never called Kwame Nkrumah Airport. It was called Accra International Airport, so we have been calling for it to revert to that old name,” she stated.
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She noted, “We are not saying it should be called Kwame Nkrumah. I don’t think Kwame Nkrumah needs more praise or accolades.”
She explained that her call for changing the name was not borne out of hatred for Kotoka, who overthrew her father, saying, “Now, we have moved on, we’ve forgiven, we don’t want to settle scores.”
When asked if she held any grief, she said, “No, definitely not at all. Not to the families, not even to the men who masterminded the coup… I have met General Ankrah’s children.”
She added, “We are all Ghanaians and we have to move on. You know, we want to unite rather than divide ourselves.”
This claim notwithstanding, she insisted that the name must be changed not just because Kotoka was a coup leader who masterminded the coup, but also because it sends the wrong signal.
“You see, it gives the wrong signal to name the airport after someone who contributed to stagnation of our economy,” She stated.
NAAB/SEA
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