GRASAG backs proposal to rename Kotoka International Airport

The Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana (GRASAG) has thrown its support behind the proposed renaming of Kotoka International Airport, describing the move as being in Ghana’s broader national and democratic interest.

In a statement signed by its President, Jimmy Mawuse Adangbe, GRASAG said national monuments and public institutions go beyond their functional roles and serve as powerful symbols of a country’s history, values, and democratic ideals.

The association argued that as Ghana’s main international gateway, the airport’s name projects the country’s image to the global community and should therefore reflect its constitutional and democratic journey.

GRASAG noted that Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka played a leading role in the February 24, 1966 coup that overthrew Ghana’s first constitutionally elected government, stressing that honouring a key coup figure through a major national institution contradicts Ghana’s long-standing commitment to constitutional rule.

“Commemorating a key actor in a military coup through the naming of a major national institution is inconsistent with Ghana’s long-standing commitment to constitutional rule, democratic governance, and the peaceful transfer of power,” the statement said.

According to the association, renaming the airport presents an opportunity to reaffirm Ghana’s democratic ethos and honour values or figures that unite the nation and inspire future generations, especially young people and the international community.

GRASAG emphasised that the proposal is not meant to erase history, but to place it in its proper context through academic study and historical records, while urging government, Parliament, and civil society to engage in an inclusive national dialogue on the matter.