The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, has said that renaming University of Ghana after JB Danquah is subject to huge debate.
In her recent interview on Joy News, Prof. Appiah Amfo challenged the idea that individuals like J. B. Danquah, who played a significant role in the university’s establishment, have not been adequately recognized. She emphasized that there are multiple ways to acknowledge their contributions and that the university has already done so.
Prof. Appiah Amfo explained, “I think that all those who played significant roles in the establishment of the university have properly been acknowledged. What the president was advocating for was a renaming of the university after him (J. B. Danquah). But that is something that is subject to a huge debate. There are various ways in which to acknowledge people who have contributed to the establishment of the university. And we have a whole avenue named after J.B. Danquah—that is the major avenue in this university.”
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She also rejected the notion that the university lacks an identity because it isn’t named after an individual, stating,
“The University of Ghana represents the nation; it represents the nation, and this is a brand that is well known all over the world, all of these years. It is representative of the nation.”
It could be recalled that President Akufo-Addo faced public scrutiny for his proposal to name UG after J. B. Danquah, his uncle, during the 75th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of the university. He praised J. B. Danquah’s role in establishing the University of Ghana and expressed the hope that this renaming would become a reality in the future.
President Akufo-Addo stated:
“And for me, the most poignant of those memories is the inestimable work Dr. J. B. Danquah did to mobilize the Ghanaian people to insist on the building of this university… It would be wholly appropriate, and not at all far-fetched, to describe Joseph Boakye Danquah as the founder of this university. A fact, which on the 75th anniversary of its existence, should be vividly recalled by all of us who have been, and are the beneficiaries of his work. Indeed, in many other jurisdictions where there is less heat in their politics, and more attachment to the historical records, it would not have been out of place to have this university named after him. Who knows, one day, it may well happen.”
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