A coalition of concerned citizens has launched a nationwide advocacy campaign calling for the renaming of Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in honour of Ghana’s founding president, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
The campaign was officially launched on Monday, 19 January 2026, at the Airport View Hotel in Accra, with a keynote address delivered by Steven Odarteifio, who said the continued naming of Ghana’s main international gateway after a coup-era figure remains a “deep moral contradiction” in the country’s national story.
Addressing dignitaries including representatives of the Presidency, Parliament, the Judiciary, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society actors, and political activists, Odarteifio said the campaign was driven by conscience rather than partisanship.
“Some things are bigger than politics. Some things sit deeper than policy. When the spirit of a nation is unsettled, no amount of development can quiet the unease,” he stated.
The advocacy comes ahead of the 60th anniversary of the overthrow of Dr. Nkrumah on February 24, 1966. Odarteifio noted that the airport was renamed after Lt-Gen. Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka in 1967, a year after the coup that toppled Ghana’s first president.
“How can we, as a people, continue to honour the memory of overthrow at the very door of the Republic?” he asked.
He argued that an international airport represents far more than infrastructure, describing it as “the nation’s handshake” and “the first sentence Ghana speaks to the world.” According to him, about 3.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2024 alone, making the airport’s name one of the most frequently repeated Ghanaian references globally.
“Before visitors learn our story or experience our hospitality, they have already heard one Ghanaian name over and over again. Is that the story we want to export?” he questioned.
Odarteifio contrasted Ghana’s naming choice with practices in other African countries, citing airports named after unifying national figures such as Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya, Julius Nyerere in Tanzania, Nnamdi Azikiwe in Nigeria, and Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Côte d’Ivoire.
He said while the history of Lt-Gen. Kotoka and the National Liberation Council could be preserved through education and museums, the nation’s primary gateway should project symbols that unite rather than divide.
He also referenced the removal of Kotoka’s statue from the airport forecourt in October 2000, noting that it has not been reinstated by successive governments — a development he said demonstrates that the airport’s name can equally be reconsidered.
Calling on Parliament, Odarteifio announced that the group would submit formal petitions to the Speaker of Parliament, the Majority Leader, the Transport Committee, and the Ministers for Transport and Foreign Affairs. He also appealed to the Judiciary to provide constitutional clarity on petitions already filed by Democracy Hub and Samia Nkrumah, daughter of Ghana’s first president.
He further urged traditional rulers and religious leaders to lend their moral authority to what he described as a national conscience issue rather than a political contest.
The campaign acknowledged the role of civil society groups and individuals, including Democracy Hub, Samia Nkrumah, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., and Kweku Sintim-Misa, for bringing sustained national attention to the matter.
In an emotional closing, Odarteifio recalled the return of Dr. Nkrumah’s body to Ghana on July 7, 1972, describing it as a moment of national irony that the founder of the Republic was received at an airport bearing the name of one of the figures associated with his overthrow.
“How does a country claim to honour its father, yet welcome him at a front door bearing the name of betrayal?” he asked.
He appealed directly to President John Dramani Mahama to use the moment to resolve what he described as a long-standing national contradiction.
“Let Ghana’s international gateway speak one clear sentence to the world,” Odarteifio said. “Kwame Nkrumah International Airport.”
The campaign argues that settling the issue would align Ghana’s national symbols with its founding values and help foster a more unified national conscience.
“God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong,” Odarteifio concluded.
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