Steven Odarteifio Calls for Renaming of Kotoka International Airport, Proposes Kwame Nkrumah International Airport

A concerned citizen, Steven Odarteifio, has renewed calls for the renaming of Kotoka International Airport (KIA), describing the current name as inconsistent with Ghana’s founding values and national conscience.

Speaking at the launch of an advocacy campaign at the Airport View Hotel in Accra on Monday, January 19, 2026, Odarteifio said Ghana’s main international gateway should reflect symbols that unite the nation rather than remind citizens and visitors of political overthrow. Addressing the President, Parliament, the Judiciary, traditional authorities, civil society groups, and the general public, he stated that the call goes beyond partisan politics and touches the moral and historical soul of the nation.

According to him, February 24, 2026, will mark 60 years since the overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, a development he said remains unresolved in the country’s national symbols. He recalled that Lt-Gen. E.K. Kotoka, who played a key role in the 1966 coup, was killed at the Accra International Airport during the failed counter-coup known as Operation Guitar Boy in 1967. The airport was later renamed in his honour by the National Liberation Council (NLC).

Steven questioned why Ghana’s “front door to the world” continues to bear the name of a coup-era figure rather than one associated with the country’s independence and democratic foundations.

“An airport is not just infrastructure; it is the first sentence a country speaks to the world,” he said, noting that millions of passengers — including about 3.4 million in 2024 — pass through the airport annually. He added that for many in the diaspora, Ghana’s independence story under Dr. Nkrumah is a key reason they visit the country, yet the first national symbol they encounter reflects a different narrative.

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He argued that the name “Kotoka” has become one of the most repeated Ghanaian names globally through airline tickets, boarding passes, flight announcements, and airport screens worldwide, even though the figure is not widely associated with major national development projects.

Steven Odarteifio further cited the removal of Kotoka’s statue from the airport forecourt in October 2000 as evidence that the country has already begun reassessing how it honours that period of history. He noted that successive governments have not reinstated the statue, suggesting that renaming the airport would not be unprecedented.

He also referenced the political instability that followed the 1966 coup, saying Ghana took decades to recover fully, and compared Ghana’s situation with other African countries whose main airports are named after founding leaders or national unifiers, including Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, and Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Côte d’Ivoire.

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Describing Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as Ghana and Africa’s most globally recognised independence symbol, Odarteifio said the country has a responsibility to align its national symbols with values of unity, self-determination, and pride.

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As part of the advocacy, he announced that a formal request would be submitted to Parliament, including the Speaker, the Majority Leader, the Transport Committee, and the Ministers for Transport and Foreign Affairs. He also called on the Judiciary to provide constitutional clarity on the matter following petitions by Democracy Hub and Dr. Nkrumah’s daughter, Samia Nkrumah.

He appealed to chiefs, traditional rulers, and religious leaders to lend their moral authority to what he described as a correction of Ghana’s national story, not merely a change of name.

Odarteifio commended Democracy Hub, Samia Nkrumah, Kweku Sintim-Misa (KSM), and Kwesi Pratt Jnr., among others, for keeping the issue in the public domain, and acknowledged Ghanaians at home and abroad who have expressed support for the cause.

Directly addressing President John Dramani Mahama, he linked the advocacy to the President’s New Year message urging young people to lead with action rather than delay. He described the renaming of the airport as an opportunity for the President to resolve a long-standing national question as Ghana approaches the 60th anniversary of the 1966 coup.

Reflecting on the return of Dr. Nkrumah’s body to Ghana in 1972, Odarteifio described it as a moment filled with national emotion but also deep irony, given that the airport welcoming the country’s founding father bore the name of one of the figures involved in his overthrow.

He concluded by calling on the President to “reset” the name of Ghana’s international gateway, arguing that a divided national conscience cannot build a united national destiny.

“Let Ghana’s international gateway speak one clear sentence to the world,” he said, proposing the name Kwame Nkrumah International Airport.