Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho, is seeking answers from former President John Dramani Mahama over his plan to rename public universities if elected into office in 2025.
Mr Anyidoho criticized Mahama’s proposal, arguing that the focus should be on job creation and advancing the “Better Ghana” agenda rather than renaming institutions.
In a series of tweets, Anyidoho expressed his dissatisfaction with Mahama’s intention to rename universities, suggesting that it reflects a continuation of what he described as an “endless drab cycle” of political manoeuvring.
“24hr economy to be used for honeymoon & University name change – not for Creating Jobs, Investing in People, Expanding Infrastructure, Governing in an Open, Honest & Transparent manner. Obviously, Opana never believed in the Better Ghana Agenda of Prez Mills. God save Ghana,” Anyidoho tweeted.
He questioned the efficacy of renaming universities in addressing graduate unemployment and improving Ghana’s economic situation, labeling it as part of the “do me I do you” politics that perpetuates mediocrity.
“If you name UHAS, Atta-Mills University for Health and Allied Sciences, how does that affect its core mandate? Honestly, if I was President Akufo-Addo, after building Asomdwe Park, I would name UHAS after Atta-Mills and see if Opana would dare say he would change that one too,” Anyidoho remarked.
Meanwhile, John Mahama has reiterated his commitment to revert the names of public universities if the NDC regains power in 2025. Mahama accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of merely renaming universities constructed by the NDC, emphasizing the lack of establishment of new universities by the NPP during its tenure.
Mahama emphasized the importance of maintaining the original names of public universities to reflect their core mandates, suggesting that administration blocks, hostels, and libraries could bear the names of individuals instead.
“We will restore the original names, and the names that they have given them, will be given to a significant infrastructure in the Universities. We will add other people and name the infrastructure in the Universities after them. But if the University is University for Development Studies, that is its core mandate. It will be called the University for Development Studies,” Mahama stated.
The debate surrounding university renaming continues to provoke discussion among political circles, highlighting differing perspectives on the priorities and approaches to governance in Ghana.