Why a Citizen wants Kotoka International Airport renamed

A concerned citizen, Steven Odarteifio, has called for the renaming of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), arguing that Ghana’s main international gateway should reflect the country’s founding values rather than its coup-era history.

Mr. Odarteifio made the call on Monday, January 19, 2026, while delivering a speech at the launch of an advocacy campaign to rename the airport, held at the Airport View Hotel in the Airport Residential Area, Accra.

“We are here today because our conscience will not give us rest,” he said.

“Some things are bigger than politics. Some things live in the spirit of a nation, and when the spirit of a nation is unsettled, no amount of development can fully quiet the unease.”

He noted that February 24, 2026, will mark 60 years since the overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, describing it as a moment that still weighs heavily on the country’s national conscience.

“In April 1967, during the failed counter-coup known as Operation Guitar Boy, Lt-Gen. E.K. Kotoka was shot and killed at the Accra International Airport,” Mr. Odarteifio said.

“His friends and co-conspirators later decided that the best way to remember him was to place his name on the nation’s front door.”

He questioned why Ghana continues to honour what he described as a symbol of overthrow at its principal gateway to the world.

“How can we, as a people, continue to honour the memory of overthrow at the very door of the Republic?” he asked.

Mr. Odarteifio stressed that an airport represents more than infrastructure. “An airport is not just an airport. It is the nation’s handshake. It is the first sentence Ghana speaks to the world,” he said.

Citing passenger traffic figures, he added, “Every year, millions pass through that gateway — about 3.4 million passengers in 2024 alone — yet the first word on our front door points them not to the spirit of independence, but to the memory of overthrow.”

He argued that the name Kotoka has become “arguably the most repeated Ghanaian name across the world,” surpassing figures such as Kofi Annan, J.B. Danquah, Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor, John Atta Mills, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

“The sign at our front door must represent what unites us, what uplifts us, and what we are proud to project,” he said. “Kotoka International Airport is not a name we should be proud to project.”

Mr. Odarteifio further argued that beyond his military career, Lt-Gen. Kotoka is not widely associated with major national development projects, and noted that Kotoka’s statue was removed from the airport forecourt in 2000 and never reinstated.

“If that memorial could be removed and left unreinstated across administrations, then the airport name itself can also be reconsidered,” he said.

Drawing comparisons with other African countries, he noted that many name their main airports after founding presidents, including Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya, Julius Nyerere in Tanzania, and Nnamdi Azikiwe in Nigeria.

“Nkrumah is Ghana and Africa’s most globally recognised independence symbol,” he said, describing him as “a beacon of selflessness, epitomised by the BBC’s Africa of the Millennium Award.”

Addressing President John Dramani Mahama, Mr. Odarteifio urged decisive action. “Your Excellency, reset this name of our national gateway to ease the troubled conscience of our motherland,” he said.

“A divided national conscience cannot build a united national destiny,” he added. “This is your moment of legacy.”

He concluded by proposing a new name for the airport. “Let Ghana’s international gateway speak one clear sentence to the world,” he said. “Kwame Nkrumah International Airport.”