Dr Alhaji Abubakari Sidick Ahmed the quiet architect behind decades of campus broadcasting excellence passed on. And in his passing, the University community was reminded of a truth we often postpone until it is too late: ‘;We do not always honor our builders while they are alive’;.

For over three decades, he stood tall not with noise, but with nobility. Not with power, but with principles. Not with praise, but with purpose.

He sacrificed comfort to build dreams. He chose mentorship over personal ambition. He chose discipline over convenience. He chose institutional growth over personal spotlight.

Many of Ghana’s finest broadcasters first held a microphone under his supervision. Many newsroom leaders across the country trace their foundation to his guidance. Generations passed through his watch but his standards never lowered.

He did not simply manage Radio Univers

He defined it.

He built its culture of research.

He enforced its ethics.

He protected its credibility.

He sustained its institutional memory while student leadership changed year after year.

Traditionally, Radio Univers has provided volunteering opportunities primarily to students of the University of Ghana. However, Dr Alhaji Abubakari Sidick Ahmed believed that talent and passion should never be confined strictly by enrollment status.

When he encountered individuals who demonstrated genuine commitment, discipline, and potential even if they were not UG students he extended mentorship and professional training opportunities to them.

I stand as one of those beneficiaries. Though I was not a University of Ghana student, he saw something worth nurturing and chose to invest in it.

Today his protégés now stand at the helm of Ghana’s leading media institutions shaping conversations on national television, major radio stations, and digital platforms while others carry his imprint across Africa and onto the global stage.”
That was the kind of leader he was principled, discerning, and inclusive.

A newsroom is not merely a space with desks and microphones.
It is the heartbeat of a station.
It is where truth is refined, where young voices are shaped, and where future media leaders are trained.

If there is any place that carries his imprint most visibly, it is the newsroom.

Naming the Radio Univers Newsroom after Dr Alhaji Abubakari Sidick Ahmed is not an emotional request. It is an institutional obligation.

Why?

Because legacy must be made permanent.
Because institutions that fail to memorialize their builders risk forgetting the very foundations they stand on.

Because future broadcasters deserve to walk into that space, see his name, and ask, “Who was he?” and in hearing the answer, understand the standard expected of them.

This is bigger than sentiment. This is about justice.

History will not remember how loudly we mourned him.
It will remember what we institutionalized in his honor.

The least and the most powerful thing the University of Ghana can now do is to ensure that his name is permanently engraved in the place he helped build.

Let the newsroom bear his name.

Let every script written there carry his invisible signature.

Let every bulletin echo his principles.
Let his three decades of sacrifice remain a living presence within the walls he strengthened.

We cannot bring him back.

But we can ensure that we honor him properly.

And we must begin now.