Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu and a member of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) Board, Atta Issah, has criticised the legacy of General Emmanuel Kotoka, insisting that the 1966 coup leader, along with his colleagues, contributed nothing positive to Ghana’s development.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, February 7, Mr Issah rejected narratives portraying Kotoka as a liberator, describing the 1966 military coup that overthrew Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, as a setback for the country and a precedent for political instability across Africa.

“I disagree that he is a liberator,” Atta Issah said. “He opened the door for impunity in Africa. He opened the door for many other coups d’état to happen in Africa. He retarded our development.”

He argued that even in regimes prone to excesses, there are constitutional and legal avenues to address governance issues, which he claims were ignored by the coup leaders.

“And these three presidents — Ankrah, Afrifa and Kotoka — we may have had excesses in those regimes,” he said. “But I believe that whatever worst form of dictatorship you have, there are always avenues to deal with that. Finally, I am saying that whatever reasoning we give for that coup d’état, Ankrah, Afrifa and Kotoka did nothing for Ghana, I dare say. In three years, what exactly can you remember them for?”

Mr Issah’s comments follow a proposal by the Majority Leader to rename Kotoka International Airport as Accra International Airport, citing the controversial nature of Kotoka’s legacy. The proposal has reignited discussions over whether public infrastructure should commemorate figures associated with unconstitutional rule.

Other voices in the debate have suggested that if the airport were to be renamed, it should instead honour a prominent Ga traditional leader or personality, recognising the indigenous custodianship of the land on which the airport is situated.