{"id":114452,"date":"2026-02-07T10:21:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T10:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=114452"},"modified":"2026-02-07T10:21:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T10:21:05","slug":"kia-too-big-to-be-named-after-kotoka-kofi-bentil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=114452","title":{"rendered":"KIA too big to be named after Kotoka \u2013 Kofi Bentil"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>1 Minute, 36 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Vice President of think-tank IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil has argued that Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is too significant a national asset to be named solely after General Emmanuel Kotoka, suggesting that the scale and status of the airport call for a broader reflection on Ghana\u2019s historical heroes.<\/p>\n

Speaking on JoyNews<\/strong>\u2019 Newsfile<\/em> programme on Saturday, Mr. Bentil weighed in on the ongoing debate over the airport\u2019s renaming, which was reignited following a proposal by the Majority Leader to change KIA\u2019s name to Accra International Airport. <\/p>\n

The proposal cites Kotoka\u2019s controversial legacy due to his role in the 1966 coup that overthrew Ghana\u2019s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not necessarily bad to want to change the name back to Accra,\u201d Bentil said. \u201cThe politics of it is informed by a lack of knowledge of our history. Those who are debating it are not giving fidelity to the facts. It\u2019s either Kotoka or Nkrumah. Each has his place. Kotoka was a hero of a time \u2014 time has resolved the matter. Nkrumah was a greater hero of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Bentil, naming the airport after Kotoka risks limiting the symbolic stature of Ghana\u2019s principal international gateway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe airport as our main gateway is too large for the time of person Kotoka,\u201d he explained. \u201cThere are other people like that \u2014 why not Ho, why not Peduase?\u201d<\/p>\n

The debate over renaming has provoked strong political disagreement, with some advocating for alternative names that honour prominent Ga traditional leaders or personalities, recognising the indigenous custodianship of the land on which the airport is situated. <\/p>\n

Critics of renaming warn that such an exercise could be divisive and costly, particularly given KIA\u2019s global profile and branding significance.<\/p>\n

He suggested that while Kotoka played a role in Ghana\u2019s past, the airport\u2019s symbolic value as a gateway to the country warrants careful consideration of whom it commemorates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Vice President of think-tank IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil has argued that Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is too significant a national asset to be named solely after General Emmanuel Kotoka, suggesting that the scale and status of the airport call for a broader reflection on Ghana\u2019s historical heroes.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3097,3866,1883,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kia","category-kofi-bentil","category-national","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114452\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}