President Nana Akufo-Addo has highlighted the pivotal role played by Joseph Boakye Danquah, a former presidential candidate in 1960, in the establishment of the University of Ghana, Legon.
In an address during the University’s 75th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service, President Akufo-Addo emphasized that history would undoubtedly view JB Danquah favourably for his relentless efforts in championing its creation of the University of Ghana.
President Akufo-Addo recounted how JB Danquah’s visionary stance led to him challenging the British proposal for a single university in West Africa, earmarked for Nigeria.
Commending the University of Ghana for attaining its diamond jubilee, President Akufo-Addo hailed its profound influence on the nation’s development trajectory.
“It will be wholly appropriate and not at all far-fetched to describe Joseph Boakye Danquah as the founder of this university [the University of Ghana], a fact that, on the 75th anniversary of its existence, should be vividly recalled by all of us who are being and are the beneficiaries of his work.”
Furthermore, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that the legacy of the late JB Danquah might even merit consideration for naming the University of Ghana in his honour.
“Indeed, in many other jurisdictions where there is less heat in their politics and more attachment to the fact of historical record, it would not have been out of place to have this university named after him. Who knows, one day it may well happen.”
President Akufo-Addo’s sentiments during this commemorative event echoed his earlier comments made five years ago when the university introduced an endowment fund as part of its 70th-anniversary celebrations.
