KIA is not a name we should be proud to project – Steven Odarteifio

Steven Odarteifio, a concerned citizen and convener of the advocacy to rename Kotoka International Airport, has renewed calls for Ghana’s main international gateway to be renamed.

He described the continued use of the name as a national contradiction that undermines the country’s democratic values.

Speaking at the launch of the advocacy campaign in Accra on Monday, Odarteifio said the symbolism attached to Ghana’s international airport matters deeply, noting that it is the country’s first point of contact with the rest of the world.

“Kotoka International Airport is not a name we should be proud to project,” Odarteifio stated, arguing that national symbols should reflect unity, dignity and shared national pride rather than the memory of unconstitutional change.

He described the airport as more than a transport facility, stressing its symbolic power in shaping global perceptions of Ghana. “An airport is not just an airport. It is the nation’s handshake,” he said, adding that whatever name appears on boarding passes and flight announcements becomes the story Ghana repeatedly tells the world.

Odarteifio questioned why Ghana continues to honour a coup-era figure at its principal gateway, especially as the country approaches 60 years since the overthrow of its first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

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

He noted that millions of travellers encounter the name “Kotoka” long before arriving in Ghana, through airline itineraries, tickets and airport screens across the world.

“Before they taste our hospitality, they have already heard one Ghanaian name over and over again,” Odarteifio said, arguing that the repetition subtly exports a narrative of military overthrow rather than Ghana’s independence legacy.

According to him, the campaign does not seek to erase history but to place it in its proper context. “The sign at our front door must represent what unites us, not what overthrew us,” he stressed.

He also reflected on the return of Dr. Nkrumah’s remains to Ghana in 1972, describing it as a painful symbolic moment for the nation.

“How does a country claim to honour its father, yet welcome him at a front door bearing the name of betrayal?” Odarteifio asked.

The advocacy group has indicated it will submit formal petitions to Parliament, the Ministry of Transport and the Judiciary, while appealing to traditional and religious leaders to lend their moral authority to the campaign.

Odarteifio maintained that renaming the airport would help align Ghana’s national symbols with the values of democracy, unity and historical justice that the country seeks to project to the world.