L-R: Kofi Annan, Opoku-Agyemang, Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, T-Michael and Peter Bossman
A good name, they say, is better than riches, and according to Martin Dugard, names tell stories and hold history within them.
This was evident during President John Dramani Mahama’s speech at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where he made reference to influential Ghanaians who have made significant contributions and shaped history through their work and life’s contribution.
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President Mahama, in his address, touched on several pressing global issues, calling for immediate action while referencing notable names to buttress his points.
While demanding the removal of the blockade imposed on Cuba, the president cited a statement from Ghana’s founding father and first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which highlights the need to foster diplomatic ties with all countries.
“While I am making requests, I would like to call for the removal of the blockade on Cuba. As Dr Kwame Nkrumah, our nation’s founder, famously said, ‘We seek to be friends of all and enemies to none.’ The Cuban people shed their blood on African soil in the fight against apartheid. Indeed, Cuba has been, and continues to be, a faithful friend to Africa.
“You see, the very fact that I can stand here and ask these things, and the fact that all nations can ostensibly gather here to address critical global issues, air grievances, and express concerns—that is what makes the survival of this organisation so important,” he said.
President Mahama also spoke about migration and its effects, making reference to the Sudan crisis, which has forced 12 million people to migrate.
He highlighted how some immigrants, most notably Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, a judge on the US District Court for the Central District of California, Dr Kofi Annan and Dr Peter Bossman, a medical doctor, have risen above all odds to become successful individuals in various Western countries, contributing significantly to national development.
“When we speak of migrants, we speak of Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, a judge on the US District Court for the Central District of California. She is the first Black female judge on any of California’s four federal district courts. She was born in America to immigrant parents from Ghana.
“We speak of Peter Bossman, a medical doctor born in Ghana who moved to the town of Piran in Slovenia in the 1980s. He later became the first Black mayor of Piran, the first Black mayor in Slovenia, and in the whole of Eastern Europe,” he said.
“We speak of T-Michael, the iconic Ghanaian-Norwegian artist and designer, and the late Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, who was born in Ghana but spent his adulthood in various places in America and Europe. These are people who have brought great distinction to the countries that they call home. Just as the migrants and the children of migrants before them did. These are not invaders or criminals,” Mahama added.
Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang was also featured in President Mahama’s speech, where in his closing remarks, he congratulated her on her milestone as the first female Vice President of Ghana.
Mahama expressed that her achievement has broken the glass ceiling and changed the narrative for young girls, who, through Prof Opoku-Agyemang’s example, he said, can now dream and believe they can achieve great things without hindrance.
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“I would also like to congratulate Her Excellency Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on being the first woman Vice President of Ghana. Now every Ghanaian girl knows the heights to which she can ascend,” the president said.
MAG/VPO
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