If You Made A Mistake Just Own Up And Apologize – Prof. Kwaku Azar To BoG

Renowned legal scholar, Prof. Kwaku Azar, has waded into the growing controversy over the portrait on the new GH¢50 Heritage Series banknote, demanding that the Bank of Ghana come clean to Ghanaians.

In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Prof. Azar said the central bank owes the public a clear, honest explanation over the identity of the woman pictured on the note meant to honour Theodosia Salome Okoh, the designer of Ghana’s national flag.

The controversy erupted after Prof. Eddie Obeng, nephew of Theodosia Okoh, claimed that the portrait on the GH¢50 note is not his aunt, but his mother, Dr. Letitia Obeng, the renowned zoologist and first Ghanaian woman to obtain a PhD in the sciences. Dr. Obeng, who is Theodosia Okoh’s sister, said he was proud to hear his aunt had been honoured, only to realise the face on the note was his mother’s.

The Bank of Ghana, through Board Member Beatrice Annan, has defended the portrait, explaining that it was an engraved artistic impression created from three authentic photographs of Theodosia Okoh two from her younger years and one from later in life merged to depict her as a mature woman.

Prof. Azar argued that currency is not just money. It is a national symbol, a history book in the pocket of every Ghanaian, and a statement of who we are as a people. Getting the face of a national heroine wrong on a banknote would be a grave national embarrassment, and it cannot simply be explained away.

“If it made a mistake, it must own up to it and apologize,” Prof. Azar insisted.

He said there is no shame in admitting an error, but there is great shame in covering it up, especially when the family of the honouree is the one raising the alarm. An apology, he noted, would not diminish the Bank of Ghana. It would rather restore public trust and show respect for the Okoh family and for Theodosia Okoh’s legacy.

Prof. Azar further called on the Bank to engage the family transparently and, if necessary, correct the portrait before the notes go into full circulation on 1 December 2026.

https://www.facebook.com/share/18eXbEQJSW/

Hot-Source feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com