Ghanaians welcome decision to name Kumasi International Airport after Prempeh I

Many Ghanaians have welcomed the decision by the government to name the Kumasi International Airport after the 13th Asante Monarch, Agyeman Prempeh I.

The decision was announced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo when he delivered the Message on the State of the Nation in Parliament on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

He said construction of the airport is about 98% done, and is due for completion in May, this year. “Mr Speaker, we are committed to concluding the external debt restructuring process as soon as possible, so we move past the crisis. “This will enable us to complete substantially projects that have been constrained due to financial challenges,” he said adding that, among the projects is the Kumasi International Airport.

Who is Prempeh I
King Prempeh I reigned from March 1888 until his death in 1931 during which he repeatedly resisted the British Government’s attempts to subsume Asante into the Gold Coast Protectorate. In 1895, a British army was dispatched to Kumasi and Asantehene Prempeh I, and other important members of the Asante elite were taken prisoner and marched to the coast. On arrival they were kept for a year at Elmina Castle but were eventually exiled firstly to Sierra Leone and then later to the Seychelles Islands. The British allowed him to return to Kumasi in 1924.

Reactions
After the announcement by the President, a number of people took to social media to commend the President for the move, describing it as a befitting honour to the late great Asante Monarch.

Eric Addai said of Prempeh I: “ He was a hero to be celebrated and he started the independence of Ghana but because he was not politician that is why our history doesn’t talk much about him.”

Ata Amankwa stated: “I am over the moon,I know from Opemsuo Nana Osei Tutu to our present king, all of them have performed well, but I think Nana Prempeh deserves this given what he went through. He was brave and very patriotic, thank you Nana Addo.”

Shirley Abrebreseh said, “ He was sent to Seychelles island for many years for Asanteman so he deserves it.”