…Ya-Na says it’s unacceptable
President Nana Akufo-Addo’s decision to rename the Tamale International Airport as Yakubu Tali International Airport, is ending up being a calamitous one as tension has started brewing in the Dagomba enclave in the Northern region; a conflict prone area.
Ya-Na Abukari Mahama II, the Overlord of the Dagbon Traditional Area, appears sidelined in the decision.
He revealed the pressure on him, urging President Akufo-Addo to reconsider renaming the Tamale International Airport after the late Tolon Naa, Alhaji Yakubu Alhassan Tali, a prominent element in the formation of the Northern People’s Party from which the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), traces its roots.
Concerns come as the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has vowed to reverse the names President Akufo-Addo gave some public universities in the country if he is re-elected as president in the 2024 polls.
Some public universities were renamed after prominent NPP people by the President when he assumed office.
For instance, the University for Development Studies (UDS), Wa campus was named after SD Dombo [Simon Diedong Dombo], a politician from the United Party tradition.
The university is now Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) in the Upper West Region and the C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences (CKT-UTAS) in the Upper East Region.
President Akufo-Addo in 2018 also renamed the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) to the George Grant University of Mines and Technology.
Addressing party supporters, chiefs, and students at Zuarungu in the Upper East Region, the NDC flagbearer lashed out at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for renaming universities constructed by the NDC government after their heroes.
He wondered why the NPP government, which has not built any universities in the country, kept renaming the existing ones.
“We are known as nation builders because of the number of schools we have built. Every public university was initiated and built by us. All the NPP knows how to do is name universities that people have built. After NDC builds a university, then they will give it the name of one of their heroes or people. We are going to rename the universities. Ghana has many heroes, and not only the heroes of the NPP tradition.
He emphasized, “We can name an administration block, hostel, and library after somebody. But the university must reflect its core mandate. And so we will restore the original names, and the names that they have given them will be given to significant infrastructure in the universities. And we will add other people and name the infrastructure in the universities after them. But if the university is the University for Development Studies, that is its core mandate. It will be called the University for Development Studies.”
Interestingly, on March 5, 2024, a delegation from Tolon in the Northern region, paid a courtesy visit to President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House.
It was led by Tolon Naa, Alhaji Rtd Major Sulemana Abubakari, a prominent National Security operative during the Kufuor administration.
His name came up in the murder of the Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani. He and others, including Lt. General Joshua Hamid, went to court to clear their names.
President Akufo-Addo in his State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, February 27, disclosed that there are plans in place to rename the Kumasi International Airport and the Tamale Airport to Nana Agyeman Prempeh I International Airport and Yakubu Tali International Airport respectively.
The Tamale airport, was in August 2023 commissioned by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
In his penultimate State of the Nation address, Akufo-Addo, also said “I have one more scheduled date with the House, when I would be here to give an account of my time in office. By that time, my successor would have been elected, and we would be getting ready for the swearing-in ceremony. The elections will be held peacefully, and the candidate with the credibility to take us to the next level. Let me wish all of us well in the elections on 7th December.
“Before then, there a number of important tasks lie ahead of us, one of which will be commissioning the Nana Agyeman Prempeh I International Airport in Kumasi, and naming the recently commissioned airport in Tamale the Yakubu Tali International Airport,” Akufo-Addo announced.
The Kumasi International Airport, which is about 98 per cent completed, will also be named after Nana Agyeman Prempeh I, an Ashanti Kingdom monarch.
But the Dagbon overlord, in his letter dated February 28, 2024, and addressed to the president, registered his displeasure, saying it “is an unacceptable idea to me and the majority of citizens of Dagbon.”
Ya-Na Abukari II, added that the “Gbewaa Palace has been inundated with calls and other forms of communications pleading that this proposal be shelved.”
He further stated that “it is the considered opinion of many people and traditional leaders in the region that such recognition is bestowed on Na Gbewaa.”
Leading the delegation was Tolon Naa. They came to express their gratitude to the President for the decision to rename the recently commissioned airport in Tamale after Yakubu Tali.
Ya-Na Abukari II wrote, “I bring you fraternal royal greetings from the Gbewaa Palace, with fervent hope and prayer that you are in good health and high spirit. I would like to draw your attention to your wish to rename the Tamale International Airport as Yakubu Tali International Airport.
“This is an unacceptable idea to me and the majority of citizens of Dagbon. The renaming of Tamale International Airport after Tolon Naa Yakubu will be contentious and counterproductive. It will draw our traditional state and the entire Northern Region into needless controversy.
As then Yo-Na Abukari VII, I personally and voluntarily released the substantial lands covering the entire expansion areas of the airport to the government of Ghana to undertake this important infrastructural development.
Since this proposal was announced, the Gbewaa Palace, has been inundated with calls and other forms of communications, pleading that this proposal be shelved. It is the considered opinion of many people and traditional leaders in the region that such recognition is bestowed on Na Gbewaa.
Accept my compliments of the highest consideration.
Little is known about the man Tolon Naa Alhaji Yakubu Alhassan Tali. He is said to be a respected Ghanaian politician, educationist and founding member of the Northern People’s Party.
Yakubu Tali, was said to be a one-time Paramount Chief of the Tolon Traditional Area.
He served as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Lagos (Nigeria) from 1965 to 1968. Tali was also Ghana’s Ambassador to Belgrade (Yugoslavia) during the Second Republic of Kofi Abrefa Busia.
In 1972, Yakubu Tali was appointed to serve as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Sierra Leone and was accredited to Guinea as an ambassador.
During the period, he contributed significantly to boosting Ghana’s foreign affairs ties, as well as the growth of the Northern People’s Party.
He is also credited for various educational reforms in the Northern Region.
Yakubu Tali passed away in 1986 at the age of 70.
Born in 1916 in the village of Tali in the Tolon district, located 32 kilometres away from Tamale, Tolon Naa Yakubu Tali was the son of Tali Naa Alhassan Sulemana and Mma Ayishetu (Mpag’ Kong), belonging to the royal families of Tolon and Kumbungu on his paternal and maternal sides, respectively.
Initially named Yakubu, his educational journey started at the age of 9 when, faced with many students sharing the same name, the names of their respective villages were attached to differentiate them. This is how he acquired the name Yakubu Tali. Known for his exceptional academic prowess, Tali was not only an outstanding student but also excelled as an athlete and footballer, prompting some teachers to suggest a career in sports over education.
However, Tali confronted a system that favoured education in Southern Ghana over Northern Ghana. During the first Republic under Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the ‘Northern scholarship’ was introduced to bridge the educational gap. Yakubu Tali, attending Achimota College in 1928, became the first northerner to do so. His political journey commenced at Achimota, where he interacted with influential figures like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Edward Akufo Addo, Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey, Robert Mugabe, and Dr. K.A Busia, ultimately completing Achimota College in 1937.
Returning home, Tali embarked on a teaching career to impart knowledge to younger generations. His linguistic skills positioned him as a translator in royal circles, acting as a crucial link between the colonial authorities and his people in the North, which was then a protectorate without representation at the national level.
The 1948 riots paved the way for Northern representation at the national level, leading to Yakubu Tali’s election to represent Western Dagbon in the Northern Territories Council. His involvement in the Coussey Constitutional Council laid the foundation for Ghana’s independence.
He served in the Gold Coast legislative assembly from 1950-65, initially as an independent candidate and later as a member of the Northern People’s Party, formed in 1954 by elites like Simon Diendong Dombo, J.A Braimah, Mumuni Bawumia, Jato Kaleo, and Yakubu Tali himself.
Recognized as the “Golden Voice of the North,” Tali’s parliamentary days were marked by eloquence and influence. He served as deputy speaker of the National Assembly in 1960 and represented Ghana at the United Nations in 1960, 61, and 69.
Post-parliamentary, he continued his service as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria from 1965-68 and ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1968-72. Despite the coup that toppled the second republic, he served as ambassador to Sierra Leone until 1979.
In 1979, he contributed to the drafting of the constitution for the short-lived third republic, reentering mainstream politics as the National Chairman of the Popular Front Party (PFP) and later as the running mate of the party’s presidential candidate, Victor Owusu. Some attributed the party’s defeat in national elections to this decision.
