Paul Adom-Otchere has argued that national symbols, including airport names, should be understood within their historical context.
“The South Africa airport is named after Oliver Reginald Tambo,” he said on JoyNews. “He was on the terrorist list of everyone.”
He noted that even Nelson Mandela was once labelled a terrorist.
“Yet the airport was named after him,” he added.
According to Paul Adom-Otchere, this shows that labels change with time and understanding.
“What we are saying is, let’s put the history in proper perspective,” he said.
He argued that Kotoka should be judged not only by the fact that a coup occurred, but by the circumstances that made it happen.
“For almost ten years, nobody could breathe in this country,” he said. “There was nothing like freedom of expression.”
He concluded that this history explains why many see Kotoka as a liberator rather than a villain.
“That is why Ghana is different from other countries,” he said.
