It shall be called “Ghana House”

Name is that which defines a thing par excellence, whatever else describes or highlights certain aspects of that thing. A name though is a word that stands as a 'vocal or written representation' of the thing.

For instance, 'Ghana' is a word that defines an entity which is a country, of black population on the western part of Africa. This is not all, everything about this country called Ghana is encapsulated in the word “Ghana”. That word 'Ghana' is the sole and perfect definition this honorable country has.

Secondly, a name distinguishes a thing from the other. It makes it special. In fact in our time most things are given names in order to distinguish them from others. On this point, what it means is that the name should somehow have direct bearings on the representational power and the morphology of the thing being referred to. What I mean is that the thing and the name should share some similarities. Thank God, the 'Jubilee House' is in a stool shape, something peculiarly Ghanaian.

Also naming a thing or a person is commonly an exercise of authority. This authority must be an agreed or established or consensus authority. And when this authority is exercised, it represents all those who gave their consent and therefore it should bear a semblance of that agreed consent.

Now I turn to the name of the presidential house “Golden Jubilee House”. Although my lovely former President Kufuor surely had a good intention, I think he overlooked the national representational aspect of the house and only focused on the historical aspect. That house is a summary of Ghana and therefore should have a broader Ghanaian nuance and not only a historical nuance-'Jubilee'.

Again the title 'Jubilee House' just like that could raise other questions - which jubilee? Or whose Jubilee? And fifty years later when we will have our centenary celebration would the name of the presidential house sound a bit strange? Should the president by then be living in a centenary house?

Just imagine you don't know that that's the name of “Our House”, where “Our” refers to Ghanaians, and a journalist in his/her report states “this is Kwame Tain, reporting from Jubilee House” will anything Ghanaian come to mind? Yet this is the epitome of Ghana. This is the Ghanaian house.

Before am reminded, I will like to admit that some countries' presidential palaces have such vague names but that doesn't give Ghana, a deep culturally oriented people the license to copy such things. Someone whispered into my ears when I was talking about this that the house should be called 'Osagyefo House'. This I will like to defer a bit that even though Osagyefo has the figure of Ghana or is seen as the father of Ghana outside the country, within the country a lot will be uncomfortable with that. Thanks to multiparty democracy, he is seen as a father of a certain political tradition more than being a father of Ghana. So that title, I feel should be dumped in a grave.

Now what I suggest is the name 'Ghana House'. Simply for the following reasons:Tax payers money [Ghanaians] was used to buildWhatever was done was meant for GhanaiansMost of the things that were influenced by the first two reasons aforementioned have something Ghanaian attached to them like Bank of Ghana, Cedi house, Ghana High commissions etc. Why can't this house bear something Ghanaian? Besides all, the house is the epitome of Ghana, it is where the supreme and consensus power of Ghana is exercised.
Therefore my dear brothers and sisters, I believe that this magnificent edifice should be called “Ghana House” and nothing less. God bless Ghana!

Credit: Yirpaale Sondah [[email protected]]