I AM HURT… 91-Year-Old Theodosia Okoh Cries Out After Sycophantic Oko Vanderpuije Plays Tribal Politics With National Honours

Mrs. Theodesia Okoh, at 91, is virtually confined to her residence at North Ridge, a plush suburb of Accra. As a result of her failing health, the woman who designed the national flag and nurtured hockey as one of the nation's leading sporting disciplines, has kept a dignified silence from the hustle and bustle of national activities.

Yesterday, she came out of her shell to express her profound sadness at what obviously, is a sycophantic attempt to replace her name with that of fallen President John Evans Atta Mills at the National Hockey Stadium.

In a phone-in programme with Kwame Sefa Kayi, host of Kokrokoo on Peace FM, Mrs. Okoh spoke of her profound sadness at the turn of events. 'I am hurt,' the grand old lady told the host, her comments obviously directed at the world of Ghana politics and sports, the two bodies she has served so well.

According to a story on Peace Online, Mrs. Okoh was not happy at all with the attempt to replace her name with that of Prof. Mills at the only national hockey edifice located at the centre of Accra.

According to the report, Mrs. Okoh gave a historical account of how the site for the National Hockey Stadium was acquired. She said due to her commitment to hockey as a sport, she acquired the present site of the stadium from the colonial government, while she was still a student at the Achimota School.

In the words of the nonagenarian, her immense contribution to the development of hockey earned her the befitting recognition from those who know the history of hockey in Ghana.

Her outburst follows a directive from Dr. Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, informing the people of Ghana that the assembly had decided to dedicate the National Hockey Stadium to the memory of fallen President Mills, and that with immediate effect, the name of the Theodesia Okoh Hockey Stadium has henceforth been changed to read John Evans Atta Mills Hockey Stadium.

To confound the confusion which has made its masterpiece in this administration, Dr. Vanderpuije said the inner perimeter housing the artificial pitch would continue to bear the name of Mrs. Theodesia Okoh.

'If you are a sportsman and you are writing a sports report about a game, you will make reference to the pitch. That is one symbol which must stay and not change. We will work with the authorities to make sure that does not change. We will continue to dialogue with the officials and the association to see how that will really stay… That will not be a problem,' he said.

'The most important thing is that we will continue to refer to the pitch by her name. What she did was a good thing, and we have not taken that away from her. It is still in her name,' the Mayor assured.

That assurance paled into insignificance compared to the enormity of harm the AMA has done to sports, of which personalities are motivated by recognition.  From her humble residence at Ridge, Mrs. Okoh declined the offer to share the honours with the late Professor.

She said if the authorities went ahead and effected the change, they might as well forget about her role in nurturing hockey. The authorities, she said, should not put any signboard bearing her name anywhere near the hockey stadium.

Since the National Democratic Congress returned to power on January 7, 2009, the AMA, has been used by some elements in the Ga lobby especially, to remove the names of non-Ga personalities on national sportingS installations.

It was the late Ohene Djan who suffered the first humiliation, when the first indigenous Director of Sports' name was nicodemously removed from the national stadium in Accra on the orders of the Ga lobby in the NDC, using the forum of the AMA.

Like Ohene Djan, Mrs. Okoh is a native of Akuapem.  Her younger sister is Mrs. Leticia Obeng, for a long time Director of the Aquatic Biology. Like the former Director of Sports, Mrs. Okoh has truly paid her dues to Ghana sports.

Fondly referred to as 'Jeanne d'Arc' of Ghana hockey, Mrs. Okoh played the game and administered it at the highest level. To date, she is the only woman to have chaired the Ghana Hockey Association. At a time philanthropists were hard to come by in hockey, it was Mrs. Okoh who pulled the game together with her money and know-how.

It was her contribution to hockey that informed the Sports Writers Association of Ghana to name her a patron of SWAG.  The same qualities informed the sporting authorities to name the hockey pitch after her in 2004.

In 2003, as part of the centenary celebration of football as an organised sport in Ghana, the late Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu formed a seven-member committee to find ways and means of honouring heroes in Ghana sports.

The committee had the late Mr. Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, one-time member of the Ghana Football Association, as chairman.  Other members were Mr. Ken Bediako, a veteran sports journalist, Mr. Frank Apeagyei, member of the Ghana Football Association's Executive Committee, Mr. Oheneba Charles, one-time President of SWAG, Mrs. Elizabeth Quarmyne, a woman sports administrator, Mr. Joe Aggrey, former Deputy Minister of Sports, Mr. Randy Abbey, one-time Spokesperson of the Ghana Football Association, and Mr. Kofi Aggrey, then Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Member/ Secretary.

Among the committee's terms of reference, it was 'to identify for honours sportsmen and women who have made significant contribution to Ghana's image in sports, and those who have contributed to the development and promotion of sports in Ghana.'

The committee was also 'to identify sports facilities, localities and structures that could be named after distinguished personalities in sports, e.g,, gates, lanes, inner and outer parts or fence walls, and other appointments at stadia, especially the Accra and Kumasi stadia'

Members of the committee were also 'to submit to the Ministry a proposal for the establishment and management of a museum (HALL OF FAME) and Sports Library at the Accra Sports Stadium and the Kumasi Sports Stadium to stimulate tourism,' among others.

The committee recommended that the Accra Sports Stadium be named after Ohene Djan, the first Director of Sports of independent Ghana. The Kumasi Stadium was to be named after C.K. Gyamfi, the Sports Hall at the Accra Stadium after Mr. D.G. Hathramani, popularly known as the father of table tennis in Ghana. The Cape Coast Sports Stadium was named after the late Robert Mensah, voted in 1970 as Africa's Number One Goalkeeper.

The report was approved by the ministry with a few amendments. The Kumasi Stadium was named after Baba Yara, known as the king of right wingers in the 1960s, who was paralysed and later died as a result of an accident while on club duty.  C.K. Gyamfi's name was attached to the National Sports College at Winneba.

Following Cabinet approval by the John Agyekum Kufuor's administration, the recommendations were implemented. That is how various national sporting edifices came to be known after sporting personalities.

As at press time yesterday, information received indicated that the Presidency had reversed the decision. Read more on Monday.Hockey Association.