What’s in a name, Jubilee or Flagstaff House?

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Ghanadot

October 02, 2009

Is a rose without thorns still a rose or how about a Jubilee House being named Flagstaff House?

It will be very inviting to leave the answer to the philosophers. But with our special political circumstances these days, we better not wait.

The Golden Jubilee complex completed, with all the flags and festoons of the state, can't be mistaken for anything else other than a presidential palace.  And so it is.  The stunning architectural design and the lush ambiance undergird the structural significance of the structure.

But the new NDC administration wants more.  Before, they wanted the new name "The Golden Jubilee House" to revert to the old name of Flag Staff House. 

The new demand now is to move the official functions of the presidency back to the old Osu Castle because the new "Jubilee House" has no security barracks.

So, nowadays, on a visit to the area, the image that comes up is that of a palace under siege.  And it is this latest imagery that has clouded the value of this beautiful complex.  The new NDC administration must take the blame.  

The NDC has been resentful about this building since the ground was first broken.  Thus, this renewed effort to change or alter the essence and function of the completed structure should be suspect.

Sadly, this urge to change course in the evolution of things has been part of our political culture since the 1966 coup.  The tendency for reversals of ideas, policies, and perspectives on how the nation should be run has reached a nadir point; mostly spurred on by political spite. 

Change is offered by the new regime not so much on merit but just so it can derail what is there that has the imprimatur of the previous regime.  It must happen whether needed or not.  And the reasons offered for these changes become more peculiar with rotation in time.

So, “The Golden Jubilee House” must revert to Flag Staff House.  The entire presidential office must be moved back to the old Osu Castle, the erstwhile slave fort, the reason being that the Golden Jubilee Palace has no dedicated security facility on or close to its grounds.

Interestingly, the proximity of a security facility has never been known to stop a military coup in Ghana.  It didn’t stop the attack on Nkrumah in 1966 even though there was one nearby. And Hilla Limann was at the now supposed impregnable old Osu Castle when Rawlings struck in 1981!

But, why dwell on the presidential palace name change now?  Apart from the usual penchant for policy reversals, the answer may lie in the timing.  For many of us in the media, this timing may be a diversionary tactic; for, hot in the news is the Mabey and Johnson (M & J) scandal, a serious case of bribery that has already been decided on in a United Kingdom court. 

Predictably, this M & J case is hurting badly the image of the NDC administration, the erstwhile advocates of probity. So, the need for a pivot because the case now looms large.

“In the case of Ghana, the ruling revealed that as part of its policy of making corrupt payments, the company created what has been described as a national fund of £750,000, against which direct payment to public officials was made,” wrote the Daily Guide.

To dampen the impact of this unsavory case, the NDC has now created a distraction.  The presidential palace name change has been rated as more urgent, never mind the fact that the NDC has been against building the presidential palace from scratch.

As one NDC advocate said when they were in opposition, the palace was a wasteful enterprise because there "were more felt needs" out there but the previous Kufuor government had ignored them. 

So, the opposition to the building of the complex was already established back then.  And the political malice was already set in that frame of spite called “policy reversals.”  The renewed urge to move the palace to the Castle is therefore highly suspect.

The shame of the M & J case is mounting.  So is the need to cover up this shame.  Seen in this light, the need to add a new security complex to the finished palace becomes rather more grotesque.  

The original complaints of the NDC against the palace were about cost.  The same NDC is now ready to build a secure facility for another $50 million.  Why the escalation in cost to the $70 million already spent on building the palace?

The presidential palace was ready for habitation in January 2009 when President Kufuor handed over the keys to the newly elected President John Atta Evans.  The complex would remain unused for months, adding significant cost to the magnificent complex because of the decay over time in structures left unused.

As said, the public, on its part, has long known that the Jubilee House complex was ready for occupation.

The delay must have been part of "the reversal" strategy.  Cost-minded officials in the NDC should have known the risk inherent.  When they were in opposition, they saw faults in the Kufuor administration's policies at every turn.

What we thought we saw when the handing over of the building was completed was a smooth transition.  The NDC has now managed to turn this smooth transition into a nightmare. 

The nightmare began with the foot-dragging spectacle when the new administration of President Mills postponed its official entry to “the Golden Jubilee Palace” questioning its purpose and use

Meanwhile, in the delay, the nation lost the opportunity to use the completed palace to cement its polity.  And a historic moment was lost.

By the way, Jubilee House contains the old residency of the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. It was from this place that he left for Hanoi and never came back because of the February 24, 1966, coup.

What an honor it would have been to have shown this place to visitors and the public during the centennial celebration of Nkrumah’s birth that year, and to emphasize, if necessary, his impact on African politics and world affairs.

Another opportunity missed was President Obama's visit in June 2009, when the Golden Jubilee Palace could have been used for the major reception.  Instead, the old slave fort was used; an unintended grinding down on the cultural memory of slavery.  Imagine how Mrs. Michelle Obama could have felt!

“The Gold Jubilee Palace” was closed to the public throughout those essential days of the Obama visit and the Nkrumah centennial.   

And now, we wait for matters to be compounded. We are being asked to forsake the commemorative value, Ghana@50 celebration, “The Golden Jubilee Palace” name; for the slave name, “Flagstaff House”!

Yes, Kwame Nkrumah lived in the Flagstaff House.  But he would have preferred “The Golden Jubilee” name to the eponymous "Flag Staff House"; the original name given to it by the British Colonial government.

Sadly, in this modern age of the 21^st century.Nkrumah would note from his grave that no new edifice has been built to commemorate the struggles of our independence.

So I say to the NDC, back off, “Choose your pick, a thorn or rose,” as my late dear mother would mockingly say when she knew you were about to make a flawed decision, despite every sensible advice made available to you.

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Publisher www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, October 02, 2009

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