Wa Polytechnic to be named after Dr Hilla Limann

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced that the Wa Polytechnic is to be named after the President of the Third Republic, Dr Hilla Limann.

According to him, the President said the Governing Council of the Wa Polytechnic met last Thursday and unanimously agreed to the re-naming of the institution.

The President said when the Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh informed him of the decision, he agreed without any hesitation because the late President was an illustrious son of the land who had paid his due.

What was left, the President said, were the necessary Parliamentary processes leading to the change of name of the institution, adding that once that was completed, the polytechnic would be called the Dr Hilla Limann Polytechnic.

Scholar, diplomat and statesman

President Akufo-Addo made the announcement at a ceremony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Dr Limann at the Accra International Conference Centre on Tuesday.

The occasion which was also used to launch the Hilla Limann Foundation, had the theme:  “The life of a scholar, diplomat and statesman.”

He further announced that his widow, Mrs Dora Fulera Limann, who continued to conduct herself with dignity befitting a former first lady of Ghana, would continue to benefit from the care and attention of government.

President Akufo-Addo described Dr Limann as an illustrious son of the Upper West Region and noted that the former president ought to be celebrated as an eminent Ghanaian, distinguished statesman, and, above all, a patriot.

He observed that a careful study of the life of the former President revealed a young man who, regardless of the circumstance surrounding his birth, strove to become the leader of the country.

The life of Dr Limann

He said the former President pursued further education in famous institutions in London and Paris and added that as a diplomat, he served in various positions and became the Chancellor of Ghana’s permanent mission in Geneva, Switzerland.

“He was elected leader of the People’s National Party and ascended into the high office of Ghana against a known political heavyweight of the time, Victor Owusu,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo said Dr Limann’s short-lived government had a herculean task of restoring order and stability after the June 4, 1979 revolution

After his overthrow, he said the former president remained in the country till the political space opened up in 1992.

He said Dr. Limann, as a young man and prior to his political adventures in 1978, had participated in politics at the district level and served as a member of the 1969 constitutional commission under the chairmanship of Edward Akufo-Addo, the President of the Second Republic.

Undaunted by the painful experiences of the past, he said Dr Limann formed the People’s National Convention (PNC) and contested in the Presidential race but placed third.

“The party he founded in 1992 is still an active participant in the political discourse of our nation,” he said and noted that his administration had found it fitting to appoint the flag bearer of the party in the 2016 general election as an Ambassador-at-large.

Fulera Limann

The wife of the late President and former First Lady, Mrs. Limann, described the overthrow of the Limann government as “unjustified”.

For her, the overthrow of her husband, brought to an abrupt end, a vibrant vision that he had for the development of the country.

She, was, therefore, appreciative of President Akufo-Addo for the decision to honour her husband.

Unsung hero

A former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ivan Addae-Mensah who read the biography of Dr Limann, described him as an unsung hero of Ghanaian politics.

Though his tenure of office was brief and unexpectedly truncated, he said, Dr Limann, within that short space and time, did set an unparalleled standard for selflessness, probity and loyalty that remained unchanged to date.

Other speakers who eulogised the former President included his son, Dr Baba Limann and his sisters, Dr Zilla H. Limann and Ms Salma H. Limann, Mrs Nabilla Williams, Ambassador D.K. Osei, Dr Edward Mahama and Mr Kwaku Sakyi Addo.