Hot!
Attack on Dede, not healthy
• Ayew – Distraught after the penalty miss
Tonnes of harsh, bigoted comments freely decanted moments after Ghana captain Andre Dede Ayew, blew off a spot-kick presented to Ghana. It was his first penalty miss for the nation.
The verbal onslaughts were, certainly, directed at the skipper after he failed to put away the dead-ball against Uruguay during the second Group H game of the ongoing Qatar World Cup – which ends tomorrow.
The Black Stars had staggered to a 2-3 loss to Portugal in the group’s opener, but supremely recovered to upstage South Korea 3-2, giving itself a lifeline heading into the Uruguay nerve-jangler.
Ghana desperately wanted a draw against the Uruguayans to qualify to the Round of 16 stage – the latter having lost and drawn to Portugal and South Korea respectively and needed a win to pull through.
The Stars had been tipped to beat Uruguay and avenge the agonising defeat of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where Luis Suarez handballed a goal-bound ball in the last seconds of their scorching quarter-final tie, denying Ghana from becoming the first African country to qualify for Mundial’s semi-final berth.
It is the reason the final game of Group H attracted the cynosure of all eyes – Suarez making it worse by his comments at a presser ahead of the game that he had no regrets for the ‘transgressions’ he committed 12 years ago. Perhaps, he was right, as he got punished for that sin with a red-card and penalty against his side which was wasted by top-goal poacher Asamoah Gyan.
Heart-rending as the Qatar first round exit may be, there is nothing we can do about it now than put the defeat behind us and plan again. The gratuitous attack on Andre and the Stars will not change the result.
Let us stop picking on certain players – and leaving others. In their game against Poland at the Stadium 974, Argentina star Lionel Messi, missed a penalty but they went ahead to win 2-0. Thus, arguments that if Andre had scored the penalty against Uruguay, Ghana would have won the game, is a deflated one.
If anything at all, we should be working right away to ensure we avert future pitfalls so we can have successful campaigns.
Truth is that we have a multi-talented team that can take the world by storm if well harnessed and shepherded. With a very competent coach, this crop of young, inexperienced players can be turned into world beaters one day.
Having said that, the National Sports Authority (NSA), Board Chairman – Seth Panwum NSA, must be commended for leading a delegation to pay a courtesy call on Andre Ayew and his family last week.
That is the way to go; it is great to show such support to him when the captain seems down after the tournament.
Indeed, Andre’s service to Ghana since busting onto the scene for Ghana in a four-nation tournament in 2007, has been phenomenal – and little wonder, he is the nation’s most-capped players with 113 appearances.
He deserves some backing now – not condemnation for a player who captained Ghana to win the continent’s only FIFA Under-20 World Cup as far back as 2009.
By John Vigah
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
