The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has launched a scathing attack on the President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s government over what he describes as a “dubious, crony and sacrilegious” 50-year handover of the iconic W.E.B. Du Bois Centre to a recently incorporated private foundation.
The National Democratic Congress legislator, in a detailed statement, pointed out that the deal is shrouded in opacity and signed without parliamentary scrutiny, raising allegations of state capture.
“It appears there are no sacred groves for the perpetrators of the Government of Ghana’s mindless State Capture. The latest unbelievable victim is the iconic and globally renowned W.E.B. Du Bois Centre located in the prime Cantonments area of the national capital.
“This foundation with no significant track record will under the unconscionable agreement control and manage the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre for an incredible 50 years. Yes, you read right— 50 years”.
Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency
Unveiling the Controversial Agreement
Honourable Ablakwa further indicated that the controversial agreement was signed on September 22, 2023, by Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, and Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Hon. Godfred Yeboah Dame, on behalf of the Government of Ghana.
He also added that the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation Ghana LBG was represented by Japhet Aryiku and Humphrey A-Dake, along with the Museum Foundation New York, who co-signed the agreement.
He noted that Japhet Aryiku, who describes himself Chase retiree and philanthropist, is the Executive Director of the foundation.
“Further parliamentary oversight reveals that the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation Ghana LBG was incorporated in Ghana on 31st August 2021. Japhet Aryiku and Humphrey Darke-Ayim are documented as the beneficial owners. Interestingly, the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation, USA was incorporated in the State of Delaware on December 12, 2019. They claim to have a New York office. The foundation’s filing number is 7755436 and EIN: 84-4028962”.
Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency
According to Honorable Ablakwa the foundation’s annual nonprofit tax filings since incorporation show total revenues never exceeding $315,000.00 with current assets amounting to $396,000.
He argued that despite these modest figures, the foundation is suddenly deemed capable of raising $34 million for the modernization of the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre.
Opaque and Uncompetitive Circumstances
Furthermore, the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs criticized the government for engaging in the agreement under disturbingly opaque and uncompetitive circumstances.
He pointed out that the 50-year deal grants the foundation majority control with six board members, while the Government of Ghana appoints only three, adding that the foundation also appoints the board chairman, giving them absolute control.
Additionally, Honorable Ablakwa stated that only two Government of Ghana nominees will hold top management positions, while the foundation enjoys an unlimited number.
“It is particularly incredulous that under the sleazy agreement, the foundation will take possession of the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre and have a 2-year period to raise an initial US$15million. This sweetheart deal smacks of yet another dubious work and pay arrangement. It remains a mystery why the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has failed to present this agreement to Parliament for scrutiny”.
Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency
Honorable Ablakwa questioned why the government has not presented this agreement to Parliament for scrutiny and ratification, deeming it an international embarrassment and a monumental desecration of Ghana’s heritage.
Heritage and National Pride at Stake
Highlighting the significance of the centre, the North Tongu Member of Parliament underscored the global significance of the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre, a site of pilgrimage for Africans in the diaspora and scholars worldwide.
He indicated that W.E.B. Du Bois, the first black doctorate graduate from Harvard and a founding father of the civil rights movement, abandoned his US citizenship to support Ghana’s post-independence reconstruction under Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah.
According to him, the Centre symbolizes Du Bois’ towering legacy and Ghana’s historical and cultural pride.
Honorable Ablakwa contended that this latest “state capture” transcends land looting, constituting a grave assault on Ghana’s heritage, African pride, and collective struggles.
“This marauding government ought to understand in clear terms that there are some sacred groves they cannot mess around with with their insatiable greed. The government cannot tell us it’s engaged in this desecration because they are broke — they found US$ 58.1 million to dig the world’s most expensive pit at the same time they were negotiating with Mr. Aryiku and Mr. Darke-Ayim”
Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency
Honorable Ablakwa further posited that the revenues generated by the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre over the decades remain unaccounted for, accusing the government of mismanagement and corruption.
Call to Action
In a fervent call to action, the National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament called on all true Pan-Africanists to rise and resist the attempt by the New Patriotic Party administration to hand the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre to a private foundation for over five decades, describing its as an abomination.
He expressed the Minority Caucus in Parliament’s resolve to summon the Foreign Minister and Attorney-General to explain the rationale behind this agreement and why it bypasses constitutional requirements for parliamentary scrutiny and ratification.
Ablakwa denounces the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia regime’s relentless attempts to undermine Nkrumah’s unmatched legacy and declares that state capture shall be defeated.
“For God and Country,” Ablakwa concluded, vowing not to sit idly by and lose the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre for 50 years, if not forever.
This unending battle against state capture, he noted is a call to preserve Ghana’s heritage, pride, and place in the global community.
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