Akua Djanie Blakofe, former Deputy CEO of the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), has called for the immediate removal of all signposts across Ghana that feature Chinese inscriptions.
According to her, Ghana, as a sovereign West African nation, should project its cultural identity through language, and the use of Chinese on public signage does not align with this principle.
English should remain the default language
Blakofe acknowledged English as Ghana’s official language and insisted that, until local languages such as Twi, Ewe, Ga, or Dagbani are formally recognised and adopted as national languages, English should be the default medium for all public communication.
“Whoever is in charge of signposts, why do we have signs in Chinese in Ghana? It is not our culture. Let’s take down all the signs in Chinese. They should be in English because, unfortunately, English is our official language. Until we make Twi, Ewe, Ga, or Dagbani our national language, everything should be in English,” she stated.
A call to protect Ghanaian identity
Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb TV during the Taste68@68 celebration on 14 March 2025, Blakofe stressed that retaining Chinese signs sends the wrong message about Ghana’s cultural independence.
“I want to see every sign in Chinese in Ghana taken down. This is not a Chinese country; it’s a West African country. We have to show who we are to the world. The Chinese should not tell us who we are,” she asserted.
Her comments add to the growing conversation around national identity, cultural sovereignty, and the extent of foreign influence in Ghana’s public spaces.
