Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made a resonant entry at The Pavilion, Alisa Hotel, Ridge, Accra, for the twenty twenty six Liberty Lecture convened by the Danquah Institute, an intervention that reframed the national discourse on pluralism at a moment of palpable sectarian anxiety. His presence electrified a gathering already charged with anticipation over the erosion of Ghana’s enviable equilibrium of religious coexistence.
The lecture, themed One Nation, Many Faiths, interrogated emerging fissures threatening interfaith concord, from incendiary pulpit rhetoric to the weaponisation of doctrine for partisan mobilisation. Delivering reflections steeped in constitutionalism and liberal democratic ethos, the former head of state cautioned that tolerance, though deeply ingrained in Ghanaian cultural fabric, cannot be presumed immutable and must be vigilantly cultivated through civic education and institutional safeguards.
Akufo-Addo underscored that Ghana’s stability rests upon a delicate covenant of mutual reverence between Christians, Muslims and traditional adherents, warning that complacency in the face of extremist incursions could imperil democratic consolidation. He emphasised that liberty devoid of responsibility degenerates into licence, urging faith leaders to become custodians of moderation rather than purveyors of division.
Organisers disclosed that the Liberty Lecture series was instituted to provoke rigorous intellectual engagement on governance, identity and nationhood, drawing policymakers, clergy, academics and civil society into a shared forum of deliberation. The choice of Alisa Hotel’s Pavilion as venue lent the occasion both symbolic gravitas and strategic accessibility, situating the dialogue within the capital’s diplomatic enclave.
As Ghana navigates an increasingly polarised subregional environment where religious militancy has destabilised neighbouring polities, the former president’s admonition resonates as both timely counsel and subtle admonition, affirming that preserving harmonious coexistence remains a cardinal imperative for national cohesion and sustainable development.
Source: #DanquahInstitute
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Author: Korkor Anumu
