The Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Dr. Vida Nyangre Yakong, has congratulated Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang on her historic feat as Ghana’s first female vice president.
The historic moment had to wait until 2020 when Prof. Opoku-Agyemang partnered with former President John Dramani Mahama (now President-elect) as the vice-presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) but lost to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the general elections.
Dr Yakong publicly warned in 2019 that “the whole of Ghana” was going to “crash” if Akufo-Addo secured another 4-year term at the 2020 polls. She was a senior lecturer at the university at the time.
Many noted that her warning came true as the country’s economy came to the brink of a total collapse under Akufo-Addo’s second term which saw an unprecedented rise in the cost of living and more cases of political corruption fuelled by impunity.
The term was also marked by a further decline of public trust in the judiciary, the controversial introduction of “killer” taxes and a fast-sloping dip of the cedi value against the dollar.
The economy played a major role in the massive loss Akufo-Addo’s governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as its presidential candidate, suffered at the 2024 polls that handed the NDC both victory and history.
“Your rise to this lofty position is not only a strong indication that you possess the capabilities it takes to execute the New Ghana agenda all the well-meaning citizens of this great country are yearning for, but is also a firm demonstration of the commitment of President-elect John Dramani Mahama to affirmative action.
“The massive success you helped the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to achieve at the just-ended general elections, which also saw the NDC win an overwhelming number of majority seats in Parliament, is a big win for all the positive steps being taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in positions of authority, education, employment, culture and decision-making process,” Dr. Yakong told Prof. Opoku-Agyemang in the congratulatory message.
Dr. Yakong foresees ‘true peace and lasting prosperity’
While entreating the vice president-elect to continue to pursue the interests of girls and women, Dr. Yakong also expressed optimism about Ghanaians experiencing “true peace and lasting prosperity” in the years ahead.
“The recent achievement you chalked as Ghana’s Vice President-elect has been part of topics for discussions on the major media platforms we know across the globe. The assurance you gave in Accra during your first public speech after the general elections to ‘hold the door opened’ is bound to ignite and rekindle a desire in girls and women to dream big and pursue their dreams with resilience and optimism.
“As I congratulate you on your massive elevation to the second highest office of our dear country, I also humbly wish to request on behalf of the numerous well-meaning women, to whom your accomplishments are an inspiration, that you continue to pursue justice and fairness for girls and women as we celebrate both you and the rise of a new nation,” she stated.
She added: “Because you always excel and succeed in every mission you undertake as your distinguished record clearly shows, I confidently can say the years ahead of Ghanaians are coming with true peace and lasting prosperity for all.”
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang was appointed the first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in 2008. She had served as the first Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at the same university.
In 2018, she was appointed Chancellor of the Women’s University in Africa (WUA), based in Zimbabwe. She subsequently became the first female running mate of the NDC and the first woman to be nominated twice as running mate for a political party in Ghana. In 2024, she also broke a record as the first female vice president-elect in West Africa.
Dr. Yakong shares something in common with the professor of literature, whom she describes as one “sent and born to break every glass ceiling” in her congratulatory message. She, too, set a record in 2020 when she was appointed the UDS’ first-ever Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery.
Mahama had garnered 6,328,397, representing 56.55% of the total valid votes cast, as of the time the Electoral Commission (EC) declared the 2024 presidential election results. Bawumia, according to the EC, polled 4,657,304, representing 41.61% of the total valid votes cast.
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana
