Ei Ghana, we say we want to digitise, right? Build a smart economy, train tech savvy youth, become the Silicon Valley of Africa? But go to Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) and you will ask yourself, are we serious at all? Because the kind of things happening there, if you hear them, you’ll think it’s a movie script. But this one is real life, and taxpayers are footing the bill.
The name that keeps coming up is Professor Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, the Vice Chancellor. Now, everything here is alleged, but if even half is true, then GCTU is not a university, it’s an organised chop bar for elites. This man, a chief from Fiapre and allegedly has strong men in government backing him, is running the university like it’s his personal cocoa farm. According to reports, this VC allegedly takes over GHS 200,000 per foreign trip. Every trip. Meanwhile, students dey suffer, lecturers dey complain, and computer labs dey retire.
It’s alleged that the same man takes GHS 51,000 rent allowance every month but lives in his own house. And that house too, fully furnished with air conditioning, generator, everything, all paid for by the school. As for cars, you won’t believe it. One moment he’s in a V8 bought by the university, the next moment he’s allegedly renting his own private car to the same university and collecting money on top. Woyɛ dɛn kraa?
Now let’s talk about the so called “Silicon Valley” lab. When you hear the name, you’ll think it’s some high tech innovation centre. But what’s there? Old computers donated by frustrated students, with furniture that looks like it came from Abossey Okai’s scrapyard. And yet, the university called a whole commissioning ceremony to cut ribbon and celebrate what? A room full of second hand gadgets? They even pasted the VC’s name on the wall as if he built it with his sweat. 
Students pay some of the highest fees in the country. Some are allegedly chased out of exams for owing just a few cedis. But scholarships? Those are allegedly given to family and friends, people who hail the VC, do signs and shout “piaaaawww!” like party footsoldiers. No process. No fairness. Just noise and favouritism. We’ve moved from meritocracy to me daaseocracy.
Inside the university administration, everybody allegedly dey fear. The Pro VC has become a yes man. The registrar allegedly behaves like a mini president. The auditor, according to reports, is not auditing anything, just signing and smiling. People who question things are quickly silenced or dragged before disciplinary committees. This is not university governance. This is mafia work.
So when Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu came out on June 3rd and said GTEC must audit how universities are spending their IGFs (internally generated funds), some of us clapped. Because this mess has gone on for far too long. The money students pay should go into lecture halls, libraries, tech labs, not luxury trips and four star hotels. If the Minister is serious, GCTU must be the first place GTEC enters. Not with protocol, but with fire.
And if the Minister is planning to open polytechnics in all 16 regions, that’s fine. But before we build more schools, can we please clean the rot in the ones we already have? We can’t go and multiply dysfunction. We don’t need more white elephants, we need working systems.
President Mahama must act. Not in 3 months. Not after another press conference. But now. The VC must step aside for a proper forensic audit to take place. GTEC must be held accountable for sleeping on the job. And everyone, from procurement heads to council members, must answer for their roles. This is public money. This is people’s children. This is Ghana’s future.
And don’t be fooled, this exposé is just scratching the surface. According to the report, what we know is only 15 percent. The remaining 85 percent allegedly includes Members of Parliament, ghost contractors, and deals that would make even hardened politicians shake their heads. If we open that Pandora’s box, the stench alone can collapse Parliament.
So let’s not pretend this is a small issue. It is not. GCTU is not just one school, it is a symbol of our national hypocrisy. We say we want to build Ghana, but we allow corruption to build castles in our institutions. We say we care about education, but we turn a blind eye when schools become feeding troughs for the connected few.
Ghana, if we can’t fix this one university, then let’s forget about digitalisation. Let’s forget about “Smart Ghana.” Let’s forget about transformation. Because the rot at GCTU is not just administrative, it is spiritual. It is the spirit of yɛ diɛ yɛ be di that has brought us here.
Let the investigations begin. Let heads roll if they must. Let this be the turning point.
