{"id":40976,"date":"2025-01-14T04:40:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T09:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/statue-of-ex-ghana-president-akufo-addo-destroyed\/14\/01\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T04:40:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T09:40:51","slug":"statue-of-ex-ghana-president-akufo-addo-destroyed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/statue-of-ex-ghana-president-akufo-addo-destroyed\/14\/01\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Statue of ex-Ghana President Akufo-Addo destroyed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A statue of Ghana&#8217;s immediate former President, Nana Akufo-Addo, put up at the end of last year has been destroyed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The unveiling by Akufo-Addo of his own likeness in November in the country&#8217;s Western Region <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cj6k14ryygyo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:sparked a social media backlash;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">sparked a social media backlash<\/a>, as well as being mocked and described as &#8220;self-glorification&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Its launch had been in honour of the president&#8217;s development initiatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On Monday, local media shared images showing the statue in a ruined state, with its severed head lying on the ground. It is not clear who had targeted the sculpture or what the motive was and the police have not commented.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The torso also appears to have been destroyed, and only a damaged pedestal remains in place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Akufo-Addo stepped down as president last week after serving two terms in power. His party&#8217;s candidate to replace him was heavily defeated in December&#8217;s presidential election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The statue had already been partially vandalised last month with one leg being damaged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Some local residents had earlier been calling for the sculpture to be removed, but the local authorities had pledged at the time of the initial damage to have it repaired.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Its destruction has elicited mixed reactions, with some condemning it while others saying there could have been a better way to deal with it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">One resident told local Citi FM outlet that it was &#8220;of no benefit&#8221; to the people, &#8220;so if it&#8217;s destroyed, its normal&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Another said this was unfortunate and there should have been a &#8220;proper, civil way to get it removed&#8221; adding that that the action would have negative consequences for supporters of the former president&#8217;s party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Joy FM quoted another resident saying he was happy it had been destroyed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-[4] size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>[Joseph Amuah]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Last year, critics questioned the use of public funds for its construction especially at a time the country was facing economic hardship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ghana has in recent years been experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation and last year received a $3bn (\u00a32.5bn) bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The cost-of-living crisis was a key campaign issue in last month&#8217;s election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">President John Mahama, who won the vote in a landslide, has in the past criticised the erection of the statue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He said it was up to the people to honour the former president for his achievements, describing the statue as insensitive given the hardships being faced by the people.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">You may also be interested in:<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News Africa\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"295\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/R53CmdtQyYsC7RR0ZwFhBA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTI5NQ--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/e70f5e2d3e91b5ce9a04201c81e1134b\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-[4] size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>[Getty Images\/BBC]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Go to <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/bbcafrica.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:BBCAfrica.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>BBCAfrica.com<\/em><\/a><em> for more news from the African continent.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Follow us on Twitter <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BBCAfrica\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:@BBCAfrica;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>@BBCAfrica<\/em><\/a><em>, on Facebook at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BBCnewsafrica\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:BBC Africa;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>BBC Africa<\/em><\/a><em> or on Instagram at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bbcafrica\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:bbcafrica;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>bbcafrica<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">BBC Africa podcasts<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/statue-ex-ghana-president-akufo-080623283.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A statue of Ghana&rsquo;s immediate former President, Nana Akufo-Addo, put up at the end of last year has been destroyed. The unveiling<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/statue-of-ex-ghana-president-akufo-addo-destroyed\/14\/01\/2025\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40976"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}