Celebrated Ghanaian author and poet Ama Ata Aidoo was compelled to walk out of a University of Ghana programme in her honour because her name was wrongly spelt.
The Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA), University of Ghana, recently announced an Ama Ata Aidoo Short Story Competition as part of its 10thAnniversary Celebration. The Centre said the competition was in honour of Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo for her multiple roles as a pan-African feminist, an author, poet, playwright and academic as well as her contribution to Africa’s renaissance.
The University of Ghana therefore invited the 74 author to grace the occasion to award winners of the short story competition.
But her daughter Kinna Kintu announced on social media “My mother walked out of a CEGENSA event today meant to celebrate her and the winners of a short story competition.” She again tweeted “Both banner and programme cover had her name as ‘Ama Atta Aidoo’ and not ‘Ama Ata Aidoo’, which is the correct spelling of her name.”
She took time to explain why her mother took that decision to leave the programme. “She’s been battling this for a while now, culminating in her walking out of an event in her honor today.” She further wrote on twitter, “Of course, she couldn’t have stayed. I know my mum. She would have felt bad throughout the event.”
Kinna Kintu appeared appalled by the fact that CEGENSA being an academic institute could be that “sloppy” “Messy. We must pay more attention to details of things. Disheartening as CEGENSA is academic institute. They know her, her name, her work.”
