Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Nii Moi Thompson, has linked Ghana’s development challenges to what he described as a deeper problem of identity and mindset, arguing that true progress must include “mental emancipation.”
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV on Thursday, January 15, 2026, born Isaac Bannerman Nii Moi Thompson reflected on his decision to prioritise his indigenous name Nii Moi, over his European names, saying the issue goes beyond personal branding.
“When you’re growing up with all these English names, you don’t think much of it until you travel,” he said.
“And people wonder, what kind of African is Isaac Bannerman Thompson?”
According to him, that experience forced him to rethink how Africans relate to identity, culture and self-worth.
“That’s when I said, okay, let me use my name way,” he said, noting that the decision was made more than 30 years ago.
Dr Nii Moi Thompson said the discomfort only became clear when he travelled outside Ghana, where questions about his identity were unavoidable.
“When you’re in Ghana, you don’t see the idiocy of walking around with only European names,” he said. “Until you travel abroad, and people question you.”
He recounted an incident where someone assumed he was white based solely on a phone conversation.
“There was someone who thought I was a white man when I spoke with him on the phone,” he said. “When we met, he was visibly disappointed.”
That moment, he said, reinforced the need for Africans to consciously reclaim their identity.
Dr Nii Moi Thompson described himself as an “unashamed Pan-Africanist” and a strong admirer of Marcus Garvey, whose ideas, he said, remain relevant to Africa’s development discourse.
“When we talk about emancipation, it’s not just political emancipation, but mental emancipation,” he said.
He argued that Africa’s tendency to “embrace anything foreign” while shutting out local ideas and systems continues to undermine development efforts.
“This is what it speaks to,” he said. “The fact that we’re happy to embrace anything foreign and shut the door on something local.”
While much of the national conversation on development focuses on economics, infrastructure and policy, Dr Thompson suggested that mindset and identity are equally important.
For him, reclaiming African identity is not symbolic, but foundational to building confidence in local institutions, policies and solutions.
He said this same mindset explains why Ghana often undervalues home-grown systems while relying excessively on external prescriptions.
