Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), a leading indigenous Ghanaian bank, has celebrated Ambassador D. K. Osei during his presentation of the 32nd edition of the annual University of Ghana Alumni Lecture on the theme ‘Liberal Democracy: The New Utopias and the Age of Disorder’ at the Great Hall of the university.
Ambassador Osei, a customer of the bank, graduated from the university in 1977, where he was elected as the Students’ Representative Council President, and was an athlete of great repute.
At the well-attended lecture, Ambassador D. K. Osei focused his presentation on the advantages and disadvantages of liberal democracy.
He said: “There is universal acceptance that the political governance system in which a country conducts its affairs – whether it is autocracy, monarchy, theocracy, or liberal democracy – hugely impacts the attitude of the citizenry and the respect of its people”. He further noted that: “The main argument in this lecture is to assert that liberal democracy, though imperfect, is strong and harbours powers of self-correction; and also provides mechanisms for challenging public grievances, and thus we should collectively continue to invest in it”.
The Chairperson for the occasion, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, in her submission, praised Ambassador Osei for his erudition and the relevance of the topic as regards current events in Ghana, adding: “As Ambassador Osei noted, there are different forms of governance around the world, and in our country, we have chosen liberal democracy. It is evident that various vectors are disrupting liberal democracies, and if not addressed, might lead to other forms of governance becoming attractive as we have seen in our neighbours like Burkina Faso”.
The University of Ghana Alumni Lecture was instituted in 1974. It has since been held yearly at the Great Hall of the university with other notable lectures delivered inter alia by H. E. Mr. H. V. H. Sekyi in 1974; Prof. George Benneh in 1981; Dr. K. Y. Amoako in 2000; Her Ladyship Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo in 2019; Dr. Ernest Addison in 2020; and Mrs. Akosua Frema Opare in 2021.
The Universal Merchant Bank, sponsors of the event for the last 6 years, presented a specially commissioned bronze art piece to Ambassador Osei to honour and commemorate his lecture. Presenting the award, Nana Dwemoh Benneh, CEO of the bank, said: “2022 is the Jubilee Year for our bank, the Universal Merchant Bank. The focus of the jubilee is celebrating our customers, and we have spent the year acknowledging and celebrating with our customers. Today was another episode in this regard, and we are happy to support and honour our customer, Ambassador D.K. Osei”.
In further remarks, Kofi Akyea, Head of Marketing, Corporate Communications and Customer Experience at the bank, said: “UMB has over the period sponsored the Alumni’s Annual Lecture as part of our support of Ghanaian thought-leadership. Our heritage since 1972 continues, and we prioritise investments in Ghanaian knowledge production. We believe in Ghana and continue to deploy a business model that puts YOU FIRST in Ghana”.
UMB is a leading indigenous bank reputed for bringing a uniquely Ghanaian perspective to banking since 1972. Headquartered in Accra and licensed by the Bank of Ghana, the bank operates out of 35 branches across Ghana. The bank celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022.
