Ghana’s digital governance community converged at the British Council in Accra on Tuesday November 25, 2025, for the launch of “The Republic: A Professional Journey, Ghana’s Cybersecurity and The Making of a Role Model Country”, a seminal work by former Cyber Security Authority Director-General, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako.
Before the statistics, the global rankings and the reforms, came the human story of a young Ghanaian Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, who abandoned predictability, returned home in 2011, and helped build one of Africa’s most respected cybersecurity frameworks.
The 450-page publication provides a structured account of Ghana’s cybersecurity evolution between 2011 to 2024, offering policy lessons, institutional history and governance insights drawn from the author’s experiences.
The book also serves as a philosophical reflection—blending public service realities with deeper lessons on leadership, purpose, and the human condition.
The Republic chronicles nearly 15 years of Dr Antwi-Boasiako’s pioneering work in Ghana’s cybersecurity landscape, spanning his contributions across both the private and public sectors.
Structured in five compelling parts, the book weaves together the professional journey of the Author, his work in the private sector through the founding of e-Crime Bureau and his work in leading and establishing Ghana’s cybersecurity institutions, including the establishment of the Cyber Security Authority.
The event brought together key policymakers including former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, H.E. Laura Ranalli, Italian Ambassador to Ghana, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, Justice of The Court of Appeal of Ghana, who graced the event as the Reviewer of the book, other members of the Diplomatic Community, former ministers of state, Members of Parliament, intelligence leaders, regulator heads, development partners and industry executives.
Dr. Antwi-Boasiako began his reflections by thanking his family, describing their support as the quiet backbone that sustained his public service journey.
He spoke touchingly about his wife, Dorcas, whose strength “carried the weight of long absences” as he worked across agencies, ministries and international networks to strengthen Ghana’s digital security.
He acknowledged how personal convictions, rather than guarantees, brought him back to Ghana—a decision that paved the way for nearly 15 years of national impact.
He paid glowing tribute to former President Akufo-Addo and then Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful for the confidence reposed in him to lead the country’s cybersecurity reforms.
The audience listened attentively as he recalled the early days of Ghana’s cybersecurity efforts, describing them metaphorically through Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, where awareness was limited and risks remained in the shadows.
For him, leadership meant helping institutions “step into the light,” creating shared understanding and building national capacity where none existed.
Dr. Antwi-Boasiako emphasized that Ghana’s transformation was not driven by individualism but by collective effort—technical teams, policy actors, intelligence units, civil society, academia and development partners.
He stated that the book is both a professional chronicle and a guide for future public sector leaders seeking to strengthen national digital systems.
He highlighted the importance of institutional collaboration, stressing that Ghana’s digital resilience was achieved through coordinated efforts of the NCSTWG, JIC, JCC, industry stakeholders and international partners.
The author argued that public-sector transformation hinges on leadership alignment—noting that “leadership is cause; everything else is effect.”
He identified competence, character and strategic cooperation as non-negotiable components for building strong institutions capable of addressing modern cybersecurity threats.
Drawing from philosophical frameworks, the author compared Ghana’s early cyber environment to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, where limited awareness constrained innovation.
“Leadership require guiding institutions toward greater understanding of digital risks and opportunities. Ghana’s rise to global prominence was a product of sustained vision across different governments, rather than isolated administrative success mirroring Ghana’s movement from fragmented systems to a consolidated national architecture.”
Former President Akufo-Addo, delivering an extensive policy-oriented keynote, contextualized Ghana’s cybersecurity progress within a continuum of national ICT development pointed to early foundational policies under Presidents J.A. Kufuor and John Mahama, including ICT4AD and the first National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy.
He noted that Ghana’s significant strides between 2017 and 2024 reflected deliberate political commitment, complex inter-agency coordination and strong ministerial oversight.
The former President emphasized the institutionalisation of the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, ratification of the Budapest and Malabo Conventions, and Ghana’s leadership role within the African Network of Cybersecurity Authorities.
H.E. Akufo-Addo, spoke not only as a statesman but as someone who had witnessed Dr. Antwi-Boasiako’s leadership up-close, describing him as “one of the finest appointments” of his administration.
The former President took pride in Ghana’s rise on the Global Cybersecurity Index, noting the country’s impressive leap to 99.27% in 2024 and its elevation as a global role model.
He recounted Ghana’s broader digital journey—from the e-governance foundations of previous administrations to the accelerated reforms between 2017 and 2024.
“Ghana’s cybersecurity achievements are a product of continuity, collaboration and a shared national commitment to digital resilience. Immense progress came despite obstacles, financial constraints, inter-agency complexities and operational hurdles.”
Highlighting the country’s rise in the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index, he argued that the metrics reaffirmed Ghana’s credibility as a digital governance leader.
He further connected cybersecurity progress to broader digital infrastructure development, including Google’s first African AI Research Centre and the Africa Data Centres partnership to establish a 30MW hyperscale facility.
Mr Akufo-Addo stressed that robust cybersecurity is the bedrock of Africa’s emerging digital economy, especially as nations scale investments in AI, cloud and financial technologies.
He cautioned that delays in infrastructure such as the proposed hyper-scale data centre could undermine Ghana’s competitive advantage in the continental digital market.
The book, he said, offers a case study on how political will, policy coherence and technical leadership converge to produce lasting institutional reforms.
With applause echoing through the auditorium, former President Akufo-Addo officially launched the book, sealing an evening dedicated not only to national achievement but to the personal journey of a man whose work continues to shape Ghana’s digital future.
As the event drew to a close, it became clear that “The Republic” is not simply a memoir; it is a documentation of a generation’s effort to secure Ghana’s digital destiny.
