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Before every Ghanaian website could carry the familiar .gh at the end of its address, someone had to take responsibility for making sure Ghana had a place in the emerging digital world.
Before every Ghanaian website could carry the familiar .gh at the end of its address, someone had to take responsibility for making sure Ghana had a place in the emerging digital world.
That responsibility fell to Professor Nii Narku Quaynor.
In the early days of the internet, Quaynor was entrusted with Ghana’s country-code domain, .gh, a responsibility he says he took personally.
Speaking to Kafui Dey, professor Quaynor explained that in 1995, he was delegated the .gh country code by the US government to represent Ghana in the developing internet community.
“ .gh domain is supposed to be mine, but everybody thinks it belongs to them and they want to take it from me. But we’ll see how it goes”, he said
For him, it was not simply a technical assignment.
He saw it as something that had been placed in his care.
Professor Quaynor described his approach in unusually personal terms, saying, “I had to take care of my child.”
That sense of responsibility shaped how he managed the domain and how he viewed its use.
He did not regard .gh as merely a string of letters attached to a web address. To him, it represented Ghana’s identity in a new global space.
The responsibility came at a time when countries were establishing their identities within what was still a young and rapidly developing internet.
For Ghana, having its own country-code domain meant having a recognised digital identity within the growing global network.
Quaynor’s role therefore went beyond connecting people to the internet.
He was also helping establish some of the basic structures through which Ghana would identify itself online.
He recalled that governments had to consult him before using the .gh domain.
According to Quaynor, this was because the domain was not simply an ordinary technical address. It represented Ghana and had to be managed with care.
“it’s US government that gave it to me. They didn’t give it to anybody else. So it is mine. I get you. So if you want it, then we can talk. I would to make sure you take care of my child”, Professor Quaynor told Kafui Dey
He explained that governments would approach him before adopting the country-code domain, reflecting the authority and responsibility attached to its use.
The consultations, as he described them, showed that the domain carried significance beyond its technical function.
It was a national identifier, and its use had to be considered within the broader interests of the country.
One example he cited involved the National Democratic Congress government under the late President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills.
According to Quaynor, he reached an agreement with the government to make the .gh domain available to them in exchange for investment in the development of the country’s internet infrastructure.
The arrangement, as he described it, reflected the practical challenges of building Ghana’s early digital systems.
The domain was not merely a technical label; it was an important national resource whose use could support wider investment in the country’s internet development.
Quaynor’s account suggests that the .gh domain was treated as part of the country’s broader digital infrastructure.
Its use could therefore be linked to the development of the systems needed to connect Ghana to the global internet.
For Quaynor, managing the domain also meant protecting its national significance.
His description of it as “my child” captured the personal commitment he brought to the responsibility.
The phrase also revealed how seriously he viewed the task. He was not simply administering a domain; he was caring for an important part of Ghana’s emerging digital identity.
Years later, the .gh domain has become a familiar part of Ghana’s digital landscape, appearing at the end of websites operated by businesses, institutions, political organizations and individuals.
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