The University for Development Studies (UDS) has elevated one of Ghana’s best-known broadcast journalists into the senior administrative ranks, promoting its Director of Public Affairs, Abdul-Hayi Moomen, to the rank of Deputy Registrar.
For a man whose professional life has been built largely around words, questions, public discourse and the power of information, the promotion represents more than a career milestone.
It is, arguably, a transition from one form of public service to another.
UDS, in announcing the promotion, described Moomen’s elevation as a reflection of his dedication, professionalism, hard work and commitment to excellence.
But his record suggests that the University may have gained more than simply another senior administrator.
It has promoted a communicator.
And that distinction could become increasingly important for an institution whose visibility, reputation and relationship with government, industry, the media, prospective students, alumni and the communities it serves depend heavily on how effectively it tells its story.
A journalist before an administrator
Long before he became a university public affairs executive, Moomen established himself as a formidable figure in Ghanaian broadcasting.
He served as a senior news editor at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and became widely recognised through his work on GTV, including the current affairs programme Moomen Tonight.
According to a profile of him published by The Readers’ Hub, the programme became the first socio-political talk show at GBC to be named after a staff member. He was also associated with Talking Point, one of GBC’s long-running current affairs programmes, and served as a commentator on major national programmes.
His journalism credentials were reinforced by four Ghana Journalists Association awards, while his reporting took him beyond Ghana.
He was described as the first Ghanaian journalist to travel to war-torn Syria and Somalia to report on the devastating effects of conflict.
That experience matters.
It means Moomen did not learn communication merely from behind a studio microphone. He learnt it in newsrooms, on the field, in difficult reporting environments and through conversations with people across the social and political spectrum.
He also developed a particular reputation for human-rights reporting. A profile published in 2016 noted that one of his stories was recognised by the Ghana Journalists Association as the best report in the Human Rights category in 2015.
His experience moderating political debates and interviews also gave him something that is difficult to teach in a classroom: the ability to communicate with people who do not necessarily agree with one another.
That may prove invaluable in university administration.
From holding power to explaining institutions
Journalism and university public affairs may appear to be different professions.
At their core, however, both are about information, credibility and relationships.
The journalist asks questions, seeks facts, interprets complex issues and presents them in ways that ordinary people can understand.
The public affairs professional does something remarkably similar, except that the institution itself becomes the subject.
This is where Moomen’s journalism background could give him an unusual advantage as a Deputy Registrar.
He understands the media.
He understands deadlines.
He understands what makes a story newsworthy.
He understands how journalists think.
He understands the danger of poor communication.
And, perhaps most importantly, he understands that institutions do not control their reputations simply by issuing statements.
They have to earn public confidence through what they do and how effectively they communicate what they do.
His work at UDS already demonstrates that transition.
Recent UDS publications show Moomen not only leading public affairs but also writing institutional stories covering major university events and initiatives. His byline appears on reports ranging from professional education programmes to university ceremonies and institutional developments.
He has therefore moved from reporting the activities of institutions to helping shape how an institution communicates its activities.
The promotion now potentially gives him a larger administrative platform from which to do that.
His book may be his biggest clue yet
Perhaps the clearest indication of the kind of administrator Moomen could become is contained in his recently published book, Newsroom Poverty: The Silent Crisis in Ghanaian Journalism.
Launched in Tamale in August 2026, the book examines the difficult economic conditions under which many Ghanaian journalists work. Moomen has explained that the book is not an attack on journalism but an attempt to provoke conversations about reforms and the welfare of media practitioners.
That is significant because it demonstrates that Moomen’s relationship with journalism has evolved beyond practising the profession.
He is now interrogating the systems that sustain it.
That capacity for institutional thinking could become one of his most valuable assets at UDS.
A good administrator does not merely manage today’s problems.
He or she identifies structural weaknesses, anticipates tomorrow’s challenges and builds systems capable of surviving beyond individual personalities.
Moomen’s journalism background, combined with his academic and professional experience, suggests that he could bring precisely this perspective to university administration.
What could Moomen do differently?
His promotion creates an opportunity for UDS to extract even greater value from his communication expertise.
One obvious area is strategic institutional storytelling.
UDS is one of Ghana’s major public universities and has a distinctive development-oriented mandate. Yet institutions often struggle to communicate their impact beyond academic circles.
Moomen could help turn research, innovation, community interventions and student achievements into compelling public narratives that resonate nationally and internationally.
Instead of merely announcing that UDS has undertaken a project, the University’s communication machinery could increasingly answer three bigger questions:
What problem did UDS solve?
Who benefited?
Why should Ghana and the world care?
That is the difference between publicity and strategic communication.
A stronger media-university relationship
His years inside the media could also help UDS build a more sophisticated relationship with journalists.
Rather than treating the media primarily as an outlet for press releases, the University could position journalists as partners in explaining research, public policy and development challenges.
Moomen understands what journalists need from institutions because he spent years on the receiving end of information.
That experience could help UDS become more media-friendly while simultaneously protecting the institution against careless or poorly managed communication.
Taking UDS’ story beyond northern Ghana
Another opportunity is international visibility.
Moomen’s own journalism career has taken him across borders, while his professional interests extend into public affairs, media and communication.
He could therefore help UDS aggressively position itself as a university whose development research and innovations deserve international attention.
The University’s strongest stories should not end with a local news report.
Research on agriculture, climate change, health, education, conflict, rural development, entrepreneurship and technology can be packaged for international media, development agencies, diplomatic missions, international universities and research partners.
That could strengthen UDS’ reputation and potentially attract partnerships, researchers, students and investment.
A promotion with a larger test
The title Deputy Registrar carries considerably different responsibilities from those of a newsroom editor or public affairs director.
It requires administrative judgement, institutional diplomacy, policy implementation, coordination and the ability to work within university governance structures.
So the real test of Moomen’s promotion will not be whether he can communicate.
He has already demonstrated that.
The test will be whether he can translate his communication instincts into institutional transformation.
If he succeeds, his journey could offer an instructive example of how journalism skills can travel beyond the newsroom.
The reporter who once held a microphone to power is now becoming part of the machinery through which a major public institution makes decisions, manages relationships and communicates its mission.
And perhaps that is why Moomen’s promotion deserves to be viewed as more than another entry in a university promotions circular.
It could mark the beginning of a new phase in which one of Ghana’s experienced media voices brings the discipline of journalism—curiosity, clarity, storytelling, public accountability and an instinct for listening—into the higher levels of university administration.
For UDS, the opportunity is potentially enormous.
The question now is what the University, and Moomen himself, will do with it.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
