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Couple reveals ‘secret’ after 40 years of marriage
● Rev Albert Seth Ocran and his wife Regina
Loving the same person for as long as four decades is definitely no mean achievement. Such a journey is no doubt fraught with woments of joy and challenges which need cool heads to surmount
If you are young and you hear about such marriage anniversaries, you are likely to wonder how such couples managed to live together for so long and may also be curious to know what they could have done or are doing right to learn from them.
Well, Rev Albert Seth Ocran, the Former General Director of Torchbearers Mission Incorporated (a Missionary Organisation at Korle Gonno in Accra) on Wednesday, was gracious enough to share some lessons and experiences through his journey with his wife Mrs Regina Ocran.
Even after forty years, he described her as “a great woman who has been a pillar in my life” as he revealed some “secrets” to The Spectator to help some young people to also make it to such a height.
He said there was the need for persons who wished to marry to seek knowledge on the subject matter, try to know more about their spouses and should not take things for granted because marriage was a serious business.
He cautioned that, relationship with violent people should not be encouraged under any circumstances.
“A violent person in the early stages of a relationship will definitely continue to be violent. So signs of violence at this stage signifies a ‘red flag’ which should need counsel and therapy to correct it. If there is no sign of change in character, the relationship should be discontinued” he said.
He, however, said if a spouse became violent after marriage had started, immediate counselling and
corrective measures must be sought from the appropriate authorities within the church, mosque, community or the state, because violence of any form was unacceptable.
Rev Ocran observed that some people believed in using threats to have their ways and so will use that in a relationship .
He said threats no matter the form should also not be encouraged because they were early warning signs for abuse.
He said to ensure peace in a marriage, couples should not fight or do things which could lead to fighting.
“Spouses should guard against unnecessary arguments which leads to a fight; if at the stage of friendship, dating and courtship there were signs which showed clearly that one partner enjoyed fighting or quarrelling, it is a ‘red flag’ of a potential abuser, so the relationship must not be encouraged to proceed “ he said.
The Former General Director said they married without pressure from anybody, not even their parents and, therefore, encouraged the youth to do same.
“When a relationship is established without love and proper foundations, it will suffer abuse. Sometimes marriages which begin well, will develop problems due to external pressures and then abuse sets in” he observed.
Rev Ocran advised couples to many when ready but should not yield to pressure with the idea that they were growing and so they should settle down.
He condemned acts of infidelity saying it should not be trivialised in relationships because faithfulness to one’s spouse was key to a successful marriage but the reverse was a major cause of abuse and compromised the peace in a home.
Rev Ocran advised persons who wish to get married to look out for signs such as the use of force, or anger by a partner to achieve their aims.
He said the use of force or anger to compell the other partner to isolate themselves from family and friends, stop work without a mutual consent, or restrict movements or access to basic needs, including health care should not be entertained.
He advised that those who wished to get married must be educated or acquired some skills to make them independent to support their spouse and children.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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