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Let us remember Kofi Annan
Kofi-Annan
There is a popular saying in Akan that ‘Onipa yε ade a, ᴐsε ayeyi’ which literally means any person who does a good thing de¬serves praise. Hence, Ghana¬ians in general have a culture of remembrance.
That is why Ghanaian names like Nana Yaa As¬antewaa, King Osei Tutu I, Okomfo Anokye, King Asamani, King Tackie Tawiah, Kwame Nkrumah, Jerry John Rawlings among others are but only a few of the names that stand tall amongst the numerous illustrious sons and daughters of mother Ghana.
They contributed im¬mensely to the progress of our beloved nation. These are names of our heroes and hero¬ines that will hardly be erased from our memories.
Nevertheless, Kofi An¬nan was one of such famous Ghanaians whose popularity extended to the length and breadth of the globe. It was therefore, no wonder that the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II conferred on him the high traditional title of ‘Bo¬sumuru’ Kofi Annan, when he was alive, for making not only Ghana proud, but also the whole of black skin Africa and beyond.
Now, let us learn who Kofi Annan was: Born in Kumasi, Ghana, on April 8, 1938, his parents were Henry Reginald Annan and Victoria Annan; both of blessed memory.
Brilliant as he was, young Kofi Annan was educated at Mfantsipim Secondary School, Cape Coast where he success¬fully completed his courses of study.
In 1958, he gained admis¬sion to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi.
In 1962, the United Na¬tions Organisation, otherwise known as U.N.O. employed him as Administration and Budget Officer.
In the course of time, he became Under Secretary General for the U.N.O peace keeping programmes.
His long service and experience in the U.N.O, coupled with his high sense of brilliance and integrity enabled him to gain absolute confidence of the U.N.O body to be the first person to be appointed from the U.N.O staff as Secretary General of the U.N.O.
He served for a two-term period in office, from 1997- 2005 and became the seventh U.N Secretary General since its inception in 1945.
Bosumuru Kofi Annan had great passion for human rights advocacy which was his greatest legacy for the world. This unfolded in two of his last addresses he gave at the meetings he addressed which I had the opportunity to cap¬ture on television documenta¬ries telecast to viewers.
The salient points of the addresses have been present¬ed below for the benefit of readers as the lifestyle of this eminent citizen of the country needs to be emulated by our present generation.
In his capacity as the sev¬enth U.N Secretary General and a former post-graduate student of Massachusetts In¬stitute of Technology (M.I.T), he spoke eloquently about the following.
Boston Class of 1997
1. He applauded those who stood behind them both physically and spiritually to enable them; then as students in 1997 to successfully pursue their courses of study.
2. Whilst a student of the Institute, he learnt manage¬ment skills that helped him to achieve his goal.
3. In his days in the Insti¬tute, there were no women amongst them but happily as he was speaking on that day, there were several women amongst the latest batch of the students present.
4. According to him, to live is to choose and one has to choose wisely. He considered any challenges that came to him as ways of finding means to improve his life.
5. He lamented about suf¬fering of humanity, especially children dying of hunger due to wars in countries like Cam¬bodia and other places.
6. He continued that, in 1996, the U.N General Assem¬bly applied a ban on weapons of scourge but in spite of that, other states were seeking means to bring back these weapons of devastation of human lives.
7. Education: Being a role model to the African youth education, he advocated for universal education of our children. He held the view that it was not necessary that all children should obtain University Education.
He said other children could be given skillful edu¬cation like trade, technical; so that after their course of study, they could establish their own works or industries.
Addressing U.N workers in a country
He said he was so happy to be with them. That the U.N members are to reach out to the people. We talk of a glob¬al village. We need to have common values. As citizens of global village, we need to reach out to the people; ie in our communities, we should come together to do things that can improve our commu¬nities.
As individuals, we are not powerless. We have power when things are getting out of hand. We should come to¬gether to make things better to improve the lives of our communities.
We need to listen to one another for our own educa¬tion; and concerns of others must be adhered to. It is always rewarding to share experience with others. Real peace building is prevention of conflict or violence. We should find out how to ensure young people are well repre¬sented in political administra¬tion of our countries.
Kofi Annan’s last interac¬tion with Ghanaians; cap¬tured on Joy TV on Saturday, 15/09/2018
“We need to build strong teams. When they are em¬powered to work and they shine, you as a leader will also shine.”
In hard moments, you look for support from your team, both physically and spiritu¬ally. Life starts from home, school, communities, locality, district, region, nationally and internationally. Therefore, in our own locality, when there is something wrong, we should all come together to share ideas to enable us solve the problem.
Quotes of Kofi Annan
• “Any attempt to change clause of veto power of the seven U.N.O Super Na¬tions of the Security Council, could generate acrimony, antagonism and animosity.”
The Seven Veto Power Super Nations of The U.N.O are Britain, America, Canada, Germany, France, Russia and China
2. “Whereever we live it is ideal to confront ignorance with knowledge.”
• “I have always be¬lieved that on international issues, the leaders must lead. We have the means of dealing with political issues if only we have the political will”
Interventions
1. He was responsible for certifying Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
• He helped to settle the dispute between Cam¬eroon and Nigeria over the Bakasi Peninsular awards: In 2001, he was awarded Noble Peace Prize jointly with the U.N.
He was also awarded the Indira Gandhi Order of the Star of Romania and several other awards.
Death and funeral
He died in Bern, Switzer¬land, on 18/08/2018, at the age of 80years. His mortal remains were flown to Ghana.
The Government held a befitting state funeral in his memory from September 10 -13, 2018, at the forecourt of the State House, Accra, Gha¬na. May his soul continue to rest in eternal perfect peace in the bosom of his maker, Amen.
Marriage:
He was survived by a wife, Nane Kofi Annan and two children; Kojo Annan and Ama Annan.
Tributes
• By former President of the U.S Mr Barak Obama
“Long after he had broken barriers, Kofi never stopped his pursuit of a better world and made time to motivate and inspire the next genera¬tion of leaders.”
• By Rev. Bro. Pious Agyeman:
Bosumuru Kofi Annan brought honour not only to Ghana but Africa in general. His vision was without peace, there cannot be progress for humanity.
Hence, he called for co-operation among countries of the world and that human rights of all persons of the world regardless of race or colour must be principally upheld.
• He gained the high re¬spect of both the members of the U.N and countries of the world despite his black Africa skin.
By a concerned citizen, J.K Tetteh- Kpodjie
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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