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