Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor – Ten Years On

Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor - Professor of comparative literature, award-winning poet, diplomat, statesman!

Ten years ago, the world woke up to the shocking attack by Al-Shabab terrorists in Nairobi that claimed the life of Ghana’s Prof. Kofi Awoonor, among others. On 30th December 2023, the Awoonor family organized a celebratory event themed “Remembering Kofi Awoonor.”

Present to share fond memories of the former Chairman of the Council of State in the Mills Presidency were family, comrades, students, and friends. Notable names included Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyeman, the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) 2020 running mate, former Education Minister, and Awoonor’s student, his cousin the renowned lawyer Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi, an academic and Awoonor’s political associate, Kiki Gbeho, a niece and diplomat with the United Nations, Prof. Ernest Dumor, former CEO of the National Identification Authority, Ambassador Victor Gbeho, University Registrars Mr. A. T Konu and Mr. Kofi Siabi Mensah, Hon. Juliana Azumah Mensah, former Minister of Tourism, former Chief of Staff Prosper Bani, Hon. Henry Ametepe, former Volta Regional Minister, and Kyeretwie Opoku, among others.

A man of solid African traditions, the occasion witnessed Prof. Kofi Anyidoho, another renowned poet and Awoonor's cousin, invoking the blessings of the ancestors in the company of other family members including Dr. Koku Awoonor, Prof. Awoonor’s younger brother. Prof. Anyidoho also announced the winners of the Kofi Awoonor literary prize – David Agyei-Yeboah and Novisi Dzitrie. The prize was instituted by the Awoonor family in partnership with the English Department of the University of Ghana, Legon.

Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi briefly reflected on Prof. Kofi Awoonor's significant roles in the formation of the National Convention Party in 1992, its subsequent merger with the NDC and the decision to partner President Rawlings with the NCP's Kow Nkensen Arkaah as running mate for the 1992 Presidential elections. Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi fondly recalled Kofi Awoonor’s fluency in the Fante language and described him as a committed patriot. Together, they articulated the social democratic credentials of the National Democratic Congress, with their proposals later being adopted at Congress and incorporated into the NDC Constitution. Sadly, their resolve to review the original social democracy proposal, weeks before Awoonor’s demise, got truncated by the tragic events in Nairobi.

What type of lecturer was Kofi Awoonor? The type that inspired his students to go beyond the formal requirements of course readings, encouraging them to embrace critical discourses around social injustices. Addressing these, Prof. Jane Opoku-Agyeman recalled Prof Awoonor’s promptings for them to read Karl Marx, Engels and others.
Hon. Dzifa Gomashie, MP for Ketu South, and also a veteran actress, producer, and screen scriptwriter did a passionate rendition of Awoonor's poem "The Sea Eats The Land at Home" written in 1964 but with retained relevance in 2024, given the ongoing natural disaster in the Anlo coastal towns.

In Awoonor’s words,
“It is a sad thing to hear the wails,
And the mourning shouts of the women,
Calling on all the gods they worship,
To protect them from the angry sea”

Providing a family perspective, Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata distilled three key lessons: namely Efo Kofi's deep connection to his cultural roots, his love for his nuclear, extended, and political families, and his deep affection for and appreciation of Esther Cobbah, Tsatsu's beautiful wife.
Amidst fancy traditional and continental cuisine and drinks, the Ghana Dance
Ensemble elevated matters many notches higher, ushering in an irresistible agbadza-fest that got most patrons on their feet, dancing.

Personally, the occasion invoked fond memories of my old senior friend whose invitation to "lunch at home" I somehow never fulfilled, at least not until ten years after the fact. And this perhaps, explains my gratitude to the entire Kofi Awoonor family for the honor done to me through their kind request for me to moderate the anniversary ceremony. For me, Prof Awoonor was a man with the courage of his own convictions which he diligently followed through various life roles.

He called out his courage and summed up his convictions best when he said,
“When the final night falls on us
As it fell upon our parents,
We shall retire to our modest home
Earth-sure, secure
That we have done our duty by our people
We met the challenge of history
And we were not afraid”

Our challenge then may be one of distilling our core purpose and contributions to life here on earth and simply getting to it right away while staying consistent. May Prof's erudite and amiable soul rest in perfect peace.