Opinions of Monday, 23 January 2023

Columnist: Fiifi Ofori

‘Son of Man’ and the cathedral

North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

“In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen” translated as “In Thy Light, We Shall See Light,” is the motto of Presbyterian Boys Secondary School aka PRESEC-Legon, located somewhere in Accra, Ghana. Psalm 36:9; “For with Thee is the Fountain of Life, In Thy Light, We Shall See Light.”

God created man and woman in His/Her own image, they in turn created the devil. The devil aka Satan who would later be referred to by the mythological name Lucifer is in Ghana.

Here, I speak of Lucifer the noun which was adopted into Christianity after John Milton’s epic poem ‘Paradise Lost,’ and not the more generous name of Lucifer associated with the Planet Venus which means ‘Morning Star.’

Presec-Legon, the alma mater of the Honorable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa otherwise known as ‘Son of Man’ by many young Presecans of yesteryears and much later by some students at the University of Ghana, Legon where he was a resident and affiliated with the Commonwealth Hall aka Vandal-City.

The ‘Son of Man’ currently a member of parliament for the North Tongu constituency in the Volta Region and presently Chief Investigator on all things Cathedral could be described as a ‘Samuel’ of our time much like his fearless uncle, the venerable Sam Okudzeto, the onetime president of the Ghana Bar Association under the military junta of Chairman Rawlings and the mercenary Captain Kojo Tsikata who once served on the same battlefield in Angola with Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara.

Samuel Awuku Okudzeto, one of the founders of the National Alliance of Liberals and a staunch Anti-UNIGOV campaigner under the Acheampong regime was a Samuel of his time.

‘Son of Man,’ a Visual Arts student and one-time Scripture Union Vice-President while attending Presec-Legon would also double as an executive of the Student Representative Council (SRC) on the same campus. He would later proceed to become the NUGS president at the University level besting the vibrant James Kwabena Bonfeh by fewer than 10 votes.

The Honorable Okudzeto Ablakwa a Samuel of our time just like Koku Anyidoho another Samuel of our time who decided not to sit idly by when the resting place of our dear professor, H.E John Evans Atta Mills was left to rot with everybody else looking on like ostriches. Like the tirades against Ablakwa, members of the NDC and some so-called family members kept disturbing our ears with unnecessary rants about who had the right or not to help renovate the Asomdwe Park.

Like Okudzeto Ablakwa’s yeoman’s job on the National Playboys-Grotto aka Cathedral, Sam Anyidoho did a yeoman’s job on the facelift of Asomdwe Park choosing to lobby the sitting government and opponents of his political party to help fund such a project. Regardless of his motivation, Koku Anyidoho did God’s work for Mother Ghana akin to Ablakwa’s work he is doing on all issues Cathedral.

After all, H.E Mahama’s NDC government was in power for 4 years and chose/forgot to turn Asomdwe Park which was fast becoming ‘Ateetee’ Park (Twi for Disturbance Park) into Paradise for our dear great professor, H.E JEA Mills. Here, credit must be given to the Akufo-Addo administration as well and to ‘The Short-Man’ himself for coming through firstly for President Atta Mills dear friend to onetime Senior Minister and Ghana’s Finance Minister Nana Yaw Osafo-Maafo.

Secondly, ‘The Short-Man’ must be commended for choosing to assist the Atta Mills Institute in their quest to turn Asomdwe Park from a mortuary to paradise such that Professor John Evans Atta Mills could have peace in death.

Peace eluded him as President and Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces due to ill earth.

Thirdly, H.E. Akufo-Addo and his government must be commended for coming through for Mother Ghana.

Interestingly, there was another Samuel, Atta Mills, hopping from one radio station to another with his silly American accent as claimed some people parroting some garbage akin to the garbage called the gospel brought to us by some so-called missionaries who came to leave us some edited book called the ‘Holy Bible’ only to end up with everything else but the Bible on their ships when returning home.

That Samuel, President Mills’ junior brother would be the definition of what we Rastas term a ‘Babylonian;’ similar to the Dishonorable Ken Ofori-Atta currently steering Ghana’s economy from one ditch into another.

This man Samuel and so-called blood brother of our dear late President Mills would probably make us believe that he wasn’t in Ghana during the first Mahama administration or never visited his cherished brother’s graveyard, nor was he in Ghana during the first term of the Akufo-Addo administration and saw the terrible state in which our dear late professor’s burial site had become.

Again, the man Samuel Atta Mills is like Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ for a mere 30 shillings or pieces of silver except here one could not really tell exactly what prize the junior was shooting for, for which reason he kept making a whole bunch of unnecessary noise during that period.

If he so cares and considers himself the custodian of all things Atta Mills, then Samuel Atta Mills should know that the Atta Mills Library on Castle Road in Cape Coast is fast deteriorating and in dire need of renovations. The earlier he lobbies anyone for help in uplifting the place, the better it shall be for all of us. Such characters like the above-mentioned name and the executives of Ghana’s National Playboys-Grotto are what we the young and growing members of the ‘Nation of Ghana’ aka Mount Zion seek to banish from our Land soon.

Ghana Nyigba translated ‘Land of Ghana’ (Ewe language) is a beautiful place with great men and women; Flawed humans but with good hearts and minds seeking to do the right thing for our dear country Ghana. Great men like Samuels Okudzeto Ablakwa, Koku Anyidoho and Awuku of NLA, and great women like Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuor currently with Hollard as a manager doing God’s work in the Insurance arena.

All of them trying their best to bring significant improvements to Mother Ghana. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa aka ‘Son of Man’ has risen; Let all of God’s people shout Hallelujah!

In Honor of our almae matres/alma-maters, Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC-LEGON) and Akosombo International School (A.I.S); And in remembrance of our dear brother Maxwell Adam aka Major Maxwell Mahama from House No C.24 in the suburb of Akosombo called Mess, who paid the ultimate price of death while serving his country.

God Bless Our Homeland Ghana. Truth is our Light and We Rest Not; Truth Stands and We Fear Not, GYE-NYAME!

fiifiofori@gmail.com