By Peter Olorunnisomo – Ghana once again had the privilege to call the world to witness the glory of another son of Africa born on her laps ever since Kwame Nkrumah was laid to rest. The man Kofi had stood colossal for Ghana and represented what could count for a new breed of African statesmanship for the world stage.
He was not just the first black to sit in that exalted UN office but did it in such a way that resounded legacies of diplomatic achievements just as like others his failures were human.
His final home call was a state pronouncement by Ghana to celebrate a Ghanaian son of Africa, a ceremony that drew world leaders and royalty to his native Ghana, and where young people especially are inspired by the distinguished diplomat who put their country on the world map.
The first United Nations secretary general from sub-Saharan Africa (1997 to 2006), Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2001 and founding member of The Elders, died on August 18 at the age of 80.
Kofi Atta Annan was born one of twins into a prominent family in Ghana’s second-biggest city of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region in 1938. His father was governor of Ashanti province under British colonial rule. He attended top schools in Ghana, the US and Switzerland.
On Wednesday, Annan’s family and Ghanaian dignitaries were among hundreds to file past his casket amid traditional rites by local chiefs and clan leaders.
Annan, a Ghanaian of Ashanti lineage, was granted a royal title by the Ashanti king in 2002. The elders said the rites, including presenting him with clothing and water, were necessary to clear the path for a peaceful “travel” for their royal.
Some mourners, like New York-based community mayor Delois Blakely, had flown long distances to pay their respects.
Blakely, who served as an ambassador of goodwill to Africa at the United Nations, told Reuters: “I had known and worked with Kofi for close to 10 years. He spent his life trying hard to fix our broken society.”
The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres shared a glowing tribute of the former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday at the state funeral ceremony which was attended by African leaders and international statesmen who hailed his record as an advocate for humanity and world peace.
Around 6,000 mourners packed the auditorium for Thursday’s official service – the climax of a multi-day funeral ceremony, which has seen his coffin, draped in the Ghanaian national colours, displayed for public viewing.
Current U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was among the dignitaries in attendance, alongside former Ghanaian presidents, the leaders of Ivory Coast, Liberia, Namibia and Niger, and the Crown Prince of Norway.
In an address, Guterres hailed Annan, who served as the seventh U.N. Secretary-General between 1997 and 2006, as an exceptional global leader with a deep faith in the role of the United Nations as a force for good.
“As we face the headwinds of our troubled and turbulent times, let us always be inspired by the legacy of Kofi Annan,” Guterres said.
“Our world needs it now more than ever,” he said.
The ceremony was projected onto big screens outside the auditorium for the crowds of mourners that could not fit inside the venue. Many commuters in the capital wore black as a sign of respect.
According to DW media who spoke to young people across the West African country, youths say they feel encouraged by Annan’s legacy despite the incredible hardship and obstacles to success that some of them face.
“You know our situation – we have financial difficulties and all that – so sometimes, growing up, you depend on your parents a lot, said Daniel Nkansah Ampapeng, a 26-year-old student from the Ashanti Region.
“Growing up in Ghana, you cannot survive on what your parents give you.”
“He is an inspiration to a lot of people. Looking at where he came from and where he landed, that is my inspiration, actually,” Afi Antonio, a 28-year-old fashion enthusiast from the Volta Region along the border with Togo, told DW.
In Ghana, where an estimated 57 percent of the population is under the age of 25, young people have a hard time finding jobs. Nearly half of the country’s rural youth have had no education, according to the 2015 Ghana Labour Force Report.
“It is very difficult, particularly if you didn’t grow up in a wealthy family, you have to struggle your way through and in Ghana it’s who you know,” said Dennis Dogbe, 32.
Antonio agreed. “No one is saying it is not difficult, but if you are determined and focused, you will get there.”
The many young people are entering local politics these days can learn from Annan, said Professor Kwame Prempeh, a governance analyst and director of the Center for Democratic Development.
“Especially in our politics that tends to be aggressive, very rivalrous, very us versus them. I think he really teaches us the value of thinking of all of us as belonging to the same team, working together to build that commonwealth called Ghana,” Prempeh said.
The actual background of the Ghanaian who made history at home, in Africa and the world is not known to most youth, historian Herbert Appiah Ofori told DW.
Ampaneng, who hails from Annan’s home region in Ghana, wants to be like him.
“Definitely, I am praying very hard to emulate his humbleness and to emulate his peaceful demeanor to achieve a very high position in future, maybe at the African Union, or basically on the Ghanaian political frontier,” he said
Annan’s funeral in the capital Accra was followed by a private burial service.
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