Tourism Ministry consoles family of Prof Atukwei Okai

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Creative Arts has extended its deepest condolences to the family of the late Prof Atukwei Okai, Secretary General of the Pan-African Writers Association (PAWA), for their loss.

It said Prof Okai died at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra on Friday, July 13 after a short illness. He was 77.

In a statement issued and signed by Mrs Afeku and copied to BEATWAVES, it stated that the ministry heard about the shocking news last week and it shares the grief the family members are going through.

The ministry, on behalf of the government and people of Ghana, stated that they are behind the family of the late professor in this trying moment.

It said Prof Okai for 47 uninterrupted years succeeded in transforming poetry from a dry, uninteresting classroom subject avoided by many a student into one of the most widely embraced art forms pursued as a career by talented and ambitious youths.

“With his first collection, 'The Oath of the Fontomfrom' published in 1971, though arguably his best known collection, 'Logorligi Logarithms' in 1974 and later works such as 'Mandela The Spear', 'A Slim Queen In A Palanquin' and 'A Pawpaw On A Mango Tree', among others, he established himself as one of Africa's most influential writers and artists.”

The statement said the musicality of his poetry and his style of juxtaposing his native Ga and English made poetry come alive, endearing him to both, young and old.

The statement pointed out that the ministry testifies that Ghanaian culture has been made richer because of him.

It said, “Ghana would forever remain indebted to him for being one of the nation's cultural experts, an ambassador who represented Ghana in many parts of the world through the translation of his works into several languages, including Russian, Spanish, German, Arabic, French and Italian.”

The statement described the late professor as an unapologetically Pan-Africanist, a fearless social commentator and a national critic.

As a cultural activist, he was one of the pillars on whom the Ghana Culture Forum rested, a movement whose efforts are contributing to pushing culture from the periphery into the mainstream of national development.

It said much earlier in the 1980s, Prof Okai invested his energies into growing the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) into a creative force.

It assured that the ministry is behind the family in thought and prayer and would be in consultation with the family and other stakeholders in the artistic and cultural fraternity to roll out plans to give this great gift to Africa a befitting celebration of life.