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Eulogy of the Late First President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana

By Dr. med. E. K. Poku
Eulogy of the Late First President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana
23.01.2021 LISTEN

We Africans, Ghanaians, have been lucky to have had this dedicated and a talented leader as a leader.

I shall do my utmost to bring President Rawlings to life for you and give you something to remember about him.

He hated hate and loved love. He was full of love and kindness.

I remember vividly well an evening at the Castle, he invited renowned architects from Cuba, Spain, Germany and a few others to discuss about low-cost housing. It was about building materials including the niche of corrugated sheets in building Africa.

During a break President Rawlings in his blue jeans went to the Castle kitchen and prepared cups of tea and sandwiches for all of us. The mere thought that the gentlemen could be tired and required something to refresh themselves was brilliant. What may appear to someone as an obvious gesture was a demonstration of kindness, thoughtfulness and care.

Another example of care was when he ordered the Ghana Airways to delay their flight schedule until I could catch the plane. I had been offered a taste of his chicken groundnut soup. The soup that has been prepared for me demonstrates care.

I have tried to describe and give examples of his human side.

Now, turning to his mission, I say mission, because there he was ruthless - ruthless about his fight for justice, equality, and against racism and against corruption. Corruption, his greatest enemy, has raised its ugly head again.

In our lifetime we have all been witness to the devastating effects of corruption in our society. Both ruling parties, the NDC and the NPP, are accusing each other of the very thing Rawlings spent his entire life fighting against.

Such a “name and shame” never happened in Rawlings’ time of leadership in Ghana.

For two Presidents, a former and a recent, to be openly accused of this serious crime, make his excesses against those who during his time committed similar crimes against the poor citizens of Ghana justified.

President Rawlings was kind and full of love. He lived and died for this aptitude. He will forever be remembered for his dedication, love and desire to make Ghana a better place for all.

There will be people who will criticise his actions openly or behind our back, but whatever future generations might or might not say about him, there is but one indisputable fact.

A fact that will stand out as a symbol of exceptionalism for him and thus Ghana and Africa.

A fact that will have a lasting impact on our inner political hygiene.

A fact that will have a lasting impact on our political and cultural standing, our reputation in the world.

Since the ages of the ancient Roman Republic a Eulogy was waiting to say these words:

Never in the entire history of mankind has there been a Dictator who gave his imperial staff back to the People, back to the Republic, peacefully – and twice !

For many centuries to come this truth will ring:

This is the measure of man; this is how we must weigh our actions from now on. All of them.

His family was quite as dedicated as he was. A happy family equally with all the small faults we all share as human beings, but a deep sense of dedication and duty to the public.

I once said he sought and found the right partner which resulted in the beautiful children. Is Yaa Asantewaa more beautiful than Amina ? The answer is no. Is Amina more beautiful than Zanetor ? No. How about Kamathi. It's all Gods blessing. President Rawlings deserved all that. He was a good man.

What is it that people loved him so much ? It is that he loved and was loved.

I recently saw on the internet the talented footballer son of Abedi Pele crying like a child when he heard of Rawlings' demise.

I personally feel his death could be described truly as an untimely death.

He liked to cook and he liked to fly jet planes and he did all this excellently.

He did not always love for he hated, too, and he hated injustice. He identified it and he fought it. In all he lived for others even if it meant destroying something to achieve justice.

President Rawlings lived and died for our sins. Recent events in Ghana prove him right. The two leading parties of our country in the year 2020 have been found wanting. This should be a lesson to all, that the fight must still go on. We need a third party, an alternative, to continue his mission.

The family, friends and I shall forever miss him above all for his love for the fellow man.

He was a man of love and kindness and dedication for his fellow man. Time will prove him right. May he rest in peace.

His relation to Africans and people of African descent was excellent;

rooted in the suffering of our horrible past, his refusal to ever give in to an unfair status quo, he trusted it will eventually lead to our shared success as a people beyond race, religion, borders and nations.

He was well respected in all capitals of Africa. The President could be described as one of African Greats.

I remember his cordial relationship to African-American celebrities like Michael Jackson and others.

He condemned the trans-Atlantic slave trade as evil and his stand on colonialism is well documented.

His unbending anti-Apartheid stand and thus support for the ex-President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, his co-operation with the late President of Libya, Muammar Ghaddafi, show his sincere involvement in Pan-African affairs.

Nelson Mandela and the fight for freedom in South Africa were also part of this his true passion.

Which such credentials President Rawlings fulfilled his duties as a Great of Africa.

There are too many stories of his rich life to share, so let us just say, he will be remembered as a freedom fighter of the highest degree.

I myself shall remember him for one thing and that is Love. Dr. Edward Kwame Poku, M.D.

Consultant Physician Specialist

Germany

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