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14.09.2018 Politics

Sad Moments As The World Sees Off First Black African UN Secretary-General

By George Tubei - pulse.com.gh
Sad Moments As The World Sees Off First Black African UN Secretary-General
14.09.2018 LISTEN

World leaders, distinguished diplomats, African Presidents and ordinary Ghanaians alike today all converged at Accra, Ghana to bid farewell to Kofi Annan, one of the most distinguished diplomat and the first black African to hold the United Nations secretary-general post.

Mourners dressed in traditional black and red attire filled the main hall of the Accra Conference Centre, which sits about 4,000 people and others watched the funeral proceedings on a giant screen in an auditorium just outside the hall.

The former queen of the Netherlands, Princess Beatrix, and her daughter-in-law Princess Mabel, who were close friends of Annan, were among the mourners.

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Clergymen pray over the coffin of former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, draped with Ghana's flag. (Fox News)

As the funeral proceeding went on, millions of mourners worldwide followed the proceeding online and kept sending their condolences.

Speaking at the funeral, current UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said Annan was an exceptional leader who saw the UN 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," Mr Guterres said.

"Our world needs it now more than ever," he added.

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Current U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, left, pays his respects by the coffin (Fox News)

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo described Annan as "one of the truly iconic figures of modern times".

"The outpouring of tributes from the world over is an accurate measure of the man, a man who gave his life to making peace where there was conflict, to defending the voiceless who were powerless, to promoting virtue where there was evil," he said.

The Anglican bishop of Annan's home city of Kumasi in central Ghana, the Most Reverend Daniel Sarfo, said Annan had fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

"Today history is being made in Ghana. One of our illustrious sons is lying here.

"But we are grateful that God used him over the years to work for humanity, for peace. Today, as he lies here, he has finished his work."

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Mourners dressed in traditional black and red attire filled the main hall of the Accra Conference Centre, which sits about 4,000 people and others watched the funeral proceedings on a giant screen in an auditorium just outside the hall. (Prothom Alo)


Annan's nephew Kojo Amoo-Gottfried read a eulogy, describing how he had led a hunger strike in his secondary school to protest against the quality of food in the dining hall.

Annan's widow, Swedish lawyer and artist Nane Maria Annan gave a moving tribute and described how her husband was always excited to return home.


She thanked Ghana for giving the world such an extraordinary man.

"His legacy would live on through his foundation and through all of us," she concluded.

Annan was the UN secretary-general from 1997 to 2006, the first black African to hold the world's top diplomatic post.

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H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria at the funeral service of Kofi Annan. (Twitter)

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for helping to revitalise the international body, during a period that coincided with the Iraq War and the HIV/Aids pandemic.

He died on 18 August in Switzerland at the age of 80.

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Kofi Annan died on 18 August in Switzerland at the age of 80. (amagep.)

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