Before writing this piece, we were hesitant. Not so much because we were afraid of being inaccurate, but because we didn’t want to hurt the sensibility of our friend, Kwabena Boadu who could best be described as a man of words.
He sparingly spoke in public not because he wasn’t a good speaker. He had always loved to be in the back room piecing strategies together. One’s gravest mistake in any political competition would be to have as an opponent.
The surgical manner he implemented some of his strategies passed him for a deep and thorough thinker.
We meticulously thought through these questions:
What if our late friend would object to being made the subject of discussion in Ghana? To whom is our duty towards, our friend or the reader?
We were later to realise that it wasn’t so much about what Boadu would think about the article. It was because we didn’t want to be overwhelmed by the emotion evoked by the news of his passing on Thursday.
We’ve had several conversations with Boadu since he was appointed Press Aide to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate of NPP’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Often, they have bothered around the challenges of leadership in Ghana, its future and that of the youth. He had been concerned about how the nation would wean itself from the current economic morass.
Kwabena Boadu would often berate current student leaders for being sloppy in their decisions and actions in the country. He believed the standard of student leadership has fallen.
The days when student leaders served as the conscience of their colleagues and Ghanaians have been lost, he often lamented.
The first book Boadu got my co-author Kwabena Brako-Powers was Basil Davidson’s book, “The Blackman’s Burden” bought from the University of Ghana Bookshop.
He was a voracious reader. He had the hyperactive reading skill with which he could complete over 200 pages of a book in two days or three. His policy was to always allocate a percentage of his salary for personal development and this saw him investing hugely in books.
Kwabena Boadu would not mind sleeping on an empty stomach as far as he had something reading.
There are many former student leaders of University of Ghana who were endeared to him because of his regular articles which had the byline “Red Army.”
It was impossible to bypass an article authored by Boadu no matter how yawning the gap of disagreement between the two of you was. These articles were often posted on notice boards of Akuafo, Commonwealth, Mensah Sarbah and Legon Halls.
Becoming a public official wasn’t one of Kwabena’s wishes. His main wish had been to see Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia become First and Second Gentlemen of Ghana respectively. Boadu was convinced a government led by Mr Akufo-Addo would do a good job.
If you had known him, you would recall that Boadu was not that individual who would follow anybody just because the person is infatuated with a political position. He would SWOT anyone who came his way.
From 2010 till Thursday, November 24, 2016, when he was found dead in his hotel room in Wa in the Upper West Region, he had been thinking about some of the inevitable aspects of life. Boadu had written about death which he said was “specially made for everyone special” and about judgment day as captured in the Bible.
We are confident the only news that would sadden Kwabena Boadu wherever he is right now would not be news about his sudden death but rather the unlikely failure of Dr Bawumia to become the Vice President of Ghana.
If there’s any befitting farewell the supporters and leadership of the NPP will give to their former compatriot it must be about ensuring the party emerges victorious in the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Although he would not be part of the jubilation and celebration, he would feel accomplished because of his deep seated believe in Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia.
Sri Chinmoy wrote that “Death is not the end; Death can never be the end; Death is the road. Life is the traveler. The soul is the guide”
A certain 24th November has afflicted us with undiminished agony. A life too fresh, too inspiring, too promising has been shortened by cruel death. Kwabena Boadu, a brother, a confidant, a friend, and an advisor to many.
He was a young chap with profound traits of intelligence, caring, calmness, tolerance, patience, and a bridge-builder. From his days at the University of Ghana where he was the press secretary to the SRC, through to his days as a personal assistant to Dr. Bawumia, Vice presidential candidate of the NPP, Boadu lived a modest and simple life. Kwabena Boadu has left us far too soon.
We can only pray to the GOD of Zion to extend HIS favor to the soul of our loving brother and comrade. To this end, we join the psalmist in saying:
This is what the LORD says
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, (24) but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,”declares the Lord. – Jeremiah 9: 23-25
Kwabena, nanteyie!
Boadu, dayie
Damirifa due dueduedue ne amanehunu!!!
The authors Frank Odeifuor Ababio (U.S.A) and Austin Brako-Powers (Ghana)
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