By Benjamin Adamafio Commey, GNA
Accra, Sept 15, GNA — A requiem mass to mark
one year anniversary in honour of the late Professor Atukwei Okai has been held
in Accra.
The solemn ceremony was held at the Accra
Ridge Church where the Professor before his demise a year ago, fellowshipped.
Hundreds of loved ones from all walks of
life including friends from the Diplomatic Corp, development partners, poets,
traditional leaders among others attended to pay homage in remembrance of him.
Delivering a sermon to commemorate the day,
Reverend Father Eric Owusu, Priest of
the Accra Ridge Church said the occasion should not only be treated as one in
honour of the late professor but an opportunity to reflect on daily lives
activity, adding that, it should encourage people to live a life worthy of
emulation.
He recalled that the late Professor Okai was
a humble and a pleasant person whose acts and actions depicted what he believed
in.
“It is a time to reminisce and reflect, to
recall the virtues of our father Professor Atukwei Okai, Pan Africans and
idealist. He gave his time, his talents to the things that he believed in;
public servant, the dedication, the honesty and integrity, the virtues we
recall that we so much lack today. It is the time to recall those virtues and
to reflect on our time and ask ourselves where we have gone wrong.
“We therefore celebrate him because of the
impact, the positives he made on our lives”, he said.
He advocated government and relevant
stakeholders to ensure the ideas and other relevant materials left for the
nation by such fallen heroes were institutionalised and celebrated.
Professor Okai was a celebrated poet and Pan
Africanist who dedicated his life to the advancement of Pan Africanism on the
continent and in the diaspora.
He held Masters Degree from major education
institutions from across the world, notably from the School of Slavonic, in the
United Kingdom, Gorky Literary Institute in Russia, among others and served in
different capacities of various state institutions and associations.
In 1982, he briefly served as the first
Regional Secretary of Accra and spear headed the enactment of the law
establishing the Greater Accra Region, as well as the Head of the Ga Dangme
Department of Education at the University of Education, Winneba in 2004.
Professor Okai was also a member of the
Ghana Society of Writers, a precursor to the current Ghana Association of
Writers and the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA).
He died on the 13th of July, 2018 aged 77
after a short illness.
GNA
