to know what was Kontopiat and they said to me that there is a Professor at the University of Ghana who has been writing things and he said something about Kontopiat. Mr. Speaker, that is where I got to hear about him.
Mr. Speaker, then I went to secondary school and I started reading history and I came to hear a bit more about him. It went on to the extent that his book, “Topics in West Africa History” -- I have grown a bit so I cannot recite it -- Mr. Speaker, I could start from page 1 of the book to the very last page of the book and tell whatever was in there. I still remember the section where he wrote that Ghana empire like its successors the states of Mali and Songhai rose to fame, prosperity and power for the following reasons - and Mr. Speaker, I could itemize all the reasons Mr. Speaker, that was Professor Adu Boahen's influence on some of us.
Mr. Speaker, it was also the case that I really wanted to read history at the university because of Professor Adu- Boahen. Incidentally when I got in there, there were other influences and I ended up at the Law Faculty where, indeed, I met one of Professor Adu Boahen's children, Samuel Adu Boahen who was my mate. Of course hon. Benjamin Kunbuor was also there so he knows that.
Mr. Speaker, then I left the country to England.
The first time we met Professor Adu Boahen was in 1993 just after the elections and as hon. Member for Kumawu (Mr. Yaw Baah) indicated, Mr. Speaker, some of us were surprised. We were shocked because we had heard about the famous speech - “How the Culture of Silence
was Broken” and Mr. Speaker, we saw the man who broke the culture of silence and we asked ourselves, “How could this man have stood up to the bestiality that was going on in the country?” We were full of admiration for him. Mr.. Speaker, he spoke and thereafter he left.
Mr. Speaker, I know that by his death, history students, historians, and researchers have lost a great deal. Mr. Speaker, I also do know that his death will not be in vain, if only because he was the person to break the culture of silence, journalists, media practitioners, politicians, Mr. Speaker, we are all better of because of Professor Adu Boahen. Who knows how many of these radio stations, the FM stations would have been churning out the kind of things that they are churning out? Who knows how many of these papers, some of which, Mr. Speaker, with respect, I will call gutter press -- [Laughter] -- May the Almighty Lord keep the Professor in His blissful arm because death is a necessary end and, Mr. Speaker, it comes when it will come. God be with him and he should rest in His own blissful arms till we all meet up with him. Professor, Damirifa due and dayie. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker.
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs,
National Integration and NEPAD (Mr. Akwasi Osei-Adjei): Thank you very much. I am the Member of Parliament for Ejisu Juaben where Professor Adu Boahen comes from or came from. Mr. Speaker, in fact, he was a good constituent. I never had the opportunity of him teaching me at the History Department of the University of Ghana but I came to know Professor Adu Boahen in 1992 when I was a parliamentary candidate for Ejisu Juaben and I was introduced to him and the first thing, like he asked hon. S. K. B. Manu, was “Do you think you are up to this job?” and I said “Prof. I will try my best.”
Mr. Speaker, from then on this man
became my father, my mentor, my everything. Just like an hon. Member said, that he is not quite sure of the boycott, if he led it, perhaps to him, the inference is, he is not sure whether it was a good decision. But Mr. Speaker, we shall leave it to posterity; history will judge whether it was a good thing. But for me, it was the best decision at that time. Mr. Speaker, not that we boycotted it, but there were committees which were working to ensure that Ghana's democracy was deepened and Ghana's democracy continued.
Mr. Speaker, because of the boycott, a lot of things came to light which hon. Balado Manu mentioned but he did not mention examples. Through the boycott we were able to have what we call the Inter-party Advisory Council; through the boycott we had what we call the transparent ballot box which we are having today; through the boycott we were able to have what we call a level playing field so that every political party will have the chance of winning elections.
And I believe, Mr. Speaker, in Africa here, it is not that easy that opposition parties win elections. Even in the developed economies, opposition parties normally do not win; one party will stay in for years and years and years before another party comes up. But look at us now in Ghana, we changed governments through the ballot box. Another government came and my hon. Friends opposite have the confidence that maybe some time, some day, they will come back to government. But Mr. Speaker, this is the result of what Professor Adu Boahen stood for.
The changes he made to ensure that we have full confidence in our electoral system, in balloting so that no one man can one day pick up a gun and go and stand at the radio stations and abolish Parliament,
abolish the Presidency, leave the courts and other institutions not working and yet you find the lawyers and other people running to them secretly in the night and then forming kangaroo governments and kangaroo courts in Ghana here. I do not think, Mr. Speaker, it will work these days because of what he believed in. He instilled confidence in our body-politic so that we would know that each party has an opportunity of forming a government once the people accept it to be the legitimate party.
Mr. Speaker, he is gone. The people of Juaben whom I represent are today mourning and a lot of hon. Friends are here saying only Kontopiat -- No, in Juaben, he has another nick name which is atiko and if hon. Members take the advantage of attending the funeral, before they get to Juaben there will see that there is a small stream on the left, there is a small pot on the left too with a stool there and that is atiko. I hope that on their way back, they would just bow their heads to atiko and then at the same time bow their heads to Prof. Adu Boahen as the man of peace, the man of wisdom, the man of courage and the man of humility.
Mr. Speaker, we wish him fare-thee- well.
The people of Ejisu Juaben are mourning him; the people of Ashanti are mourning him; the people of Ghana are mourning him; and the people of Africa in general are mourning him. In fact, the whole world would mourn Professor Albert Kwadwo Adu Boahen. I thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
