BY MAWUTODZI KODZO ABISSATH
KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT-
EULOGY TO THE FORMER UN SECRETARY-GENERAL
©2007 Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath
Koki Annan the Great
P.O.Box TU 111 TUC
Te: 0244 77 30 85
ISBN…………….
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of publisher.
Published by ………
Illustrated by ……….
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to all
African saints, philosophers,
Adepts and mystics, known
And unknown.
May their contributions
To the advancement of
Mankind be recognized
And appreciated
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my profound gratitude to
Mr. Kwame Ohene Asare who was the first person to read my script through, and was himself inspired to make a few suggestions and encouraged me to publish the book immediately.
I am equally indebted to ………without whose financial support the book would not have seen the light soonest.
I am, however, exclusively responsible for whatever shortcomings of the book.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction …………………………….
Kofi Annan the Great …………………..
But for You …………………………
Terrorists’ Phobia ………………………
Traditional African Akwaaba ………………
Crucifixion …………………………………….
The Birth of Kofi Annan the Great ………………
As Above So Below……………………
The Five Commandments of Kofi Annan the Great ………
INTRODUCTION
The chief purpose of the collection of these free verses
Is to eulogise the immediate past and seventh Secretary-General
Of the United Nations, Busummuru (Dr.) Kofi Annan.
In the opinion of this author, Dr.Kofi Annan
Is not only a hero, but a universal peace-maker,
An adept, a philosopher or perhaps, even a saint as well.
These verses constitute a modern version
Of traditional African praise singing poetry
In honour of deserving African heroes
In the true sense of African tradition.
The wisdom of our African ancestors
Is reflected in this proverb which says:
“If the palm fruit of your farm is not meaty
Or fleshy enough,
It is you yourself who must munch it
In such a ravishing fashion,
That others may even envy you.”
One question that has always tormented
My mind clockwise is:
Do we have African saints?
Do we have African philosophers?
Do we have African geniuses?
If yes, how are they documented for posterity?
If No, why not?
I am tempted to postulate that
If we, Africans do not know what is good for us,
Others may be prompted to dictate to us
What is bad for us.
It is high time Africans began to identify,
Recognise and acknowledge
Their own philosophers
So that come next 500 years,
The world will refer to them as African philosophers
As it’s being done today to Greek philosophers.
This anthology is to establish Kofi Annan
As an African philosopher
But not to deify him.
Thus the title of the book –
KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT.
Like the Master Jesus the Christ
Himself has demonstrated beyond doubt,
That no human being is perfect,
May I take the liberty to paraphrase him?
Let the one amongst you
Who is not entitled to his own opinion
On this planet of freedom of opinion,
Be the first to raise his first finger
To fire the first bullet of blasphemy
Against his fellow human being!
Even today after over 2000 years,
There are people in Jesus’ own natal town
Who do not believe his was the Messiah.
But that does not negate
What he had been,
What he came to do for man kind
And the fulfillment of his mission on earth.
Peace and Love be with you all.
Mawutodzi K. Abissath
KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT
ALL ye citizens of
All ye citizens of
All ye citizens of the world,
Who value human ingenuity,
Pay tribute to Kofi Annan,
The immediate Past UN Secretary-General;
For if he is not the second Moses
He must be the second Christ.
Kofi Annan is a humble soul
Kofi Annan is a philosopher
Kofi Annan is a modern prophet,
Sent unto the modern world
To shape the Creator’s vision
For the direction of His creation.
Kofi Annan has fulfilled his mission
In the United Nations
For the advancement of mankind .
With one voice, let’s chant in unison:
Kofi Annan the Great, Aaaayeeeeekoooooo!
Kofi Annan, we hail you
Kofi Annan, ye ma wo mmo
Kofi Annan, mie do dzaa nawo
Kofi Annan womli daboshi
Sande zua, Kofi Annan!
We thank you a thousand times
Ye da wo asi piiiiii
Mie da apke nawo kakakaka
Wo yio adom waaaaa
Mungoooode korei!
Kofi Annan, you,ve done
Great honour to
Kofi Annan,you’re
The pride of Africa
Kofi Annan,you’ve polished
The image of the black race
Kofi Annan,you’ve sacrificed
Your very life for human kind
Kofi Annan, you are a man
In whom the Creator is pleased,
For your service to humanity.
BUT FOR YOU
Kofi Annan, you’re a man of peace
But for you,
The world would’ve witnessed
The third world war
But for you,
But for you,
But for you,
But for you,
Kosovo would have been worse;
But for you,
But for you,
DR Congo would have been worse.
But for you,
But for you,
But for you,
But for you,
Bosnians would have been no more
But for you,
Would have all been no more!
Kofi Annan the Great,
You’re the tiny sparkling spark
That ignites the taper of world peace.
But for you,
The world would have experienced an inferno
Human suffering would have been worse
Refugee situation would have been worse
Children’s anguish would have been terrible
Women’s ordeal would have been horrible
Men’s gnawing of the teeth would have been miserable.
TERRORISTS’ PHOBIA
Kofi Annan the Great,
You’re the only man on earth,
World class terrorists fear most
You’re the only human being
Who commands the respect of
First class terrorists of our time
But for you,
Global terrorism would have been worse
But for you,
When the 9/11 occurred,
Multiple-9/11s would have followed suite
Throughout the face of the earth
On this planet of technology;
But for you,
When the World Trade Centre was gone,
The Pentagon would have gone
The seven wonders of the world would have gone
The pyramids on earth would have gone
All world heritages, preserved by UNESCO
Would have been going, going, and gone!
Oh, Kofi Annan the Great,
Humanity must bow before you
As for
As a true royal African King;
For you’re peaceful, graceful and blissful.
TRADITIONAL AFRICAN AKWAABA
Oh
Armed with the golden sword of victory;
Stand up in your palanquins or on your horses
And dance adowa, agbadza, kpanlogo and dambai
To say a profound AKWAABA to
Busummuru Kofi Annan the Great,
The supreme King of Kings of
On his triumphant return to
For he has survived the guns of
Busummuru Kofi Annan the Great,
Has outmaneuvered the bullets of East Timor
And dribbled the non-existing weapons of
Hail Kofi Annan the Great;
For he has fought a deadly battle and conquered.
Our African ancestors say:
“If you haven’t been to the war front,
You’ll say people didn’t fight.”
Oh Queen-Mothers of
Armed with white handkerchiefs,
With your naturally endowed backs,
Vibrate your smooth bumps,
And exhibit your talent to the tune of
Spray white powder onto the grey hairs of your son;
After all, it’s you who harboured him
In your womb for nine moons
And laboured in pain to deliver him
Unto the world with wisdom.
Oh noble Mama of
Your son, Busummru Kofi Annan the Great,
Has returned home with honour .
Kofi has come back home for good,
After over 40 years in the wilderness.
What a noble prodigal son he has been,
For his sojourn was for a good cause.
Present him with a calabash of water;
For his journey has been a long one.
Hug him with jubilation and say unto him:
“Kofi-ooo, aaatuuuu!” “Wo ye barima ampa!”
OKuni-ni Kofi, Oye Osagyefo ampara ampara!
You’re a brave man indeed! You’re a warrior!
CRUCIFIXION
Kofi Anna the Great,
Like Jesus the Christ,
Had had his fair share of crucifixion
In the execution of his mission.
When Jesus the Christ spoke the truth,
Wasn’t he vilified and crucified on the cross?
When Kofi Anna the Great
Questioned the legality
Of the invasion of
Wasn’t he vilified and crucified as well?
When his adult son was reported
To have erred in oil for food saga,
Didn’t the international media
Jump to conclusion,
Scrutinise and malign him?
Wasn’t he accused of complicity?
But like Jesus the Christ,
Kofi Annan the Great
Was acquitted and discharged
For no wrong doing.
Yet some people prefer Barabbas to Jesus.
Oh, Kofi Anna the Great!
Aren’t you the Christ of our time?
Aren’t you a universal man of peace?
Little wonder you won the Nobel Peace Prize
For Peace while in office?
You’ve gallantly carried your cross
Like the Master Jesus the Christ.
Those who may fail to recognise you today
Will dance and hail you tomorrow;
They will chant Hosanna
Halleluiah in memory of you
Two-thousand years to come;
Peacefully proceed on your retirement
And relax your soul with contentment
THE BIRTH OF KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT
One holy Friday in April 1938,
One charming Mama Africa,
Loving Mamas of
Like the Holy Mama of the world,
Humbly went on her knees
And presented him to the world
Free of charge and out of love.
Oh blessed black Queen of
Whether on the moon or in the tomb,
You harboured him in your womb
For long, long nine moons.
You laboured in severe pain
But delivered him in joyful gain.
You infused his being with wisdom
That he must lead slave souls to freedom.
Oh Mother of African saviour!
In the kingdom of heaven
Dwells your reward.
Kofi Annan the Great drew his first breath of life
In the city of gardens in the
And became a living soul on the soil of
His innocent Papa of
Like holy Papa the Kapinta,
Never suspected he was a sower of a tiny seed
That was to become a mighty tree;
The fruits of which was to feed
Beasts of forests and birds of heavens.
Oh Papa
Father of African saviour,
In the kingdom of heaven
Dwells your reward.
Oh Kofi Annan the Great!
You’ve honoured your Papa and Mama,
Long, long shall be your life,
As commanded in the Commandments of Moses.
So Be It – It is done!
AS ABOVE SO BELOW
Kofi Annan the Great,
Like the infant Jesus the Christ,
Lived among ordinary children in
His education began in Oguaa in
And ended in
Oh Omniscient Creator of heaven and earth!
Could there be any accident in Divine plans?
Is what’s written not written?
And as Above, not so Below?
Our African ancestors say:
“It is the Creator Who enthrones Kings.”
In 1997, the world endorsed him
To complete five remaining years
Of
Dr. Boutros-Boutros Ghali of
No sooner did he complete the five-year tenure
Than the entire globe was on its knees,
Pleading with Kofi Annan the Great
To help govern the world for another five years.
Why so?
Kofi Annan the Great was a man of Peace
His commitment to World Peace was clear
His devotion to duty was superb
His leadership quality was beyond compare
His human relation was outstanding.
Kofi Annan the Great was an icon of a soul
With sustained and humane diplomacy,
He restores trouble spots to normalcy.
Like the Master Jesus the Christ on the sea,
Whenever he raises up his hands, calm returns
To most stormy lands of conflicts and wars.
He did it in
Kofi Annan the Great is a human being,
As such he has his human limitations
Thus
The consequences are crystal clear
Sudan rejected his pleadings and massacred Darfur
Posterity will be the best judge
Like the Master Jesus the Christ,
Kofi Annan the Great has accomplished
His mission for which the Creator created him.
Into the hands of another UN Secretary-General,
Kofi Annan the Great relayed the torch
For the United Nations Secretary-Generalship
On
THE FIVE COMMANDMENTS OF
KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT
On Monday December11, 2006,
As part of his preparations to vacate
The UN royal throne, in the spirit of democracy,
Known in Ga as “mokoaya ni mokoaba,”
He delivered one of the most inspiring
Speeches in human history.
That speech was the epitome of wisdom
With which his coconut was pregnant,
Indicative of his links with the wisdom
Of his ancestors of African tradition.
The venue was at the Truman Library,
In the highlights of that terrific speech,
Which was released by his office on the Internet,
Kofi Annan the Great left a legacy to humanity.
That legacy which he himself simply termed as lessons:
Hear him:
“…When you leave one home for another,
There are always lessons to be learned.
And I had more to learn when I moved on
From
The indispensable common house
Of the human family, which has been
My main home for the last 44years.
“Today, I want to talk particularly about five lessons
I have learned in the last 10 years,
During which I have had the difficult
But exhilarating role of Secretary-General.
“…My first lesson is that, in today’s world,
The security of every one of us is linked
To that of everyone else.
Security must be collective and indivisible.
If we should pay merely lip service to
Inspiring ideas, and later do violence to
Simple justice, we would draw upon us
The bitter wrath of generations yet unborn.
And when I look at the murder, rape and starvation
To which the people of
I fear that we have not got far beyond ‘lip service.’
The lesson here is that high-sounding doctrines
Like the “responsibility to protect”
Will remain pure rhetoric unless and until those
With power to intervene effectively –
By exerting political, economic or,
In the last resort, military muscle –
Are prepared to take the lead.
“…My second lesson is that we are not only all responsible
For each other’s security.
We are also, in some measure, responsible
For each other’s welfare.
Global solidarity is both necessary and possible.
It is necessary because without a measure
Of solidarity, no society can be truly stable.
And no one’s prosperity truly secure.
That applies to national societies –
As all the great industrial democracies
Learned in the 20th century –
But it also applies to increasing integrated
Global market economy we live in today.
“…My third lesson is that both security
And development ultimately depend on
Respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Throughout history, human life has been
Enriched by diversity, and different
Communities have learned from each other.
But if our different communities are to live
Together in peace, we must stress also
What unites us: our common humanity,
And our shared belief that human dignity
And rights should be protected by law.
In short, human rights and the rule of law
Are vital to global security and prosperity.
“…My fourth lesson – closely related to the last one –
Is that governments must be accountable
For their actions in the international arena,
As well as in the domestic one.
Today, the actions of one state can
Often have a decisive effect on
The lives of people in other states.
So does it not owe some account
To those other states and their citizens,
As well as to its own?
I believe it does!
As things stand, accountability
Between states is highly skewed.
Poor and weak states are easily
Held to account, because
They need foreign assistance.
But large and powerful states,
Whose actions have the greatest impact
On others, can be constrained
Only by their own people,
Working through their domestic
Institutions.
“…My fifth and final lesson derives
inescapably from those other four.
We can only do all these things
By working together through
Multilateral systems,
And by making the best possible use
Of the unique instrument bequeathed
To us by Harry Truman and his contemporaries,
Namely the United Nations.
In fact, it is only through multilateral
Institutions that states can hold
Each other to account.
This applies particularly
To the international financial institutions,
Such as the World Bank and
The International Monetary Fund.
Developing countries should have
A stronger voice in these bodies,
Whose decisions can have almost
A life-or-death impact on their fate.
And it also applies to the U.N.
Security Council, whose membership
Still reflects the reality of 1945,
Not of today’s world…”
This vital legacy which,
Kofi Annan the Great himself,
Summed up as “Five Principles”,
Essential for future conduct
Of international relations are:
1. Collective Responsibility,
2. Global solidarity,
3. The Rule of Law,
4. Mutual Accountability and
5. Multilateralism.
With the power vested in me as Free Verse Poet,
Of the Twenty-first Century,
Like Moses of yester years,
I hereby invoke Article One of my poetic license
To poetise
And characterise
His vital principles as
THE FIVE COMMANDMENTS
OF KOFI ANNAN THE GREAT:
One:
Thou shall be responsible for each other’s security.
Two:
Thou shall grant everyone the chance to benefit from global prosperity.
Three:
Thou shall bear in mind that security and prosperity depend on human rights and the Rule of Law.
Four:
Thou shall ensure that all states are accountable to each other in their international conduct.
Five:
Thou shall not use multilateral power to suppress the poor and the weak, but to Be fair to all in the world of globalization.
Long live Kofi Annan the Great,
Long live
Long live
Long live United Nations!
