TRIBUTE TO PROF. KOFI NYIDEVU AWOONOR

I won’t pretend to have known the late Prof. Kofi Awoonor that well. I know as little as many people do, mostly through his literary works and his role within Ghana’s political sphere.

My first introduction to the Prof’s works was in Senior Secondary School, during my core English class. As part of the syllabus, students were expected to read African poetry and the study book featured some of his works.

Despite African poetry being a bit weird in my ears (honestly when poems are mentioned it was the Shakespearean versions that hit home), I really enjoyed it because I could relate to the thematic outpourings in the anthology.

Kofi Awoonoor’s poem ‘The Cathedral’ became a favourite of mine for some inexplicable reason. And since then my admiration for his works became something in the realm of a halo light. His poems are lush (in language) and ‘unpleasant’ as it challenges popular notions especially modern religion. A reader of his works could feel the brute, honest force in his voice-or ink.

Though I’ve not read much of his works, I’m currently reading his collection of essays titled ‘African Predicament’- one book I’ll recommend to anyone; any day.

Prof. Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor was a vociferous humanist, an unflinching promoter of African tradition and culture, a diplomat, statesman, a distinguished academic and prominent poet and literary giant who has been described as a ’literary royalty’ and placed on the same literary rostrum as Nigerian scholars as the irrepressible Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe.

I doubted the news when I first ‘heard’ on twitter. But as the day grew old, it became very clear that it wasn't a rumour but truth, indeed he was a victim of that senseless, cowardly killings carried out by those criminally minded, Somali-based Al-Shabab terrorist  group, who attacked the Westgate Mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Since then a lot of tributes have poured in to eulogize this great African literary giant, who was a guest at a Storymoja Hay Festival in Nairobi. Kenya.

The least I can do is to wish him a safe trip to the other side of the world and pray Katsiami will ferry his across the river. Through his works his memory shall forever reign and 21^st September, 2013 shall forever be remembered in Ghana as a day the gods chose to bless in the day (birth of Kwame Nkrumah) and curse by night fall (demise of Nkrumah’s adherent Prof. Kofi Awoonor).

It appears heaven needed a poet at her banquets and in Prof. Awoonor, they saw a poet with finesse and elegance who could mesmerize the guests at such banquets with sterling recitals, thus his choosing.

In his honour, I’ll share with you one of my favourite poems by him:

 Enjoy ‘The Cathedral” by Prof. Kofi Nyidevu Awoonor:

THE CATHEDRAL
On this dirty patch
a tree once stood
shedding incense on the infant corn:
its boughs stretched across a heaven
brightened by the last fires of a tribe.
They sent surveyors and builders
who cut that tree
planting in its place
A huge senseless cathedral of doom.