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As the World mourns Kofi Annan, the first black African UN
secretary-general, who died last Saturday following a brief illness, a former close
collaborator and Cameroonian friend, Dr.Amos Namanga Ngongi, has also regretted
the huge loss, adding that Cameroon has missed a distinguished problem-solver
as Kofi Annan.
“Clearly, if Mr. Annan were still alive and approached, he would greatly
contribute to looking for a solution to the current imbroglio that Cameroon is
going through. I am confident that he would have made a commendable
contribution to finding a lasting solution”, said Dr.Ngongi, in a veiled reference
to the current Anglophone Crisis when asked what Cameroon might have missed
with the passing away of the seasoned Ghanaian diplomat.
Dr.Ngongi, a former UN Undersecretary-General, Special Representative
and Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(2001-2003) when Kofi Annan was UN SG and then a former President of Alliance
for a Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA) with head office in Kenya when Kofi
Annan was Board Chair, described the deceased as “a great person, who combined
many qualities in one person.
He was not only courageous and intellectually-driven; he was also humble
and honest in bringing positive changes in the ways human beings were relating
to each other”
Dr. Ngongi , who maintained
regular contact with Mr.Annan but was also taken aback by his friend’s
sudden death, recalled how as UN SG, Mr. Annan helped resolve, in a peaceful
manner, the dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon
over the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula, preventing
both countries from engaging in a blood bath.
He added:” Mr. Annan was a man who could not be spoiled by the
trappings of power. He inspired confidence, as he approached problems from the
way of human nature …with the view of improving the relationships of people;
peace and security was his driving force”
Dr. Ngongi said Africa as a whole will equally miss Mr. Annan,
considering that he pushed so hard for the development of the continent Africa.
With the on-going Anglophone crisis, which erupted since October 2016 tearing
Cameroon, pundits and Anglophone activists had floated the name of Kofi Annan
as a favourite expert mediator who could be brought in to help resolve the crisis.
But their hope for Mr. Annan was last Saturday dashed when he died, aged
80, in a hospital in Bern, Switzerland.
“Annan served
two terms from Jan. 1, 1997, to Dec. 31, 2006, capped nearly mid-way when he
and the U.N. were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. Annan was
known to diplomats as a lifer — a career diplomat at the United Nations who
remained active after his two terms,” according to CBS news.Learning of Mr. Annan’s demise, the sitting UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, expressed profound regrets.
"It is with profound sadness that I learned of his passing. In many
ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose through the ranks to lead the
organization into the new millennium with matchless dignity and
determination," said Guterres, adding that.
"He was someone I could always turn to for wisdom and wisdom — and
I know I was not alone. He provided people everywhere with a space for
dialogue, a place for problem-solving and a path to a better world."
Hit by the sad news, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said his country would fly the nation’s fly ,for a week,at half-mast in
honour of deceased Annan, whom he likened to a great compatriot.
Also very touched by the death was Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa
(AGRA) headquartered in Kenya, which Mr.Annan was instrumental in its creation.
According to Mr Strive Masiyiwa, AGRA Board Chair: “Mr. Annan was a tremendous
leader of progress in the world, improving the lives of millions of individuals
in Africa and beyond through his work. It is his call for a uniquely African
green revolution to ensure that Africa can feed itself that led to AGRA’s
creation in 2006 to improve the incomes and livelihoods of Africa’s smallholder
farmers. Mr. Annan was the Founding Chair of AGRA and continued offering
leadership and guidance to the institution right up until this year as our
Board Chair Emeritus.
“I am saddened by the death of Kofi Annan, my elder brother and friend.
Africa has lost one of its gallant soldiers.
“We express our heartfelt condolences to his wife Nane, his
children, and the entire family. Mr. Annan has left a lasting legacy in the
quest for a food self-sufficient continent. We will keep his dream and vision
alive.”
Other World leaders have since been extending their condolences to the
Ghanaian People and Annan Family.
Annan,a loving husband and father of several children, was born in the
Ashanti heartland about two decades before Ghana became the first country in
sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from the British Colonial rule.
(This article also appears in
The Horizon Newspaper, Cameroon, of August 22, 2018)
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