The following are the “welcome remarks by the Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA), DR WALE OKEDIRAN, at the launch of J J Rawlings: Memories and Mementos” on 14 December 2021
The Chairman of the occasion, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana ably represented by Hon Dominic Aduna Nitiwul, the Honourable Minister for Defence of Ghana; the Special Guest of Honour, HE Mrs Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings; the Chief Launcher, Mr Abdourahmane Diallo – who is the UNESCO Country Representative for Ghana; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.
It gives me a great pleasure to welcome you to this very important event, the launch of PAWA’S “Book of Tribute in Honour of the late Ghanaian President, Jerry Rawlings”, under whose tenure, PAWA was founded.
When we made a call for contributions to the book, the response was spontaneous and overwhelming.
At the end, we finally settled on 52 contributors from 12 different countries who wrote in French and English.
Before, I go any further, kindly let me put on record PAWA’s deep appreciation to the Rawlings family – and especially, Her Excellency Mrs Konadu Agyeman Rawlings without whose support, the book could not have been written.
PAWA is also indebted to the contributors whose energy and intellect had made the writing of the book a success.
Our sincere gratitude also goes to the book’s Editor, Prof Bill Ndi, who is a Cameroonian Professor of Communication Arts at the Tuskegee University Alabama, USA; as well as Mr Abdourahmane Diallo, the UNESCO Country Representative in Ghana who wrote the “Foreword”.
Out of this noble literary exercise, it became obvious that the influence and popularity of the late Ghanaian President is not limited to Ghana alone, but to the world at large and Africa in particular.
Another positive outcome of the project is the need for African writers to continue to tell their stories instead of waiting for others to undertake this very important assignment for them.
Even though, President Jerry Rawlings was not a writer or poet per se, by establishing the Pan African Writers Association, he became the father of writers and poets and so, is worthy of being celebrated.
This celebration, which is just the beginning of honouring achieving and worthy African leaders, will be extended by PAWA to other notable leaders – dead or alive – in all facets of life.
I thank you for your time and support towards the success of this auspicious occasion and wish you well.
****
Click the link below to watch the video: