Kofi, you left us two years ago, but the agony of your demise is as fresh as if it happened only yesterday. You're remembered with fondness and moments of joy we shared. RIP bro.

Tribute to late
    Mr. Nana Kofi Adom-Boakye.
I came to know the late Mr. Nana Kofi Adom-Boakye through his daughter Maame Afua Adom-Boakye. I met Afua in March 2011, she has just moved to Michigan from Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia area. Later that year Mr. Adom-Boakye visited Afua in Michigan, and stayed for six months. I really can’t tell what made us bonded once we met each other for the first time. Was it because he was Kofi and I am also Kofi. Or because I am a Fanti and his wife is a Fanti. Or because both of us love talking about politics. Yes, politics we discussed and wide range of other topics. My fondest memories were during his visit in 2011/2012. Whenever I have the time, I will drive from Ann Arbor, MI to Wixom, MI to visit him and enjoy the sumptuous cookings of Afua as well. When he returned to Ghana in 2012, I will call him whenever I was in Ghana. I get busy due to the nature of my work when in Ghana, but we always have time to talk on the phone. As usual he will bring me up to date on Ghana politics. The late Mr. Nana Kofi Adom-Boakye was a father-figure/role model to me. What did I learn from him? A whole lot! I made him understand that I will like to move back to Ghana after so many years in the US. Advise and counsel he gave me. I will forever cherish the advise he gave me on professional life, and life in general. How to treat others in life. He advised me how to prepare, what to have in place before relocating, suggestions on possible businesses I can engaged in. His background and association with so many people gave him a certain global outlook on life. And I should say one unique thing about him was his sense of humor! The late Mr. Nana Kofi Adom-Boakye will be missed. May the good God keep his soul. Rest In Peace!!!

A Teacher, A Father & A Friend
———————————————
In1993 when I entered Univ of Ghana- School of Admin, I couldn’t believe the extent of freedom I had suddenly been given, having come from an environment of restrictions and tight regulations in 6th form.
There were times when the freedom became overwhelming and you needed a father figure to guide and counsel you. This I found in Mr Adom Boakye when I was blessed to have him as my Course Advisor.
In one of our first meetings, he offered so generously to give his office to a number of us, to use as our place of study and group discussions. It was a privilege we held on to very dearly and for our time in school the office was ours.
Mr Adom Boakye was a very selfless man and showed a lot of compassion and genuine care for us students. His guidance saw us through school and we are forever grateful
I periodically got updates on his health status from Angie his daughter and a colleague of mine and I knew the last days were difficult.
I believe you are in a better place now, and I pray for God’s Mercies on your kind soul.
Rest in Perfect Peace, Sir

A TRIBUTE TO NANA ADOM-BOAKYE, MY FAVORITE UNCLE

Nana was a genuine human. He lived, loved, and inspired many of us to be better versions of ourselves. The quote “Non Omnis Moriar”  (not all of me shall die) makes sense because of rare gems like him. Albeit, the unexpected news of his passing broke me; I take solace in the conviction that he is in a better place now. While I acknowledge that words are not enough to pay homage to such a hero, I will share my profound thoughts and memories of my favorite Uncle, spanning the last five years for which I was privileged to be close to him.

My first encounter with Nana was in May 2015; I had just lost my Dad and Nana had agreed to accompany us for the funeral. We (my mom, my brother and I) had journeyed from Kumasi, and he hosted us at his Achimota Tantra hill mansion for the entire weekend of the funeral and the subsequent week. Nana’s presence at the funeral was vital at keeping us consoled and shielded from any potential drama that could erupt. It will be the first time we would meet my half-siblings and we did not know what to expect. They turned out to be nice anyway. I liked Nana in our first meeting. He was such a clever, well-spoken, and witty gentleman. I vividly recall him seated in his living room leather chair where he welcomed visitors. While seated there, he shared accounts of his friendship with my late grandfather, Nana Kwabena Ofori, his then Gyasehene and in-law (once married to his Aunt, my grandmother). He later shared rare photos of my grandpa with me. Aside being family, this in my view, was one of the subtle reasons for our bond. Another plausible reason could be his account of his relationship with his Uncle and my distant Grandfather, DC Appiah, a former district chief executive of our hometown, which he sought to replicate with his nephews and nieces. A brief eulogy by Nana to DC Appiah displayed on his whatsapp status to date reads “But for this Man”. Apparently, DC Appiah took Nana in as a boy and raised him. Nana often recounted his exposure to the finer things in life while staying with DC. As a government official, DC would host notable political figures, one of whom was the Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. One can only imagine the quantum of inspiration such an environment wielded. Nana equally mentioned his later interactions with Mrs. Theodosia Okoh, designer of the Ghana national flag as another remarkable eye-opener. Just about the time of my Dad’s funeral, Mrs. Okoh had passed and together with my brother, we would accompany Nana, one late evening to her wake keeping.

My subsequent and rather lengthy encounter was two months later, I had just gotten an internship in Accra and needed a place to stay for a month. Nana opened his home once more to me and this would be a defining moment in my life. He would share his life story, this time more elaborately —  from his youthful days at Prempeh College, University of Ghana, his eventual administrative career, to his time as at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and his teaching days back at the University of Ghana. He would equally give accounts of time as a chief of our hometown, Adansi Asokwa which he later had to abdicate due to his failing health. I, particularly, enjoyed his Ghanaian history lessons which opened my eyes to some ancient yet existing ties between the some seemingly disparate tribes in Ghana, e.g. the Ashantis in the Ga state at present-day Osu-Ashantey and in the Volta region, Jasikan and Wrawra . We would also discuss politics both home and abroad. Nana mentioned his passionate interest and involvement in Ghanaian politics in the early 90’s, one that he would pursue at the expense of his PhD at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. About this, Nana would quip, “I had to come back, I felt they were going to finish all the politics and not leave me some” (paraphrased from twi). He shared his experience as a founding member of Ghana’s New Patriotic Party (NPP); from his support for and interactions with the then presidential candidate, the late Prof. Adu Boahen to his own candidacy for the parliamentary seat of the Adansi Asokwa constituency in the 1992 elections, (which was later boycotted by the NPP, over alleged rigging by the incumbent). He would later serve Ghana as the board chairman of the Ghana Meteorological Agency. He also took interest in American politics and was a big fan of President Obama; he kept an edition of the time magazine with a cover of President Obama in his living rooms at his Achimota Tantra hill house and his later Kuntunse residence.

Like many others, Nana exposed me to the trajectory of higher education. He once run an educational consult and was familiar with the nuances of school search, which he termed “consor”. He would dedicate some time every week to guide me home in on potential graduate school destinations and their requirements. He also shared with me his connection to Mrs. Marilyn Owusu of the Ace Consult and Education USA, Kumasi, who later gave vital graduate school application guidance. Nana took interest in my academic progress and was often a resort for counsel on making big decisions. Nana, it hurts me you will not be around when I start my PhD journey this fall. At least, you should have waited for your Hopkins baseball cap. But God knows best.

My favorite moments with Nana was our barbershop visits. He would joke about paying half the price of his haircut. According to him, God had handled half of the job. I loved his long evening chats; he would shut his eyes hard each time he smiled. He loved fufu, it was his sacred meal. I will surely miss him! Nana lived a genuinely selfless life and knew what it meant to be human. Of the many instances of his generosity towards me and others, a prominent one was his fortnightly charity to one Kofi, a disabled man, often seated at the Achimota Mile 7 junction. He would buy him a bag of rice and offer him some money. On one occasion, we visited Kofi’s spot to deliver his routine supplies, but he was not there and none of the nearby vendors and taxi drivers at the bus stop could tell his whereabouts. The subsequent days I could tell Nana was very troubled, we returned to Kofi’s spot a couple of times and about a week later found him there. I cannot recall the reason for Kofi’s disappearance, but I will never forget the level of concern Nana showed for someone he barely knew. As simple as this gesture may sound, it is, unfortunately, not very common in our world today.

Nana’s departure has left an irreplaceable void and, concurrently a template on how to live beyond oneself. He lived a full life; and like Caesar, he came, he saw, and he conquered. Not all of him shall die, his name shall remain!

Rest Well Nana Adom-Boakye,
Dammrifa Due!
Your Nephew,
Akwasi Akwaboah

REMEMBERING A GOOD A MAN.                 By Kwasi Afrifa-Kyei.                            Kofi Adom-Boakye's sudden death haunts us with utter sadness and pain and reveals the nothingness of this life and the unpredictability behind our sojourn on this ephemeral Earth.      There is the consolation,however,that God blessed us to cross paths with Kofi and benefitting from his selflessness,laughter,humor,and intellect.         I have closely been with Kofi for 40plus years,and tasted his compassion and understanding which made him see the best in others and he will be sorely missed.He had integrity and respect.      I remember him as a good friend and trusted person,and God's beloved creation whose companionship enriched my life.He enhanced the lives of many too without making noise about it.   I pray he is enfolded in the love of God because he was an expression of that love on Earth.       He is not hurting anymore,and in peace.          Rest in peace,my bother until we meet again on the other side

TRIBUTE TO KOFI ADOM BOAKYE, MY DEAR BROTHER AND FRIEND

These past months have been shocking and challenging with all that is going on in the world, but what has shocked me the most is your sudden death.
Kofi Adom Boakye, over the past 40 years you have been more than a friend to me, you were always there with a helping hand when I needed one. I am so thankful to have had the honor and privilege to know you and call you brother. I will always hold the many memories and political discussions we shared in my heart forever. You were a wonderful person inside and out. A treasure to many.
I will forever miss you my friend, I know I will be checking my phone every now and again to see if I missed your call, it hurts my heart to think you wont be around this fall just so we can discuss how we sent "him back to NY/FL". The tears will not stop but I know Time heals, so I'll be okay, the children will be okay too.
I'm lucky to have had such an amazing friend and relationship.
My wish is that you rest in perfect peace knowing you served your purpose here on earth touching many hearts.
Fare thy well dear Brother and Friend.
Till we meet again.
RIP.

In Memory of Mr. Kofi Adom Boakye

You may not be alive now, but for your love, guidance, insight and advice, I will always remember you.

It hurts by not seeing my aspirations come through but I know are with me. Everything is gonna be alright.

Rest in Peace Uncle-in-law.

George Amissah Aikins.

TO MY BROTHER KOFI ADOM-BOAKYE.
MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE.

This is a heartfelt tribute to Kofi. I am writing this more like a story. Kofi was larger than life in many ways and to write a précis would not do him justice. I am going to tell a story from my point of view, illustrating the Kofi I knew. No apologies to anyone for the ramble and gaps in the story. I am recounting this from what I remember only. He and I were always honest and straight forward with each other so he will know from where he is watching all this, why I tell his story this way.

The news of the passing of my brother Kofi Adom-Boakye came as a shock to me. I knew he was ill but somehow, either through naiveté or disbelief, I did not allow myself to think he was in such a serious place. If I had known I probably would have paid a lot more attention.

But I did not because Kofi in his own way lulled me into a sort of comfort zone so that the end was not something I contemplated at all. I had spoken with him a couple of weeks earlier and we had had our usual chat, and although I could tell he was not very strong he still sounded like all was well and went out of his way to impress upon me that he was ok.

And I believed him. Because only a few months earlier I had called him, thinking he was in Accra and asked him to help deal with a problem of a mutual friend. Kofi did just that and in his usual calm way, poured oil on troubled waters, and helped ease the very serious problems, for which we will be forever grateful. It was only afterwards that I found that he had come to Accra all the way from his village in Ashanti to help deal with the problem. All the way. Such a selfless human being. Such a kind gentleman. We shall forever miss his wise counsel.

Like most of our friends in our University of Ghana School of Administration B.Sc class of 1973, I met Kofi only on arrival on campus in the last quarter of 1970. My experience however was a little privileged. We were paired together in our second year in one room and became fast friends. At that time he was known as Mr. A. A. Adom, recently from Prempeh College. A young scholar, down to earth, savvy, worldly wise, and extremely clever to boot. I on the other hand was a happy go lucky person, drifting through, doing whatever it was the right to do, and generally enjoying myself.

One day Kofi announced that he had legally changed his name. He was now to be known as Mr. Kofi Adom-Boakye. We had become used to calling him just ‘Adom’ but the name change created a new reference name and he became ‘Adom-B’, and that is the name we used for him until we became older and begun to use only our first names. Whereupon he became just ‘Kofi’.

He helped me steady myself in many ways. Kofi was clever, nevertheless he studied hard to improve himself, and here I was never really studying unless it was entirely necessary. However he took a shine to me. I did not study much but I seemed to be doing well. And that intrigued him. Little did he know that I was feeding off him. That is until we sat down one to discuss life and we really found out about each other. He studied hard but he very much liked to discuss his findings and other issues with whoever would listen. That helped him embed his knowledge as appropriate. I on the hand did my learning through lectures and discussion. I was always attentive in class because that is where I learnt. I had to understand the lectures and presentations there and then, because to sit down to study just did not work for me. Kofi was always surprised in our discussions how much I had understood and could explain to him just by having sat in class, so he learned off me too. On the other hand at University level, classroom work is not enough. So in our discussions we fed off each other because Kofi would be full of all the other knowledge I would never have picked up by myself. It worked. Of course I eventually did a lot of research too but never as thoroughly as Kofi did. I will forever be grateful to him.

Our relationship became very personal, and he became a special friend whom I counted amongst my closest. The whole family came to know him too. We did things together as much as we could, along with Yaw Adipa (The Yaw) and Stanley Amarteifio (SAmar) both of blessed memory. We were all in Akuafo Hall so the friendship thrived. I needed them too because Kofi used to Enahoro me a lot! Yes, Kofi was down to earth not some study worm, but a warm friendly person with lots of friends and liaisons of all sorts. A very nice bloke to know.

He introduced me to all sorts of intellectual magazines and I introduced him to extracurricular pursuits. I tried to get him to play squash, it did not work. I tried to take him swimming in the Achimota pool with me. It did not work. Indeed he told in Twi he had not come to Accra to see the sea!! While I played a lot of games he did not. Until one day I found out he could run. The Legon Cross Country contest was around the corner so I urged him to train up. He did not. But on the day of the contest we were surprised to see Kofi in the line up. Without any practice runs and without preparation. The race started smoothly and interestingly Kofi was up there with the leaders. In fact he was good. But nature has a way of catching up with us, after about two thirds of the course Kofi disappeared. Without practice his stamina gave out and before he knew it the poor fellow was lying in a hospital bed at the Legon hospital suffering from the extreme fatigue. I never saw him run again.

One game though that he was extremely good at was draughts. But he never played. One day we watched a championship game in Akuafo Hall together and he told me afterwards in private that he could beat the champion. I believed him. So I arranged a private match with the champion at a quiet venue with only a few spectators. We all left extremely humbled. In a serious straight forward manner, as if it was business as usual, and with none of the usual insults and taunts of a draughts match, Kofi thoroughly trounced the champion 5-0. I will not be surprised if even till today that guy trembles at the mention of Adom-B. The humiliation was merciless and clinical, no frills, no decoration, just pure expert execution. He was that good.

We discussed a lot of things together including what we would do with our lives. I was still drifting through life. I knew I would be ok with whatever came along but I did not know what it would be.
Kofi on the other hand had chartered out his life.
Stage 1: When we finished school he would go and work in Industry to make use of what he was then learning.
Stage 2: after the industrial experience, he would become a lecturer and impart his experience and knowledge to the upcoming,
Stage 3: He would venture into entrepreneurship and consultancy, then finally
Stage 4: he would become a politician, so that he could do his bit to influence the progress of the country.

Lofty ideas. But I must say though that Kofi did all of the above except become a fully fledged politician, I believe but for his ill health, he might have eventually become involved in one way or the other.

He certainly worked in industry and made a good mark.
During National Service after University, he ended up at Accra Brewery as Marketing Trainee. That was interesting because Kofi did not drink alcohol, but now he was obliged to promote and to sell the stuff. This was where he got to apply his marketing skills properly. I have it on authority that he was a great influence in sorting out the marketing image woes of the company at the time.

Such brilliance does not go unnoticed and he was soon lured or poached to join the Ghana Aluminium Company in Tema. He told me himself, that it was quite a traumatic time for him. At that time the Ghana Aluminium Company made many ancillary aluminium products, and as marketing Manager Kofi had to sell boats. His very first trip was terrible. After having sold a boat on the Volta River in Ada, he was obliged to take a maiden ride with the new owner. Unfortunately the river was rough and bouncy that day. Kofi was not used to boats and before he knew it one great bounce had thrown him into the water. Kofi could not swim, and although wearing a life jacket he was drowning, from anxiety, fear and panic. Of course all of the crew and passengers on the boat expected that the marketing manager selling boats could swim, so they were not overly concerned until one of the crew realized that he was drowning and dived in to rescue him. Not a good experience. Later on when he told me about it, of course I reminded him that I had tried to teach him to swim and he had told to me that beautiful Twi expression “wo kae s3 me baa Nkran s3 me be hw3 po”!

As if that was not enough, after many trips when he had now gained confidence and had made sure he would never be thrown out of a boat again, he had to go to launch another new boat at Akosombo. Normally a piece of cake. Unfortunately this time the boat had not even taken off when he fell in. He was busy showing his clients into the boat. When they were all in, he took a step to go on board himself. At that exact time to boat drifted away and he stepped straight into the water, then the boat drifted back and covered the space. Kofi could not swim and the boat was now blocking his path upwards. He was again drowning. Luckily again one of the crew realized that he was a long time coming back up from around the boat so dived in and saved Kofi. There is no such thing as third time lucky. He resigned literally on the spot.

The next time I heard from Kofi he had entered stage two, and had gone off to teach in Nigeria. We sort of lost contact for some time while he was gallivanting in Nigeria. Eventually he came back home, continuing to teach, but we were only in contact intermittently. By this time we were both married so the relationship became wider, and our children became friends. Kofi was a good family man, although very busy with his many business and educational pursuits which took much of his time.

By this time he had ventured into his stage 3, alongside stage 2. He set up a consultancy KAB and Associates. He drew me in to see what was going on but we never worked together. My time schedule with Unilever was too restrictive at the time. He however did some collaborative work with a number of our mates. For example, amongst others, he worked with John Klinogo on several World Bank projects, with Felicity Opare-Anoff on other skill development projects. I visited his office in Osu Accra as often as I could. His Aunt, Miss Abubakr, who had been a teacher at Achimota School while I was in school there, was then working with him so I would go there whenever I was in the area just to say hello, to shoot the breeze, and to catch up on current matters.

Kofi disappeared again, this time to the US in search of more laurels, and our contact became even more intermittent.

When he returned home, one would have thought he would move fully into stage 5. In fact I believe he made a few forays into politics including trying to stand as Member of Parliament for his area. It was however short lived for party reasons and inter party ideological issues at the time and therefore he got stuck in the joint stage 3 & 4, teaching, lecturing, and lending his vast experience to businesses and projects that needed his help. This included his Asokwa hometown in the Ashanti Region where he was made a chief. Unfortunately due to ill health he eventually relinquished those duties, but of course he remained a royal.

Once again we got to communicating with each other from time to time. The relationship remained strong all the way to the end. Kofi moved home to Asokwa from Accra even though he had relinquished his chieftaincy and remained there until his sudden passing.

Kofi had a good illustrious life in his own way. He chartered his course in life and lived it. He was a very good friend to have, always selflessly offering of himself, always ready with his opinion and good advice. All of us, his family, his friends, especially the School of Admin B.Sc. class of 1973 mates, have lost a precious friend and brother. There will never be another Adom-B to tell a long story about. He has done his bit. “ONIPA B3 Y33 BI, WAMB3 Y3 NI NYINAA”. Now it is time for him to take a rest.

God be with him always.
Nante Yie, Kofi.
Y3 DA WO ASE.
June 2020.