It's good to be back home - Busumuru Annan

"It's good to be back at home" was Busumuru Dr Kofi Atta Annan's opening statement when he mounted the podium to deliver the first of the Golden Jubilee Lecture Series on: "Championing African Excellence".



It was his first speaking engagement since retiring after 40 years of service at the United Nations (UN), 10 of which he was the Secretary-General. "I intended to retire to a quiet and peaceful civilian life but when your President calls you to duty you can only say it's an honour Sir to be at your service", Busumuru Annan declared amidst a loud laughter from the audience, which included President John Agyekum Kufuor and his wife Theresa; Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Mr Begyina Sakyi-Huges, Speaker of Parliament; Members of the Council of State; Ministers of State, Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Traditional and Religious Leaders and people from all walks of life.




Busumuru Annan declared that he was proud to return home and to address Ghanaians not in his capacity as a world leader but as a private Ghanaian citizen, who left Ghana to join the UN at the time when Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah was still President of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) was Kumasi College of Science and Technology (KCST). When he turned his attention to his lecture notes, he was straight to the point, punchy, fluent and brief.




Even though at the start the audience got the impression that the lecture was going to be long, Busumuru Annan delivered a brilliant and loaded lecture, which attracted a standing ovation at the end, in less than 30 minutes.

Mr Alban Sumani Bagbin, the Minority Leader in Parliament, said the lecture was a masterpiece delivered in the most excellent English that one could ever imagine.

"Although at the start of the lecture one got the impression that it was going to be long, it ended up being very brief but loaded and I hope everybody there understood everything he said." Mr Bagbin, however, complained about what he described as “selective invitation” the Government threw to members of the opposition to Ghana@50 programmes, and said Ghana@50 was not NPP@50 and that all political parties in Parliament needed to be invited to be part of the initiation, planning and implementation of programmes to give the celebrations a national character instead of one party character.

Mr George Opesika Aggudey, Convention People’s Party (CPP) Flag Bearer for Election 2004, described Busumuru Annan as a symbol of national unity, saying that all leaders of political parties needed to rally around him and his brilliant ideas to move the country forward. "Ghana is bigger than any political party and (Busumuru)Kofi Annan has just told us that in the simplest of languages - we need to put our differences aside and feed on his ideas for development," he said.

Dr Edward Mahama, Leader of the People’s National Convention (PNC), said Busumuru Annan was a calm and humble gentleman but firm in his convictions "and I believe that we can see another Kwame Nkrumah in (Busumuru) Kofi Annan - this should give us the hope that the spirit of Kwame Nkrumah lives on in sons of the nation like Kofi Annan and others".

Ghana needs Busumuru Annan's advice - Rawlings

Former President Jerry John Rawlings on Wednesday appealed to Busumuru Kofi Annan, Immediate-Past United Nations Secretary-General, to observe the country's political scene and offer his advice. Former President made the appeal when Busumuru Annan paid a courtesy call on him at his residence in Accra about 1400 hours after his arrival home.

Busumuru Annan had served the UN for 40 years out which he was Secretary-General of the world body for 10 years. Former President Rawlings asked Busumuru Annan to bring his expertise and knowledge to bear on the development of the country and to join to straighten the course of peace and stability.

Former President Rawlings told Mr Annan: "We are happy about the reception the Government has given you and that of the people of Ghana." Busumuru Annan said he was happy to be home after years of service to the UN and acknowledged the reception accorded him by the good people of Ghana. He commended Former President Rawlings for the leadership he provided the country and said both of them served humanity but in different capacities.

Busumuru Annan further called for a concerted effort by the Government, the opposition parties and civil society to help to build a better Ghana. With the Former President Rawlings were Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Former Vice President and Flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress for Election 2008 and Mrs Mary Grant, a Former Member of the Council of State. Professor Mills also expressed joy at the homecoming of Busumuru Annan describing him as a man of knowledge and high sense of duty, worthy of honour.

He urged Busumuru Annan to exhibit his courage to right the wrongs of the Ghanaian society by speaking the truth. Mrs Mary Grant, who said Busumuru Annan was her nephew, described him as the pride of the family and traced his success to the training he acquired as a Ghanaian and an African.GNA

ECOWAS Condemns violence in Guinea, appeals for calm

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has condemned the mounting death of civilians in Guinea as a result of the recent crisis in the country. "Any loss of life is regrettable but the killing of unarmed civilians is particularly unacceptable.

We express our sympathies to the families of the deceased", said a statement issued on Wednesday by the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja, and made available to the Ghana News Agency. The statement called upon the Guinean Authorities to guarantee the safety and security of its citizens while they express their constitutional rights of freedom of association and free expression.

It said what started as a labour union strike had escalated into a political crisis and that it is evident that the current crisis in Guinea could only be resolved by genuine dialogue amongst all Guinean stakeholders in an atmosphere free of intimidation and violence. "ECOWAS stands ready to work with all Guinean political forces, the government, political parties, civil society, trade unions, etc., in the search for a lasting resolution to the crisis", the statement said.

It said in that regard, the ECOWAS Chairman, President Blaise Compaoré, was engaged in consultations aimed at dispatching a mission to Guinea to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the crisis.GNA

Busumuru Annan arrives back home to a hero’s welcome

Busumuru Kofi Annan, Ghana’s top diplomat and Immediate-Past Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) arrived back home on Tuesday night to a hero’s welcome. Among the huge crowd of people from all walks of life who thronged the Kotoka International Airport to welcome him and his Swedish wife, Nane, were President John Agyekum Kufuor and wife Theresa; Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama and wife Ramatu; the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Sekyi-Huges, Professor Daniel Adzei Bekoe, Chairman of the Council of State; Ministers of State, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Chiefs and religious leaders.




As the Alitalia flight carrying Busumuru Annan touched down at exactly 2210 hours, the people went into frenzy, cheered and waved miniature Ghanaian flags amidst traditional drumming and dancing.



The Former UN Chief and the wife were presented with the “Akwaaba” bouquet by Janet Afriyie Mensah and Susana Manu, when they stepped down from the gangway. He then exchanged pleasantries with President Kufuor and Vice President Mahama after which the President escorted him to do same with the welcoming party accompanied by Kete drumming, an honour reserved for only chiefs.




With that over President Kufuor and Busumuru Annan went into the VVIP lounge, in front of which, two giant portraits of the retired UN Secretary-General had been placed on the walls, for private discussions. Later in brief remarks, Busumuru Annan thanked the entire nation for the support and encouragement, without which, he said he could not have done the job the way he did it. “The journey had been long and I have completed a cycle.”





Born in Kumasi on April 8, 1938, Busumuru Annan joined the UN in 1962, working with the World Health Organisation in Geneva and also served with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. At the UN Headquarters in New York, he held senior positions in diverse range of areas including human resource management, budget and finance and peacekeeping. Busumuru Annan was Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping at a time when nearly 70,000 military and civilian personnel were deployed in UN operations around the world.



He was elected the Secretary-General of the World Body in 1997 and completed his two five-year term on December 31, 2006.GNA