The Ghana Union of Professional students (GUPS) is saddened by the news of the passing away of Professor Kofi Awoonor, former chairman of the Council of State as a result of the injuries he sustained during an attack on the Westgate shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday the 21st of September, 2013 which Somali militant group Al-shabab has claimed responsibility for.
The passing away of Professor Awoonor is a great loss for the African continent. Awoonor was famous as much for what he represented as for what he had written-an emblem of a continent finding its voice. He is undoubtedly a prolific writer and a giant of African Literature. Every child in Africa grew up knowing him.
The National secretariat, on behalf of the National executive committee (NEC) and the entire membership of Ghana Union of Professional Students (GUPS), wish to express our condolences to the family of Professor Kofi Awoonor, we wish to state that his untimely EXIT is a traumatic blow to us Professional students and indeed the rest of Africa. We are with you in these trying times and we are deeply saddened by this unfortunate development.
We however, want to use this opportunity to wish his son a speedy recovery from the injuries he sustained from the attack.
Professor Awoonor was born in 1935 and became known for his poetry, early collections of which were heavily inspired by the dirge singing and oral poetry of the Ewe tribe. He published his first collection, Rediscovery and other poems, in 1964.He gained a Masters degree in Literature at University College, London in 1970.His second collection, Night of my blood, was released in 1971 and was a series of poems that explore Awoonor’s roots and the impact of colonialism and foreign rule in Africa.
His literature prowess is unmatched; He shaped African literature and commanded the English language to the admiration of Ghanaian and African students and the entire global readership.
His literature empowered many African youth to believe in their ability to create change. He urged us to see the value of our cultural inheritance and the potential of our continent and its people. It was this vision that challenged many of us to pave the paths upon which we now find ourselves walking.
GUPS unequivocally, want to use this opportunity to condemn the reckless manner in which Al-shabab; the Al-Qaida linked militant group vented their anger on innocent people and to call on all to rise up against this unjustified act of cowardice which has been perpetrated against the people of Kenya, Ghana, Africa and the rest of the world.
For us at GUPS, nothing falls short of bringing the perpetrators to book should be the focus of African leaders.
Kofi Awoonor, you are still alive and we at GUPS wish you long life. You will never die because we and our future generations will continue to read your works forever.
May your gentle soul rest in peace.
