Born in 1957, the firstborn of Affail and Alberta Cudjoe, Paapa reflects… From your days as the firm but loving “Alibi” — the sharp-eyed disciplinarian and trusted source of school compound intelligence — to your years as a bold entrepreneur, baking for supermarkets and helping to found the Bakers Association in Takoradi, you have shown us how to build and how to lead. In politics, you are a trailblazer. From the Progress Party days through to the birth of the NPP, you stood your ground, forging friendships across party lines while remaining loyal to your values. You mobilised campaigns and offered wise counsel even at the highest levels of state — never seeking personal gain, only the progress of your people. Yet your greatest achievement is what we treasure most: how you kept our family united, treating every niece and nephew as your own and teaching us to do the same. We are who we are because of you. Thank you for giving us both roots and wings. Alfred, Cynthia, and Charles recall: Alibi, you have a gift for storytelling. You weave humour, wisdom, and heart into every tale, making each of us feel part of something special. Your stories don’t just entertain — they connect generations and keep our family history alive in the most unforgettable way. The parables you tell, always carefully narrated without mentioning names, are powerful and deeply meaningful. You have a way of making everyone feel they belong, no matter how long it has been since they last saw you. True to your nature, you never travel empty-handed — food, bread, cakes, and more always follow you, ready to be shared among family and friends. We still remember the aroma of your cooking, preparing different meals all at once, and especially your cakes. The way you carefully prepared your ingredients before starting any dish made our world feel safe, warm, and full of love. From the red dust roads of Ghana to the quiet moments in our home, your presence has been a constant source of comfort, wisdom, and love. You taught us with proverbs, corrected us with kindness, and prayed over us with hands worn from work but full of compassion. Your faith in God has been the foundation of our family. Even in hard times, you stood firm like a baobab tree — deeply rooted and unshaken. You taught us that with God, all things are possible, and you have lived that truth for 90 beautiful years. Alibi, today we honour you — a woman who built more than a home; you built a legacy. You are our matriarch, our prayer warrior, our storyteller, our treasure. May God bless you with continued peace, strength, joy, and the very best of health for as long as possible. Happy 90th birthday, Mum Alibi. You continue to run this race with grace. We love you beyond words. Yɛ da wo ase paa. Nyame nhyira wo bebree. Benji Cudjoe concludes, with love: One thing I’ve always loved and admired about you is how passionate and disciplined you are. You’ve always carried a no-nonsense approach to life — not out of harshness, but out of deep love and conviction. You taught us the value of hard work and integrity, and you did it with a fire in your spirit that inspired everyone around you. Even now, at 90, that same strength and passion continue to shine through. My favourite memory with you is one I shared with my siblings when I was much younger: eating chicken legs and the chicken neck. Whenever you were preparing soup, you would give us the chicken legs and neck and save the good parts of the chicken for my father. Happy 90th birthday, Alibi! Today my heart is absolutely full to see you reach this incredible milestone that only God Himself could have ordained. From the very beginning of my life, you’ve poured love, wisdom, strength, and grace into my siblings and me, and we are so thankful. I thank God every day for the gift of having you as my mother, and I pray that He continues to keep you in good health, surround you with peace, and shower you with more joy than you can hold. May this new chapter of your journey be filled with sweet memories, laughter, and the warmth of family. May the good Lord reward your faithfulness like Ruth, and may your family continue to rise and flourish because of the seeds you have sown. And like Elizabeth, may this season of your life still be marked by miracles, answered prayers, and laughter in your home. You are our matriarch, and we love you more than words can ever express. God bless you abundantly on your 90th birthday. A Tribute to Alibi 14 The Birthday Journal
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