Da! I held my phone, feeling faint, and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and wailing. My friend Thelma took the phone from me and spoke with my sister. What had I just heard? Dad was gone? “How?” I screamed. “No! No! No!” I yelled, pounding the ground with my clenched fist. “Not my daddy!” “Why, Daddy, why?” “Why our daddy?” What would we do without him? Why did he have to die now that everything seemed fine? He had just returned from abroad, and his medical tests and vitals had been normal. It was a tremendous shock. Dad died in Takoradi while visiting his siblings. He suffered a heart attack, was rushed to the hospital, and died a few hours later. My dad was very influential in my life and played a significant role in many changes in Ghana, especially in public policy. He started as an administrator and quickly advanced into management. I recall our frequent relocations due to his transfers to different regional offices. Later, he worked in the office of the Vice President of the Third Republic, Degraft Johnson. Dad held many roles in government and was instrumental in Ghana’s economic recovery programmes. I am also proud of his leadership in shaping the government’s television and telecommunications digitisation policies. Our love for reading came from his passion for books. I can still picture him deeply engrossed in history books and writings by Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. He believed in learning from the past to avoid future mistakes and always said that while a country may borrow money, using it wisely for the economy was crucial. After his death, I managed many of the funeral arrangements. Despite the shock, I relied heavily on God for strength. My dad’s death brought us siblings closer together, and we have remained tightly bonded ever since. We have so many fond memories of him, and talking about them often makes us emotional. I wish my dad could see how far we’ve all come and could have met his grandkids, but I know he is watching over us from heaven. AWhite Wedding “Do you take thisman to be your legally wedded husband?” the pastor asked. “I do,” I said, as the church cheered. I was happy to marry Ernest but sad that my dad wasn’t there. Ernest, studying in Germany, decided we should have the wedding despite his busy schedule. We married on 22 January 2000 and welcomed our children, Christopher in 2001 and Ekow in 2004. National Service I graduated from university in 1999 and was thrilled to learn that I had been posted to the Ghana Airport Authority! I was elated, especially when I discovered that I would be part of the team rehabilitating the Kotoka runway. Thrilled by the opportunity, I eagerly joined the team. We worked with a consultant to inspect the tarmac The Birthday Journal 19
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTAyMTM3NQ==