Outpouring of grief as leader of NPP Communicators in Upper East goes home

An emotional farewell, one not many who pass away too early would get at their funerals, saw off on Saturday the most respected communicator of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Upper East region, Randy Adarikina Aganah.

The admiration he earned and the love many had for him throughout the forty-two years he lived brought not only an overwhelming crowd to Zuarungu, his birthplace in the Bolgatanga East District, but also people from diverse professional terrains and political beliefs at the weekend.

Owner and Publisher of The New Statesman Newspaper, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, had started off the posthumous accolades when the arguably youngest education circuit supervisor in the region died in his prime on Tuesday August 14, this year, after a short illness.

“Randy was dependable. Honest, loyal, committed, sincere, and calm. We thank you immensely,” wrote the renowned lawyer and relative of Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on his Facebook wall the day the University of Cape Coast (UCC) graduate and member of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) departed this life at the Afrikids Medical Centre in Bolgatanga.

An 18-page funeral brochure, published in honour of the departed eloquent Director of the governing party’s Communications Team in the region at his memorial service Saturday, struggled to capture all details about his first-rate commitment to the NPP, his far-reaching passion for teaching, his insatiable appetite for research, his unwavering care for his extended family and his undying love for his wife, Evelyn, and two boys, Ronald and Reginald.

A teary-eyed Evelyn wrote: “I had the opportunity and rare privilege of being the wife and partner of a wonderful, loving, kind-hearted and God-fearing man. Hearty, what happens to all the plans and decisions we took concerning our projects and that of the children? Even on that hospital bed, we were still taking plans together as to what happens when you are discharged.”

Fulfill Randy’s Request— NPP Members Clamour

The departure of Randy’s voice from the communications squad is a void the party would sorely feel when Ghana goes to the polls again in 2020 to elect 275 legislators and a President. And the best tribute with which the party can honour him, some think, is to ensure the ‘ele-phant’ is ‘trium-phant’ again in 2020.

The calibre, cast and colour of directors, retired civil servants, existing government officials, erstwhile public officeholders, industrialists, media practitioners, members of civil society organisations and representatives of several political parties, who were spotted at a funeral so multiparty in representation it can be said even an unexpected Akua Donkor’s Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) also was represented, summed up how important Randy was.

Anguished members of the regional communications directorate expressed the depth of the unanticipated void occasioned by the death of their boss when they took a collective turn in front of a high-calibre cast of party communicators from the national level to deliver their tributes on Saturday.

“You were eloquent, factual, passionate [and] up to date in your presentation anytime you appeared on a radio show. You’ve sacrificed both for the party and the communications team at the expense of your life,” spoke the team about a man credited with unifying long-divided delegates in the Bongo Constituency ahead of the party’s regional executive elections held in April, this year.

Whilst recounting some moments Randy reportedly suffered violent attacks from some political opponents during his crusade for the NPP, the NPP members in the region praised him on Saturday for showing tenacity until he drew his last breath, describing the former Secretary to the Tertiary Students’ Confederacy (TESCON) as “a consummate political communicator”.

“These dangerous encounters never deterred Randy from communicating for the party. It was, therefore, not surprising that anytime Randy had the opportunity to discuss logistical issues for the Regional Communications Team, he requested for a pickup for the team to guarantee the safety of its members.

“It will be to the credit and everlasting memory of Randy that a pickup is donated to the Upper East Regional Communications Team so that Randy’s crusade for a pickup would not [be] in vain,” they said.

NPP will not Forget the Aganah Family— Regional Chairman

On Sunday (today), the Bongo District Director of Health Services, Rosemond Azure, led the Aganah Family to the Holy Ghost Temple Assemblies of God Church in the regional capital for a post-burial thanksgiving service.

She also donated some cash and food items to the temple on behalf of the family for the support received from the house of worship during the difficult period.

“Randy dedicated almost two decades of his life to the party,” the NPP’s Upper East Regional Chairman, Lawyer Anthony Namoo, told Starr News when he joined the Aganah Family for the thanksgiving service at the church.

“He sacrificed most of his resources to the party. This is not somebody whose family the party will forget. You saw the delegation from the headquarters. The President was informed. So was the Vice President. The National Chairman and the other executives were all informed,” added the Regional Chairman.

Everybody has an Expiry Date— Officiating Minister

The Head Pastor of the Holy Ghost Temple Assemblies of God Church, Rev. Dominic Ziba, presided over the funeral of the Bolgatanga Municipal Coordinator for Private Schools whose loss the Ghana Education Service (GES) and NAGRAT described with one heavy heart as huge.

His sermon, taken from Mark Chapter 13 Verse 32, was themed: “He alone Knows”.

“Sometimes, we can’t understand why there are old people who are even calling for death and they are not dying. Yet young people are dying. He (God) alone knows. And sometimes, good people die, leaving those we see as wicked. Why so? God alone knows. But what I want everybody to know is that life has expiry date. And everyone will one day expire.

“Because life has expiry date and nobody knows the date, and the certainty is that we will expire one day, the only hope that when you expire and you are still secure is to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. So, I present to you Jesus, who alone can give you hope in this life and the life to come. Our late brother, Randy Aganah, accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. We are sure he is resting with the Lord,” Rev. Ziba stated.