Politicians challenged to write their memoirs

Ho, April 8, GNA - Politicians and organizations promoting good governance and democracy in Ghana have been challenged to develop the culture of political memoir writing in the country. The political memoirs, "form an important part of the national memory", Mr Kosi Kedem, former Member of Parliament, said at the launch of his 292-page memoir titled, "The Challenge of a Lifetime" in Ho on Tuesday.

Other books to his credit are, "What I said in Parliament, 1993-2005", "British Togoland: An Orphan or the Death of a Nation? "Problems arising from the 1956 Togoland Plebiscite" and "How Britain betrayed and subverted British Togoland". He said apart from Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President and a few others, "it is very rare for our political leaders to write their memoirs".

"But reading memoirs in particular opens people's eyes to wisdom and dangers of life, which invariably, motivates and inspire them to achieve success and greatness in life," Mr Kedem said. He therefore suggested that a university, a non-governmental organization or groups of them could come together to promote, fund or subsidize political memoir writing. The government also at the risk of being accused of "wasting the tax payers' money can on its own or in conjunction with interested organizations, establish a department or Trust to take care of this problem," Mr Kedem said.

He also recommended that a percentage of "send-off" packages of former Heads of State could be channelled into helping them to write their memoirs as lasting monuments to their presidencies as is the case with the United States of America. Mr Kedem said those politicians who would not be able to write their memoirs themselves could hire co-authors or writers "who write people's stories for them for a fee". He said the title of his memoir dated back to his University days following his reflections on his classy performance in his second attempt at his First University Examination. Mr Joseph Amenowode, Volta Regional Minister, described Mr Kedem as a personality who took the risk to write on subjects which many people were afraid to wade into.

But, he said, it was important that facts about "our history" must be told, no matter how unpalatable people might consider them, so that future generations become knowledgeable about their history and be inspired and avoid the repetition of the mistakes made by their forebears.

Mr Kedem's memoir recounted his childhood development and experiences, his education, Ewe traditions, culture and values, work ethics and the influence of German colonial administration on life and discipline among the Ewes and encounters between the Ewes and Ashantis in the Ashanti wars of conquest. The book has been recommended as a supplementary reader for literature students at Senior High School level.