Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah
My first encounter with Dr. Omane Boamah was in 2014 when he was the Communications Minister and I got elected as the General Secretary of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS). As former NUGS President himself, Dr. Omane Boamah, took a keen interest in the affairs of NUGS and was there for us whenever we called on him.
Sometime in 2015, before the end of our tenure as NUGS Executives, Dr. Omane Boamah hosted me at his office at the Ministry of Communications. He commended me for my strong advocacy for Ghanaian students. He also said to me that he was aware I sympathised with the NPP but requested me to leave the NPP and join him in the NDC to secure a better political future for myself.
He said the NDC had a deliberate system in place to transition hardworking student leaders into the party’s mainstream political architecture. He cited the examples of himself, Okudzeto Ablakwa, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Hon. Murtala Mohammed and many others. Despite all his efforts at persuading me, I insisted I could not betray my Party, the then opposition NPP.
The Minister would still not give up on me. We actually had a bet, where he made it clear to me that after handing over as NUGS Secretary, the NDC was going to get me into their fold. That was how determined and, of course, how nice he was to me. Fast forward, I left office later in the year, and I made sure the Minister lost the bet… lol as I remained NPP bona fide at all material times.
Despite “disappointing” the Minister, he didn’t cut ties with me… He remained a good friend and a mentor. Dr. Omane Boamah valued relationships over partisan differences. All politicians are certainly not the same. That was Omane Boamah’s true nature, as you may have noticed with the plethora of testimonies from his opponents. He was full of life and down-to-earth.
Sometime later in 2016, I needed a Passport urgently… I never possessed a Passport at the time. I didn’t know how to get one and who to go to…. Then Minister Omane Boamah came to mind. I wasn’t sure he would pick up my call because I had not interacted with him for almost a year. Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try.
He picked up my call and asked me to come over to the office, where he gave me a note to take to the Passport Office. When I got there and faced a little challenge, I got in touch with him again, and he spoke directly to the Director of Passport, and I was sorted. I got my first Passport in less than 48 hours thanks to Dr. Omane Boamah. He was indeed a good man, who cannot be celebrated enough. His death really struck me hard.
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, you may be gone but I can assure you that you can never and will never be forgotten. Your legacy of love, empathy, kindness, compassion, hard work, accomplishments and selfless service to our Motherland and to humanity will forever be in our hearts and minds.
May the Almighty be pleased with your gentle soul till we happily meet again in the afterlife. And may He grant your immediate family, friends and the rest of the nation the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss.
Iddi Muhayu-Deen,
Former General Secretary, NUGS
