Daughter of the late Kofi Atta Annan, Ama Annan, has described her father as a man who sacrificed himself to see many lives transformed.
“I learned to know the man he was. A man with a generous spirit, who gave himself to others, put himself at their disposal and was one of the most loving people,” Ama said on Thursday at the memorial service for the late UN Secretary General in Accra.
“He moved every person, from shanty to palace, from impoverished streets to government enclaves, from a morning greeting from a member of the household, or a moment shared with a loved one, to negotiating international peace,” she said of her father.
Mr. Annan who served two terms as at the top UN job, died on August 18 while on admission at a hospital in Bern, Switzerland. His body was flown to Ghana on September 10 for a three-day state funeral and burial rites.
On Thursday, hundreds of people mainly African presidents, foreign dignitaries, chiefs and government officials joined the Annan family for a memorial service which was filled with tributes from close associates, government and family.
According to Ama, her father appreciated life in all its glory, no matter the situation.
“Make no mistake he used to say, life is not easy, and he would urge us to appreciate everything that we had, good or bad, as someone somewhere else probably had it worse,” Ama said.
The late Kofi Annan, she noted, believed in the freedom and power that comes with education, and above all, believed in young people.
For her, it was a privilege to call such a great peacemaker her father.
“He believed that life was for the living. He sort truth and fought for peace. How lucky am I to have such a father who makes saying goodbye so hard”.
He served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006, as one of the first to emerge from the ranks of United Nations (UN) staff to serve as the Secretary-General.
By Irene Amesimeku|3news.com|Ghana