As you carefully read Our Motherland, there is one lesson that should guide your thinking and cause you to have deep reflections. That lesson is shared in the pages of this book and goes as follows: “we are only caricatures when we dress up in borrowed clothes, we should be proud of ourselves and act who we are.”
These words are shared by Dr. Joseph H. Silver, Sr, President of Silver & Associates and Former President of Alabama State University, in a Forward to the latest book of Kojo Yankah entitled, “Our Motherland, My Life”.
The 232-page autobiography of the former Ashanti Regional Minister, published by Ayebia Clarke Publishing Limited, UK, chronicles the thought-provoking journey of a humble son of a school teacher who worked his way through challenging moments to leave a legacy in his public and private life.
Kojo Yankah, one time director of the Ghana Institute of Journalism, is the founder of the African University College of Communications (AUCC).
He will be launching his latest book at Manhyia Palace later this month.
In his comment on the cover of the Book, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, says “As a public servant, he endeared himself so much to the chiefs and people of Ashanti with his hard work, humility and focus that when President Rawlings decided to transfer him out of Ashanti, there were protests all over. He took the bold step to resign from Government and till today his legacy remains in Ashanti”.
Excerpts of Dr. Joseph Silver’s Foreword to the book:
Mr. Yankah is a man of the world given his travels across the continent of Africa, Europe, Central America, South America and the United States. Yet, he does not lose sight of the foundation and promise of the “Motherland.” In fact, he has used his worldview to more clearly understand the needs of Ghana and Africa in general. In doing so, he has taken the best of Mr. Kwame Nkrumah, Dr. W.E.B. Dubois and Jesus the Christ to shape his worldview and his African view.
Therefore, there are a group of words that can be used to describe the guiding principles that Mr. Yankah has lived by throughout his life. Some of those words, but not limited to, are as follows: honor (thy parents), persistence, values, customs, humble, faith, integrity, excellence, wisdom, and service.
These words come together to shape Mr. Yankah’s view of what African leadership should be about. He stated in the book that “Africa need selfless leaders not greedy or arrogant ones.” He recognizes the need for great leadership and development in Ghana and throughout Africa.
However, he states that “development within the context of our own history, culture, and circumstance should be the guiding goal.”
These guiding principles held Mr. Yankah in good stead as he served his people in Parliament. He quickly amassed a reputation of fairness, honesty, supporter of education, and having a zest for improving the quality of life for the people for whom he served.
The book has already been launched and received with rave reviews in the United States of America, and also in Accra and Ho in Ghana.
Three blurbs for the book
Sir Samuel Esson Jonah: Chairman, Jonah Capital
“Kojo Yankah is a Ghanaian renaissance man who despite his extensive international travels has not lost sight of his foundational grounding and the promise of his ‘Motherland’ Ghana. Our Motherland… chronicles the remarkable life of a true Ghanaian patriot who has been an active observer and participant in Ghanaian political transitions. His African cultural influences are undergirded by his deep spiritual belief in articulating the needs of Ghana and Africa as an influential communicator. From his journalistic career as Editor of the Ghanaian Daily Graphic to his political postings as one of the best Central Regional Ministers in Ghana and his exemplary work as the Ashanti Regional Minister, he is the epitome of the quintessential values of courage, humility and integrity. His work in cultural leadership combines western intellectual traditions with African philosophical principles as a guide for transformational leadership. His quest for a united Africa connected to its Diasporas is a clearly expressed agenda. His legacy as a leader and a visionary will be remembered for generations to come as one of the best Ghanaian and Pan Africanist thinkers of his generation”.
Ama Ata Aidoo: Ghanaian writer and Founder, Mbaasem Foundation
“Our Motherland… is an astonishing book: by, and about a most extraordinary human being. What Kojo Yankah has so far accomplished in one lifetime is awe-inspiring. The scope of his knowledge, of where he comes from, where he has been, and where he has travelled to, is enviable. His thinking as well as his perceptions of our world is breathtaking. He is what one would call an unapologetic Ghanaian patriot. Apart from the sheer joy of it, this book has to be read for an understanding of where Ghana, “Our Motherland” has been since the early years of independence. One only hopes that Yankah’s story will inspire both the young and the old with the same necessary sterling qualities that seem to be missing in today’s Ghanaian and African leadership”.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas: Special Representative of UN Secretary General and Head, UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel
“Our Motherland… is an enthralling account of the remarkable life of Kojo Yankah, a genuine Ghanaian patriot and an unapologetic Pan Africanist. His is the fascinating life story of a little boy of humble birth from a small village in Agona who by dint of hard work, perseverance and unquenchable thirst for knowledge and discovery, climbed the Ghanaian social ladder to enviable heights as one of the country’s most accomplished media practitioners, cultural activists, politician and social and educational entrepreneur. Yankah demonstrates his Afro-optimism by insisting on a return to the qualities that enabled the forebears of African liberation struggles to surmount formidable odds to win independence with courage, vision and unalloyed public spiritedness. These have been the guiding principles of the author’s own distinguished life exuding a proud and dignified African Personality. Our Motherland… is an inspiring, uplifting and highly motivating book.”
“Our Motherland, My Life” is the eighth published work of the author.
By Kofi Adu Domfeh|3news.com|Ghana