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On J. H. Mensah, epitome of a patriot
E. Ablorh-Odjidja
July 16, 2018
In the
course of my association with Mr J. H. Mensah in the early 80s
in New York, during his days in exile and his leadership
within the Ghana Democratic Movement (GDM), a political activist
group opposing the PNDC of Ghana, I found him to be a very
phenomenal character.
J. H, as we
called him, was a calm and thoughtful person in the face
of many crises.
And forgive me if I don’t use the title
"honorable" for him because that noble label has fallen into
common usage these days.
Mr. J.
H. Mensah was certain in his beliefs and self-assured in a quiet
way.
His acumen or intellect, however,
was insurmountable, as it was very formidable, but never
was it used on frivolous matters, except for those of state.
He was
a politician, an intellectual and an economist, whose approach
to development in the Third World nations of Africa was based on
common sense.
He was a man who could dictate a
memo, a treatise or an official document, in the flash of the
moment.
And the
result on paper would be free of errors.
Every word, idea, punctuation, or a comma, would be
perfectly placed, in spite of the speed at which the document
was written.
And
when finished, even the most cynical would accept the product as
that from an excellent writer and a thinker.
Above all, he was a selfless man – always in the pursuit for
good governance.
He was such a man.
Those of us
who had the luck to work with him during the GDM days saw these
character traits very often.
My deep
regret for the passing of
Mr. J.
H. Mensah. But high
regards for this courageous, thoughtful statesman, who was an
epitome of patriotism for Ghana.
May
J. H. rest In Peace.
E. Ablorh-Odjidja,Publisher
www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, July 16, 2018.
Permission to
publish: Please feel free to publish or reproduce, with credits,
unedited. If posted at a website, email a copy of the web page
to publisher@ghanadot.com . Or don't publish at all.
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