Welcome home: Jake the Statesman

Peter Martey Agbeko Opinion Apr - 14 - 2016 , 08:35

On Tuesday, April 12, 2016, the Obetsebi- Lamptey family, led by Nii Lante Otanka II,the Acting Lante Djan We Mantse, welcomed home the body of a great son of the land - Jacob Nii Lantei Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, a distinguished politician and marketing communication professional.

Jake, as he was popularly called, died at age 70 in London, United Kingdom on Sunday, March 20, 2016 after being taken ill. He was the immediate past National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the second son of Emmanuel Odarkwei Obetsebi-Lamptey, a prominent lawyer and politician, and a member of the Big Six of Ghana.

Undeniably, Jake was a statesman. His thoughts, words and deeds justified this assertion. In a country badly polarised by partisan politics, particularly between supporters and sympathisers of the two dominant parties - the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and The New Patriotic Party (NPP) - people such as him provided a calming influence and voice of reason. He belonged to a dwindling band of politicians who held fast to decent principles.

Reaction to his death

The vast outpouring of public sympathy and tributes from across the political divide says a lot. Significantly, President John Mahama was among the early sympathisers.

Parliament also paid tribute to Jake. "In a statement signed by the Deputy Director of Public Affairs of Parliament, Ms Kate Addo, the law-making body described Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey as a “fallen hero”, who advocated peace and unity in all of his endeavours”.

In a related development, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) through its General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia had this to say:

"In all honesty, contemporary Ghanaian political history cannot be written without the mention of Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey and we pray the Good Lord finds a peaceful resting place for his soul"

Former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, in a statement, expressed their deepest sympathies and asked God to give comfort and peace at this difficult moment to the family.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor was definitely not to be left out in the commiserations.

The late Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey's remains was received by former President John Agyekum Kufuor and other members of the NPP

He described Jake as “very professional in his field of Public Relations and Advertising, emphasising that he conducted serious matters with a relaxed mien and charm; he was affable and had a great sense of humour. He was a good man.”

As expected, Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the flag bearer of the NPP and other high profile citizens all shared in the grief.

“Nana Akufo-Addo described Jake’s passing as a tragedy”, adding “We have been life-long friends — we grew up together, our fathers worked together for Ghana; they were part of the people who gathered in Saltpond on the 4th of August 1947 to establish the UGCC from where began our struggle for freedom and independence”.

"He has been a life-long supporter of our party's tradition and values”.

Early life

Born in Accra, Ghana in 1946, Jake had his primary education in Accra, before travelling to England to further his education.

“In September 1955, Jake’s father decided to save them from possible harm due to political upheavals so Jake and his brother were sent to England for schooling.

His career began to take off in the UK where he mastered the art of integrated communication.

Marketing communications career

According to Westwood’s narrative in the book titled THE STRATEGIST:

Back in Ghana in 1966, Jake threw himself into work as a radio and TV scriptwriter, commentator and presenter at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).

While at GBC, he met Beattie Casley-Hayford and they became friends. In 1967, the government announced that, as a matter of necessity, GBC would have to go commercial to be able to generate revenue to cover expenses. Subsequently Beattie and Jake started an enterprise producing radio commercials for advertising agencies to feed GBC.

During this period, Jake was approached by the General Manager of an advertising agency, Lintas West Africa Ltd, and subsequently engaged him – as the radio / TV producer on their client service side.

He joined Lintas W.A. in 1969, as an account executive, radio and television producer and became a Client Service Manager of Lintas in Ghana in 1971.

In 1972 he was appointed Joint General Manager of Lintas W.A. with Mr Peter Hasford, effectively becoming the youngest head of any Unilever Company in the world at 26.

In 1974, together with the late Hasford and the late Nana Wereko Ampem (then Mr. E. N. Omaboe), the three acquired Lintas W.A. from Unilever and Afromedia Ghana Ltd from UAC, with the late Tony Dickson as the fourth shareholder.

He became the Managing Director of Lintas and Director of Afromedia in 1974. Under his leadership, the company expanded into Sierra-Leone and Liberia and ultimately became the Advantage Group with activities extending into Nigeria and into new areas of Radio and Television Production, Public Relations and Design.

Between 1984 and 1999, he worked with the World Health Organisation (WHO). He was the Plenary Speaker at the World Summit on AIDS, London, and at the Second International AIDS Symposium in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Jake is a past president of the Advertising Association of Ghana and has several publications to his credit, covering topics from family planning to AIDS prevention in Africa.

In spite of his many accomplishments, his real passion was for party politics – and this became more apparent in 2000 when he was appointed Campaign Manager of the NPP.

Jake the Politician

Jake was born into the Danquah-Busia tradition and stayed true to its tenets throughout his adult life.

"Politics became his life.”

He was the chairman of the Publicity Committee of the Party from its inception and served as the Greater Accra Regional chairman from 1997 – 2005.

He served as the Greater Accra regional chairman for two separate tenures and went on to become the party’s national chairman.

Jake attained lifetime achievement recognition by becoming the first Ghanaian National Political Party campaign manager to guide an opposition party to win over an incumbent government. This was in 2000. Through his guidance, the party won again in 2004.

He was President Agyekum Kufuor’s first Chief of Staff. From 2005 to July 2007, Jake served as the Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations in the cabinet of President Kufuor. Prior to that assignment, he was the Minister of Information (2001–02).

Jake resigned his posts in July 2007 to campaign for the NPP nomination in the 2008 Presidential elections.

As of February 2010, he was the National Chairman of the NPP.

For the aforementioned and his many other accomplishments, his name shall be eternally eulogised. His healthy brand of politics is a shining example of the objectivity needed in successful political engagements, and is particularly pertinent in this election year.

Jake the man

Love him or hate him, Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey (JOOL) was effective at whatever he did.

To his critics, he represented a clear and present threat.

But to his army of supporters he was among the dwindling few politicians capable of inspiring the new generation of activists to believe that there is an alternative to the often caustic nature present in the political landscape.

He was well spoken and good mannered and was gifted with the ability to think quickly on his feet. Beyond that, he had the power of persuasion.

His trademark was scratching his head, this invariably meant that he was preparing a meaningful response to a difficult question or conundrum.

For many years he was involved in sponsoring the New Horizon School which shared a wall with his residence in Cantonments.

He also spearheaded the sponsorship of an advertising award at the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

Advantage group

Among others Jake was instrumental in developing and defining the advertising landscape in Ghana. He possessed phenomenal creative and analytical skills and was a great talent spotter. This no doubt earned him the accolade – The Strategist – Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey:

In December 2015, he hosted current and former employees at his residence. It was truly a nostalgic event. On that occasion he hinted that more of such interactions were needed and all present were certainly looking forward to the subsequent meetings. But alas this was not meant to be, as “Man proposes but God disposes”.

Jake has two children, Charis and Rachel, and was happily married to his lovely wife Esther.

He will be laid to rest on April 22, 2016.