Boadu-Ayeboafoh pens Akyere, his life story
For a greater part of his professional career, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh has been a fountain of knowledge, a pioneer and renowned journalist in Ghana and now, he has given generations to come a lasting legacy to guide and inspire them.
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Last Thursday, he launched his autobiography, documenting his life history and how he pursued justice to push his way up in life and extended the same attitude as a child, a student leader and a corporate boss to individuals and groups who faced unfair and unjust treatment from people and institutions.
The 320-page book, titled Akyere —The Stream Which Never Dries Up, gives deep insight into a legacy of achievements, hard work, sacrifices, perseverance and knowledge to inspire people, particularly the youth, to aim higher in life.
Akyere reflects both the smooth and rough paths Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh, a former Editor, Daily Graphic, and presently the Chairman of the National Media Commission had to traverse as a child in the village, schools, relationships and the corporate world from the 1960s through to the 2020s.
Why Akyere?
Akyere, is a stream at Maase, in the Afigya Kwabre District in the Ashanti, Region, where Boadu-Ayeboafoh hails from.
It never dries up, providing a clean source of water for the people. Also, the name was chosen by the author in honour of his late mother who bore the name Akyere and inspired him to become who he is today.
Author’s motivation
Speaking on the motivations for writing Akyere, Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh said he wrote the book as part of his desire to leave a legacy for young people to aspire to work hard to accomplish their dreams.
“When the youth see you driving a Landcruiser, they think that they can own it the next day, but they do not know what had happened to you and the stress that you have been through before you have gotten to where you are.
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“This is to share my life story and encourage anyone who reads it not to give up, but persevere and put in the best effort,” he said.
He shared a few of the lessons he had learnt in life as captured in the book, and recalled his experience as a student and a former Secretary of the Junior Common Room (JCR) at the University of Ghana, Legon.
He recalled how he, applying his leadership aptitude, resolved violent agitations by students over inadequate food served at a canteen of the university.
“The lessons I learnt from that incident is: do not follow the crowd and if you allow yourself to do what they want you to do without understanding what they do, then you are not a leader,” he said.
Review
Reviewing the book at the launch, the Head of Journalism Department of the African University College of Communications, Nanabanyin Dadson, said the book highlighted a plethora of challenges the author had to go through as a child to grow to become who he was today.
He said Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh, rising from humble beginnings to pride of place today, was a tale of divine intervention, perseverance, commitment and sacrifice.
“Thanks to the gift of academic brilliance that he demonstrated right from the beginning, Ayeboafoh, through many ordeals and challenges that might have discouraged many a young lad to throw up their arms and quit pursuing education, trod on,” he said.
“Today, here he stands tall not literally in terms of height but tall among his peers for his academic knowledge, native wisdom, management skills, organisational politics and good human relations, he added.”
Auction
The first set of the autographed books were auctioned at GH¢20,000, with subsequent ones at GH¢10,000 and GH¢5,000.
Valuable record
A former member of the Council of State, Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, who chaired the function, praised the author for documenting his life journey in the book and creating a valuable record for future generations.
Mrs Afenyi-Dadzie, also a former President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), emphasised Mr Ayeboafo’s unwavering commitment to truthful and factual reporting, as well as his dedication to objectivity and impartiality.
She further noted Ayeboafo’s belief in the importance of media professionals, prioritising their communities over their employers, and quoted Chinua Achebe’s ‘Anthills of the Savannah’: “A cock that crows in the morning belongs to one household, but its voice is the property of the whole neighbourhood.”
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