By Christopher Arko
Accra, June 27, GNA – Professor Takyiwaa Manuh, Senior Fellow, Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, has described Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, Founder of CDD, as an “institution builder who needs to be celebrated whiles he is still alive.”
“Prof Gyimah-Boadi is an African democracy campaigner who is blunt in his thought and not afraid to speak truth to power.”
Prof Manuh said this at the launch of a “Democracy Influencer Documentary,” on Wednesday, which seeks to celebrate the life, work and legacy of Prof Gyimah-Boadi.
The 30-minutes documentary is a sneak peek into the inspiring story of Prof Gyimah-Boadi from a humble beginning to becoming an institution builder and campaigner for democratic reform and civic empowerment across Africa.
The documentary also showed the journey of the renowned African democracy activist and the process of pro-democracy and good governance institution building in Africa.
Prof Manuh said Prof Gyimah-Boadi’s democratic activism had led to the establishment of institutions such as the CDD- Ghana, Integrity Initiative, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, the Afrobarometer, and the Coalition of Democratic Election Observers (CODEO).
She said those achievments were worth the commendation, adding: “In Ghana we want to wait until people die before we celebrate them. I am happy we have celebrated Prof Gyimah-Boadi whiles he is still around.”
She expressed concern over the democratic backsliding in some countries in the sub-region, referring to recent coup d’état in Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Guinea.
Despite those challenges, compared to the 1990s, the sub-region and Africa had made progress in democracy on the Continent, citing the recent Afrobarometer data, which showed popular support for democracy.
Prof Abdoul Karim Saidou, a Political Science Lecturer at the Thomas Sankara University, Burkina Faso, said Prof Gyimah-Boadi was a source of inspiration for young Africans in the civil society space.
He described him as an intellectual who was committed to the development of society, one of the most important legacies.
Prof Gyimah-Boadi, on his part, expressed gratitude to the organisers of the programme for honouring his legacy.
He noted that he made use of the opportunities that came his way and worked with young people who contributed immensely to his technical and social knowledge.
“Having the right people around, enjoying the work that I do and getting good outcomes for the most part, I am grateful for that,” he said.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe