Kofi Atiemo-Gyan: Beyond the Obstacles A biography
BLURB
BEYOND THE OBSTACLES is the moving and engaging story of Kofi Atiemo-Gyan, international lawyer, human rights defender and fighter for the sanctity of the rule of law, who did the most unimaginable, to face the dreadful military regime of Ft. Lt Jerry Rawlings in Ghana. It is, indeed, the story of his nationwide campaign against the military regime and the gale of public executions, which included three of ex-Heads of State and 30 senior military officers in a fell swoop without trial; his later arrest, debilitating detention experiences and his miraculous escape from Ghana. It includes his 22 years exile in Nigeria, a situation which has now made Nigeria his permanent residence and home.
Gyan’s life is the story of struggle, beginning with his early education in Bodomasi, Ghana, under the care of his grandmother, after his father and mother were separated the very moment he was born. With this troubled background, he learnt to be strong alone and to imbibe the virtues of perseverance, integrity, commitment, courage and high spirituality.
The Ghanaian Judiciary later became his bedrock as he rode on the crest of the available opportunities to become a quintessential lawyer and demonstrated an unwavering patriotism and love for country and service for humanity.
Indeed, BEYOND THE OBSTACLES represents different phases in the Ghanaian political, social and national developments, from the country’s independence, its turbulent years, the military era and the present political dispensation, where Gyan has continued to play his politics across the borders of Nigeria and Ghana.
THE AUTHOR
Dele Fashomi, journalist, author and communication teacher, is the MD/CEO of IQ4 Media Limited, publisher of Newstide247.com. He was educated at the University of Ibadan, where he bagged his Bachelor degree in 1984 and also a Master of Arts in Communication and Language Arts degree in 1992/93. He is the author of Issues in Communication Technology (2010) and also Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and Public Relations (2013).
He co-authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, the biography of Nigeria’s elder statesman, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DIFFERENT, and also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography, AGAINST ALL ODDS.
His journalism career climaxed at the defunct Concord Group of Newspapers in 1990. He later became Editor of The Westerner, a weekly newsmagazine; Sunday Editor of National Life and Editor of Daily Newswatch newspaper. He is married with children.