Nii Okai Writes A Tribute To KODA His Friend

Mfantsipim School

There has always been a brotherly rivalry in Mfantsipim School between Joyful Way Incorporated (JWI) Calvary Road Incorporated (CRI, now Harvest International Ministries – Harvest Chapel International Headquarters). I joined the latter, kind courtesy my school fathers who drafted me in from the School Choir when they realized I could sing all their solos by merely watching their rehearsal from the window every Friday night or so. One such Friday night was prior to a ministration at Aggrey Memorial Zion Secondary School, and I got automatically “zooked” into Calvary Road Singers, and became an overnight sensation at Aggrey, when I was placed on their dining hall table to minister.

My pride of place remained for a couple more years until a dark chubby multi-gifted freshman arrived. His coming was foretold because our brothers in JWI used to have almost all the musicians and we simply had to borrow them for our ministrations partly because they, unlike us, were endowed with handed down instruments from their national office. We were told that sister Ama Dua-Anto’s kid brother was coming to SS1 to support the work.

He did arrive as expected and was soon ushered into the old music room where we used to rehearse acapella, only this time we had secured a keyboard in anticipation and it was ear candy rehearsing our repertoire of songs. The young lad could play just anything and in any key. We handed him a box guitar, and he wowed us further. He confided in me that he was a bassist, and I ensured he played that as well to the admiration of all. He occasionally played the drums as well and would try out the clarinet that our boss, Franklin Anno used to put us all in our places ????

The treasure we had received soon became a challenge when I noticed that he had started entertaining a switch to JWI, because quite frankly, that was where he felt he could be mentored as a total musician, and the Anno family of JWI held the musical centre of gravity on campus at the time. I believe that was when my assignment in his life began in earnest. I would assume the self-imposed role of big brother, chaperone, director – and boy, we fought!

How do you direct someone who is technically more sound than you are and musically more gifted? The grace of a Kwabotwe senior had to kick in, and I had to tell him at a point to focus on playing, and leave the singing to us. You’d realize until now, I haven’t extolled his singing – I genuinely felt he had to be managed otherwise he might not be able to handle pride, should it slip in. The truth was that the spotlight had shifted onto this new wonder kid, and I had to give him a taste of what I also suffered from my mentors when they felt the righteous urge to keep me away from pride.

So it was tough love! I technically had to become the big brother he didn’t quite need because he was the toast of all my mentors. He soon realized that this overbearing senior was going nowhere and gradually yielded to what both of us were yet to discover as a divine connection by The Lord himself.

I became the leader of the Kwabotwe Vibes (School Band), President of the Mfantsipim School Choir, Music Director of Calvary Road Singers; roles he had to assist me on, often as chief musician and those were golden moments our mates keep referring to.

Kofi was very committed & loyal and yet very outspoken & just. Any leader will tell you that it had to take special grace & confidence to man-manage such a gift. He would correct the music you are struggling to teach, and you had to admit that his ears were better. And yet, he understood order, so he never usurped authority. We therefore became the brothers we each needed – a typical firstborn bonding with a last born.

Our bonding introduced me to his nuclear and music families in the Twin City (the Dua-Antos and Spirit of One) and I took him home with me to the Port City. I vividly remember sighting Pastor Joe Beecham at their rehearsal, directing the group from behind the drums and leading the song Walk Upright by Lester Lewis at Pastor Charlie Sam’s place.

The experience made me push and lobby for the group to come handle one of our entertainment sessions at Mfantsipim before I completed. It was an unforgettable experience – our school chaplain (Bishop I K Quansah) had to literally come and stop the night as the boys didn’t want them to end.

Koda was not only a musical genius, but also a fine debator and a shark!!! He was assistant to the Protocol Prefect (Stephan Antoh) and later appointed the Entertainment Prefect of the School – perhaps the only chrifé guy to have ever been so appointed in a while. Looking back it was obviously God preparing him for his unique assignment.

While on campus he was a sought-after instrumentalist by our fathers in the university (UCC), and he would always try to promote us – something he has continued to do for life. Once such opportunity he shared with me was when he was drafted to play for the UCC Mass Choir by Rev Joe Asmah at their Intellectochoirofest. I was done with my A-levels but I couldn’t bear to miss it, the way Koda spoke about it. I begged my mum to allow me visit my aunt, the wife of the then Methodist Bishop of Cape Coast (The Dadsons). That way I could get to witness Intellecto. I not only attended, but carried along two of my mentees on campus, Jas Hammond and Arthur Sackeyfio, and it was indeed a destiny changing experience. I prophesied to myself that night that I was going to be in the UST Mass Choir conducted by Pierro (Peter Aryitey) at the next Intellecto, though it was going to take another year of waiting before that could materialize. Guess what, the next year the government announced a double intake into the universities so The Lord heard and answered my prayer. I therefore went to UST not really because of the course of study, but moreso to be a part of what God was doing on that campus.

Koda was to follow the next year (to be continued)

Source: Nii Okai

Published by: Clement Afreh CBCInc Hypes @clementafreh