RE: The Sad Death of Professor B.N. Ayittey (1945-2022) and the Hesitation in Announcing the Event in a Timely Fashion
Dear Big Sister Gloria, my fellow Historian:
Due to many factors -- including sheer African customary-cum-discretionary reasons -- I may not be able to let you and our other distinguished dialogue forum participants know all that I have learnt -- since January 28th -- about the passing of our dear Pan-African brother and compatriot, Professor George B.N. Ayittey (who lived from October 13, 1945 to January 28, 2022). However, I will try to be transparent, with some explanation, if that helps here.
Our own SIR Toyin was correct, in pointing out recently, that some concerned persons contacted him about the passing of Dr. Ayittey, indeed back in early February of 2022. I possibly belonged to the number of persons, who did contact SIR Toyin. Sorry to point out, however, that the sad death was not just a political issue but a matter of who had the right (or authority?) to announce that, in fact, he ceased to live ion that fateful Friday of January 28, 2022! I knew, from a very reliable Ghanaian family source, as far back as December of 2021 that Professor Ayittey had suffered a massive stroke, and that he also fell down, as a result, and that he was in admission at a Virginia hospital for treatment; I wanted to be helpful, but when I tried to make inquiries, I did not have the relevant "pass-words" or "codes" to be allowed to learn more. Therefore, I sadly ended my inquiries.
I was concerned because I had known my fellow Ghanaian scholar that I always referred to or called as "Brother George" since our years at Stanford University in the late 1980s. That was when he was a National Fellow at The Hoover Institution, and I was Assistant Editor and Director of Research for the then Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers' Project of Stanford University (now The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute). Thanks to my dear cousin (Dr. Stephen Agyepong), himaself an Economist and a Computer Engineer, who introduced me to Brother George (Dr. Ayittey); he and I hit off very well, and I am happy to mention today that he appreciated my advisory editorial roles on the manuscripts that subsequently became his earlier initial published books. Thanks also to The Hoover Institution, Cato institute as well as other conservative Think Thanks that -- to the best of my recollection -- either encouraged or actively supported his research.
Most certainly, Sister Gloria, I am not surprised that some activities surrounding Brother George can, sometimes, be either political or controversial, including simply announcing in good time that, indeed, he had joined our ancestors. For example, I still recall that one of the first public lectures, at Stanford University, by Brother George -- which was about an aspect of Indigenous Institutions in Africa, which later became the subject of his first substantive book of a similar title -- degenerated into a "free-for-all" shouting match and "chair-throwing" event toward the end. Why? Because some of our African brothers and a couple of our sisters present at the lecture were incensed by Brother George's unabashed criticisms levelled at African nations and their leaders that he described as being corrupt and despotic. "Why don't you go to Africa to say all that nonsense," I heard some African brothers shouting such a query at him. His equally loud response was: "I will be dead, if I dared to say those truths anywhere in Africa."
As a trained Journalist, with unlimited belief in freedom of speech, I was bewildered by what I saw or heard at this first lecture given by Brother George (Profesor Ayittey). That was why I declined to accept any further invitations to attend any events at which he ws to speak on either Stanford University campus or in nearby San Francisco; I often urged him to give me a "rain check", and he politely smiled about my usual refrain.
What Happened Before and After January 28, 2022?
My understanding was that, allegedly, it was a visitor, who found Brother George on the floor of his home when he fell, and that visitor reportedly called an ambulance to take him to the Virgini hospital. What about the female companion that we, allegedly, heard that he usually had in the house? The answer is anybody's guess!! However, everything else was unclear after that. Then, at the end of January of 2022, I was reliably informed verbally and in a terse email message that Professor Ayittey passed away. Was it at home or in the hospital? It was never confirmed; since I heard that he had passed away, I thought, in the interest of closure for loved ones, it was necessary to get the word out. I also thought as well that -- no matter how controversial he was in life, as a conservative Economist -- Professor Ayittey (my Brother George) deserved a measure of a dignified announcement, hence I contacted SIR Toyin with a brief one for the dialogue: simply to make that terse announcement and bring about closure!!!
SIR Toyin and I, also, agreed that maybe, I was not the proper person to announce Professor Ayittey's death, especially to confirm that it occurred on Friday, January 28, 2022, hence the hesitation, but the delay was not due to politics. Thanks, however, to my cousin (Dr. Agyepong, also a good friend of Brother George's), I again got hold of the funeral announcement from Ghana, with a human voice and its trappings, which also, in good taste, listed several of his accomplishment, including published books; interestingly, it did remind me of the first CV of Brother George, which I received from him to send to a publisher on his behalf: it included an aspect of his superior final academic transcript from University of Manitoba in Canada, displaying glittering "A" and "A+" grades he earned. That, indeed, was classic Brother George!!!!
Now that Professor George B.N. Ayittey has taken a deserving seat with our ancestors, may he (as my Brother George) Rest In Peace (R.I.P.). After all, all of his earthly battles have ended in America and Ghana, respectively; therefore, he deserves a peaceful rest in our Maker. Amen.
A.B. Assensoh.
-------
Rev. A.B. Assensoh, LL.M., PH.D.,
Co-Book Review Editor, African & Asian Studies Journal,
Professor Emeritus (Indiana University),
Courtesy Professor Emeritus (University of Oregon),
Department of History,
McKenzie Hall (2nd Floor), University of Oregon,
Eugene, OR 97403, U.S.A.
Telephone: (541) 953-7710
Fax: (541) 346-6576
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2022 5:03 AM
To: Sabella Abidde <sabidde@gmail.com>; USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [External] Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Conservative Economist, Professor George B.N. Ayittey: R.I.P.!
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association
Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2022 11:52 PM
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Conservative Economist, Professor George B.N. Ayittey: R.I.P.!
EXTERNAL EMAIL: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click any links or open any attachments unless you trust the sender and know the content is safe.
Good Greetings Brother Akinloye,
Long time, how are you? Ghana, and indeed, Africa has lost a truly remarkable man. Professor Ayittey was not at all docile or validation-seeking; rather, he was an activist, a scholar, and a public intellectual all rolled into one. Many of us will miss him.
Cordially,
SabellaHello Brother Sabella,It is a sad loss indeed..May the soul of Prof. Ayittey rest in peace. As a graduate student in the US in the late 1990s, he was one of the scholars that made us unafraid to argue for Africa centered thinking and to recognize some of the ways of our braggart turncoats parading themselves as leaders in Africa. I got a few chances to chat with him and listen to his talks back then. In his memory, I will take another look at Indigenous African Institutions this week, God willing.My condolences to his family.regards
Akinloye Ojo
--On Fri, Mar 18, 2022 at 7:27 PM Assensoh, Akwasi B. <aassenso@indiana.edu> wrote:
--George B.N. Ayittey, October 13, 1945-January 28, 2022 (76). R.I.P.!
--Sadly shared by A.B. Assensoh.
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