A Celebration Of Life: Captain Kojo Tsikata

By Osei Peisei Anto, a Social Political Analyst 

On the quiet, Captain Kojo Tsikata entered the land of Ghana in 1936; and on the quiet, he left this beloved country to his Maker on the 20th November, 2021. 

From humble beginnings as a native of Keta, Captain Tsikata entered Achimota College for his secondary education.  While there, he was influenced by a recruitment drive to join the Ghana Army after which he was sent to the United Kingdom where he attended the Officer Cadet course at the famous Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Kojo Tee as he was fondly called had his early exploits as a young military officer when he was sent to the Congo as part of the Ghanaian military contingent on the orders of Ghana’s first President Osagyefo Nkrumah to protect Pan-Africanist and anti-neocolonialist Patrice Lumumba, who was the then Prime Minister.  

One thing that seems to elude Ghanaians is the fact that he was once arrested by the Guinean authorities for being a suspect of an assassination plot against Dr. Nkrumah, even though as an Nkrumaist, he was there to visit Dr. Kwame Nkrumah himself. Knowing his per degree, Samora Machel, a freedom fighter, intervened to pardon him and traveled with him to Mozambique, in 1964 to join the Mozambique People’s Liberation Army (MPLA) and internationalist fighters from Cuba.  Furthermore, he was appointed by Colonel Gaddafi of Libya to a Senior Advisory position in charge of the al Mathaba Central Committee, a support centre for the liberation movement and anti-imperialist and anti-zionist organisations across the globe. In the heat of the second coming of the Late Jerry John Rawlings’ Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), he was appointed in 1982 and was in charge of national security and foreign affairs. Within the civilian administration of J.J. Rawlings, he served as a Member of the Council of State and played an effective role as a security capo with long standing international experience.  

In fact, the name Captain Kojo Tsikata was actually feared more than the personality himself, who was known to be calm and collected in times of consensus-building. He was a phenomenal gift with unassailable security consciousness that kept him as the brain behind the foiling of several attempted coups d’etats to overthrow the Rawlings PNDC administration. World-wide, he had little class in intelligence and counter-intelligence works in the world. 

Those were the heady days that Ghana stood firm and resolute against Western powers. He created the path and led the way as an icon, a gem and nationalist to project Ghana in the comity of nations. Internally, he served to the admiration of all. 

He was listed as one of the six government officials under the NDC regime to receive a national award in the category of the Companion of the Order of the Volta by President Kuffour. Captain Tsikata humbly declined it. Under normal circumstances, a prophet is usually not accepted at home. Kojo Tsikata was severally accused of and associated with some atrocities and killings, which were proven to be coming from the forest of conspirators – all because he was more feared than respected. It is also often said that the good is often interred with the bones of heroes, whilst the evils of such great personalities live after them. 

This is however disingenuous, especially for developing countries such as Ghana, who should rather espouse our fallen heroes and heroines to guide our development efforts. When he appeared and testified before the National Reconciliation Commission set up by the Kufuor Administration as an avenue to heal the wounds of Ghana out of several political upheavals, Captain Kojo Tsikata challenged his detractors to come forward to, as it were, nail him for the various unfounded allegations against his personality and character. 

Like the famous Biblical event of the prostitute and the leaders of Jerusalem, none could throw the first stone. Captain Kojo Tsikata lived all his life as a gallant, fearless, bold and brave soldier; as well as a humble, affable, resilient and unalloyed patriot; not only to Ghana, but Africa and the world as a whole. 

MAY HIS SOUL FIND A RESTING PLACE IN THE LORD.