Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi has revealed that he discovered the man who will go on to become Ghana’s longest-serving Electoral Commission Chairman, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, at a drinking spot.
The former Local Government Minister said he had been sent on a mission by Captain Kojo Tsikata to make contact with Kofi Drah, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science at the University of Ghana.
He was to convince him to join the committee of experts to work on Ghana’s 1992 constitution.
Prof. Ahwoi said while he was on his way, he branched into a drinking spot at Achimota Forest area where a number of University of Ghana lecturers including Dr Kwesi Botchwey used to meet for occasional social drinks.
In his new controversial book ‘Working with Rawlings’, the local government expert recalled meeting Dr Afari-Gyan drinking alone.
“I joined him and engaged him in a conversation, hoping to find out from him the residence of Mr Drah. As the conversation dragged on, I began to see Dr Afari-Gyan in a new light. He was not only a progressive intellectual; he was also pro-Nkrumaist and not hostile to the revolution.
“I steered the conversation in the direction of the unfolding transition to constitutional rule and his views seemed to echo those of the Provisional National Defence Council.
“I aborted my trip to locate Mr. Drah’s house, turned back, and reported to Captain Tsikata’s Office the next day. The rest is history,” Prof. Ahwoi wrote.