Medaase Captain Medaase* A Quiet Pan African Giant Passes Away

Captain Kojo Tsikata, the Legendary Quiet Pan African Giant from Ghana, passes away but his Legacy shall not pass away. The Legacy of Captain Tsikata is seen in his work for Justice. In the midst of injustice, whenever a reference was made to the word Captain, people who knew Captain Tsikata knew that the reference was about him, as he was known as The Captain. He became a Captain from his work in the military of Ghana. 

But he was a different kind of Captain. Fundamentally, he considered the most important work to be that of helping others to help themselves out of injustice and the attendant poverty. This Legacy greatly influenced the likes of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana and Captain Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso.

The Legacy of The Captain is seen in his Pan African Liberation Work where he was in the trenches in Southern Africa fighting to get rid of injustice, in the form of apartheid. As The Captain struggled to end apartheid, his Wife Majodina of South Africa was by his side. On account of the fact that The Captain was a soldier, many people were surprised that his first option in approaching problems was not to fight, engage in conventional militarism. The Captain preferred to Talk and Walk the Talk, as he did very well in providing leadership to get the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) to end the Civil War in Liberia through the Accra Peace Talks of 2003. 

When we hear of Pan African Liberators, the names of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Madiba Rolihlahla Mandela come out but one does not hear the name of The Captain This is so because The Captain worked quietly. In any meeting, The Captain would be quiet in the background but he had already helped to establish the background that produced good results from the meeting. In his work, The Captain demonstrated good leadership. Nothing was too small for The Captain to do in the service of the people. According to The Captain, good leadership is by a good example, not by rhetoric. 

Coming back to Ghana from the trenches, fighting for Justice in Southern Africa, The Captain was placed on the benches of injustice in Ghana, as he was accused of planning a coup to overthrow the government of Ghana. In addition to the mass outcry for Justice, it took the integrity and the scientificity of Comrade Lawyers Prof. Dr. Akilagpa Sawyerr and Professor Dr. Kwesi Botchwey to secure the release of The Captain from detention. The Pan African work of these two Comrades were also seen in their teachings at the University of Dar-es-Salaam and the work of the former as far as in Asia. These Comrades continue to Struggle for Justice with other Comrades in Ghana, like Comrade Yao Graham, raising awareness that provides security and hope for the Oppressed.

With the formation of the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA) in 1973, The Captain worked assiduously, in the background, as usual, to protect Comrades who were fleeing from the violence of injustice in the colonies and the neo-colonies, providing them with moral, material and financial support. Up to a week before his demise, The Captain said that he was faring well despite his ill health because he did not like to attract attention to himself.

Some people consider quiet people to be weak and stupid, but they are wrong. What matters most is getting the good thing done and that is working to transform injustice into justice. There are even some religious leaders who think that the only way to get the ear of Our Creator to listen is to yell. Far from it, quiet work, like the work of The Captain, can bring good results. There is nothing weaker and more stupid than a loud big mouth person who does not walk the good talk.

As we come to express condolences to The Captain's Brothers, Fui and Tsatsu, and other members of the Tsikata family, we remember the friends of The Captain around the world and say to them Let us hold on to the Legacy of The Captain and step up the work to bring Justice for All. the only ingredient for sustainable Peace and Progress.

*Medaase means thank you in the Twi language of Ghana.