Last Saturday, February, 24 2024, friends and sympathisers gathered together at the Bethel Methodist Church grounds,to mourn with the wife, children, mother, siblings and family of the late Eugene Kwame Otupiri Akyea-Mensah, in a final goodbye to him.
Seated with his former colleagues from the Chronicle Newspaper, we wondered why Eugene never made known to us,his name Otupiri. What is the meaning?
Google was not that helpful. Forebears.io named four countries where people carry Otupiri as surname, Ghana, Canada, USA and Nigeria. In Ghana, it said 1 out of 3 million Ghanaians carry that surname. But what does Otupiri mean? Other sites were not helpful.
Fortunately, seated among the mourners was the overlord of Apedwa, Osabarima Asante Frimpong Manso, and he was respectfully approached. The affable traditional leader, narrated that Otupiri was the name of the okyeame of Nana Akyea-Mensah, the Apedwahen who was slain in 1944. And Otupiri, is one who prepares the ground, like someone who tills the soil before cultivation of crops. Otupiri, perfectly prepares everything, for smooth take-off and success.
The chief said this name reflected in the life of Eugene Akyea-Mensah. And how true, he was.
Reflecting on the countless moments I engaged Eugene in conversations, he always had something very meaningful to say that made me wonder why he did not take up a leadership role in the governance of this country. He was smart in analysing almost everything and could come to conclusions that could result from what was transpiring. He would end up saying, “Watch, this could happen. Hmmm, but I pray not.”
Eugene would always make you think far and was quick to identify whatever role you could play and he will encourage you.
When I started posting stories regularly in the Ghanaian Chronicle, Eugene realised that I was drawing people’s attention to things happening with such good sense and sound judgment. He named my page, Commonsense with Daniel Dugan.
From there we occasionally discussed national issues and he would advise what I should pick and write on.
Eugene was a true nationalist who wanted to see Ghana among the second world nations. All what was required, was all Ghanaians to be nationalistic and think of the nation, first. Any differences, that could set us apart must be thrown into the garbage bin.
Eugene, as an Otupiri, was gifted. He had that gift of easily knowing all about things he encountered. He had no journalistic training, but working in that environment for twenty-seven years, he acquired so much knowledge as to be able to advise seasoned journalists on what to do in the placement of articles and stories. He was a one-size-fits-all.
Whenever you dare to argue with Eugene, first find out whether you have the full facts.
His love for whatever he does, showed up in his days in the Chronicle. For almost 27 years, Eugene worked in the media sector specifically, the Ghanaian Chronicle. Many of his colleagues, left for greener pastures but Eugene stayed put.
He so much loved the newspaper and would seek my opinion about how to improve it. He revealed to me, about the economic crunch hitting the paper due to heavy external debt owed it by powerful institutions like the Executive and the Legislative arms of government.
We sadly wondered how come the New Patriotic Party which benefited mostly from papers like the Chronicle, Free Press and the Accra Mail, during the years under Rawlings’ PNDC and NDC, would rather supervise its drop in circulation. With the Free Press and the Accra Mail completely missing on the stands, today, it is only Umkhonto We Sizwe, Spear of the Nation, which is holding on tight against all odds.
In 2001, the NPP took over power in the country and papers of journalists, like Kofi Coomson, Eben Quarcoo and Haruna Atta, who bravely exposed the previous administrations, and in no small way, helped NPP to power, were left to go down.
Not too sure about what was happening, with Chronicle no longer being supplied in state institutions, I asked the opinion of an elder in the NPP. His said, “Hmmm, go and ask ….” And he mentioned a prominent lady’s name. I have not been able to contact that lady, but the elder’s response revealed a lot to me.
I walked into a minister’s office and he asked whether I stopped writing. When I said “I do write and I still write in the Chronicle,” he said, “Oh, that paper. Is it still around?” Then I understood the elder, even more. I am yet to unearth what happened.
In all these Eugene Kwame Otupiri Akyea-Mensah, the grandson of Nana Akyea Mensah, never gave up and was coming out with ideas to help the Chronicle. He thought of floating shares to lift up the finances of the paper.
Eugene life’s ambition is to have a country where things are done right and an unbiased media, can help a lot.
Now that he has joined the Elect in Heaven after winning the race of life, we the mortals left here in Ghana must acknowledge the works of Eugene Kwame Otupiri Akyea-Mensah and implement them.
Ghanaian Chronicle has lost a hero, Ghana has lost a hero. We just have to say, Thank you God Almighty, Thank you Apedwa, Thank you, Komenda-Dominase, Thank you Akyea-Mensah and Allied families, Thank you Ghanaian Chronicle.
By Hon Daniel Dugan
