O-r-d-e-r,O-r-d-e-r... PETER IS GONE (Front Page)

16/07/08
Story: Mary Mensah
ALA ADJETEY’S FINAL MOMENTS
FOR a man of his fitness, the demise of former Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey, at dawn yesterday must be one of the most shocking examples of sudden death.
By the account of his eldest son, Mr Larry Adjetey, a few days before that, the 76-year-old man had complained that he had difficulty urinating and that when he urinated, the urine was accompanied with blood.
He, therefore, checked into the Trust Hospital in Accra for a CTC scan, after which he was referred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for a surgery. He was scheduled to be admitted at the Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital today for a minor surgery the following day.
Last Thursday, July 10, the former Speaker had gone to his office, Nii Okantey Chambers, opposite the General Post Office in Accra, where, as usual, a number of young lawyers came to consult him on cases they were handling, after which he left for home a few minutes after 5.00 p.m.
The following day, the former Speaker said he needed to see his doctor, Prof Bekoe, at Korle-Bu, so he left the house with his driver about 10.00 a.m.
He later called to inform the family that the doctor had decided to detain him for further observation, after diagnosing excess aspirin in his system which needed to be flushed out before the surgery could be performed.
Upon the visit of the family to the hospital last Friday, “Daddy was doing fine, so after staying with him for some hours, we all returned home,” Larry recalled.
On Saturday and Sunday the family was “back at the hospital and on both occasions he looked hearty and well”.
But his condition was said to have changed dramatically on Monday and the family was informed that the situation was very critical and that he had been taken to the Intensive Care Unit.
After waiting for some time, members of the family had to leave because they were not allowed to see him, “only to received a call from doctors at 3.00 a.m. yesterday that he had passed away”.
Mr Adjetey had undergone a successful operation in the US for prostrate cancer and had been travelling there for periodic check-ups.
An outstanding lawyer and former chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Adjetey was a recipient of the Order Of the Star Of Ghana (Member Division) at the recent National Awards Day.
He was also the Head of the Nii Adjetey Okantey We of La Dzrasee and sub-chief at Abiriw in the Akuapem Traditional Area of the Eastern Region under the stool name Nana Otuamfom Bekoe.
Shortly after the news of his death broke, the NPP flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and other NPP heavyweights visited his residence to sympathise with the family.
They included the Chairman of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac Manu; Mr Dan Botwe, Mr Alan Kyerematen, Nana Ohene Ntow and Mr Kwabena Agyepong.
They described his death as a shock and a big blow to the party in particular and a great loss to the nation.
Nana Ohene Ntow said party members were devastated by the news because they never heard about him being taken ill.
“He is a great icon who knows the law at the back of his hand and is one of those who made parliamentary democracy work by insisting on the rule of law,” he said.
He left behind his wife, Johanna, six children, three of whom are lawyers.

THE MAN PETER ALA ADJETEY (Credit: Augustina Tawiah, Junior Graphic)
As early as Standard Five, Young Peter Ala Adjetey had a strong attraction to politics. His regular visits to meetings of the Legislative Council to listen to speeches by prominent Ghanaians such as the Chief of Prampram, Nene Anorkwei; the Chief of Manya Krobo, Nene Azu Mate-Korle, and a founder member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), Dr J.B. Danquah, aroused the political instinct in him.
His interest in politics at that tender age was so high that he supported the UGCC in full when it was formed in 1947, when he was only a Standard Seven pupil.
"I was very interested in the politics of the UGCC and the internal difference of opinion in it," he said.
So deep was his love for politics that he pledged to himself that if he had education, he would do the things those prominent people were doing at the Legislative Council.
And, true to his pledge, he, indeed, became one of the most respected lawyers, politicians and statesmen in the country.
No wonder he has left an indelible mark in the political history of the country which cannot be fully written without the name of the former Speaker of Parliament and one-time National Chairman of the ruling NPP, the Right Hon Peter Ala Adjetey.
Not only was Mr Adjetey a prominent politician; he was also a successful legal practitioner. His law firm, Nii Okantey Chambers, located at the Accra Post Office Square, is a place any budding lawyer would love to have his or her training.
Giving the Junior Graphic a peep into his childhood at his chambers, he was so nice and affable, contrary to public perception that he was so strict and regimental. Amidst laughter, he delved into his past and answered all questions posed to him.
Mr Adjetey, who started school very late, at nine, was the only child, out of his 10 siblings, to complete secondary school and receive higher education. All the others ended their education after Standard Seven because there was no money in the family.
Having realised the importance of education very early, he recalled that whenever he learnt about other people's achievements, he believed he could also make it if he had the required education. The desire to excel drove him to pursue education, despite the difficulties and lack of money in the family.
"My ambition, as a child, was to acquire higher education. I wanted to go to secondary school, " he stressed repeatedly.
As a result, walking the four-mile journey from La, where he was born and raised, to his school, Bishop Boys in Accra, and back was not a big deal. To break the journey home after school, he recalled that he and his friends "used to go to the beach and fight. Sometimes we were beaten, at other times we won".
He explained that he had to walk that distance to school because he was given only a penny to buy lunch at school and he could not afford to spend everything on transport.
During weekends or when he was out of school, Young Ala Adjetey accompanied his father, who was a farmer, to his farm. In those days, he explained, areas such as Cantonments, Labone and Burma Camp were all farmlands. He also helped in household chores such as fetching water and keeping the house tidy.
Living in a fishing community and having a father who was also a fisherman, Young Ala Adjetey was expected to know how to go to sea at a young age. But that was not the case.
Hear him: "I was too young then. I went to the beach but never learnt how to go to sea.”
Young Ala Adjetey's dream of having secondary education was nearly shattered when it was time to go to secondary school. His parents were unable to raise about £16 to add up to a scholarship he had won to study at Adisadel College. He explained that the scholarship was £35 a year, while his fees for the year was £51. Left with no other choice, he sadly declined the scholarship.
But luck later smiled on him when somebody informed him that Accra Academy had just become an approved government secondary school so he could go there as a day student if his scholarship could still be maintained. He, therefore, appealed to the then Education Department, now the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, for the scholarship to be transferred to Accra Academy. And that was done for him.
During his first year at Accra Academy, Young Ala Adjetey had to walk to school every day from La, but he was never late to school. Eventually, he became a boarder, after he won another scholarship. At Accra Academy, he was the editor of the school's journal and a house prefect as well. His adherence to discipline also made students describe him as a strict person.
He completed secondary school in 1951 and had another scholarship to study at the University College of the Gold Coast (now the University of Ghana, Legon), the only university in the country at the time. That year, he and two others were the only students from his school who won scholarships for direct entry to the university college without going to Sixth Form.
After his two-year intermediate Bachelor of Arts programme, he started an honours degree course in Sociology, with Prof K.A. Busia, the first African Professor at the university and then Head of the Sociology Department, as his lecturer. He, however, abandoned his Sociology course midstream after winning yet another scholarship from the Government of Ghana to study law in Britain.
He studied Law at the University of Nottingham and graduated in 1958 with Second Class (Upper Division) honours. He also did a summer course in Public International Law in the Netherlands. He returned to London, and after successfully passing his exams, he was called to the English Bar in February 1959. He returned to Ghana in May 1959 and worked at the Attorney-General's Office as an Assistant Crown Counsel.
From there, he went into private practice and had been doing so ever since, except for the four years he became the Speaker of Parliament from 2000 to 2004. The 76-year-old former Speaker of Parliament had held a number of positions, including being the former President of the Ghana Bar Association and President of the African Bar Association.