GIJ REACTS TO THE PASSING OF A BROTHER

“You shall be my dance partner to praise and worship our Maker”, “Death is inevitable but certainly we least expected that you would be its victim”, “In simple words he was just awesome”, “Our souls unsavoury that our voices cannot utter any dirge”- tributes pour in ahead of Wilfred’s burial.

Little did the family of Wilfred Kwasi Nelson know that their beloved would be departing for eternal misery in death when he had finished dining with them that faithful Friday night on the 5th of June, 2015.

The Level 200 Bachelor of Arts in Communications student of the Ghana Institute of Journalism died at the Barnor Hospital in Lartebiokorshie-Accra after complaining of a stomach upset when he had finished having supper with his family.

Will was an integral member of the GIJ SRC’s Electoral Commission and played an active role in school activities as he was almost always spotted at trip destinations organised by clubs, halls, groups and the SRC of the university.

He was a very good dancer and his conscious efforts for maintaining good appearances in clothes was indeed impeccable.

Here, I brig you a few tributes compiled in his honour from his last attended school.

IBS SACKEEY ROCKSON, CLASS REP OF LEVEL 200 B, A GOOD FRIEND OF WILL’S ADMIRED HIS TALENTS

Wilfred was a good friend. We met out of admiration for each other’s public display of talent.

I developed a soft spot for his social life of dancing and making friends with everybody with that contagious smile of his.

Once he came up to me and expressed admiration for the manner I contributed to an SRC General Assembly sitting during a day the Electoral Commissioner made a presentation to the house.

“Ibs, I dey feel your public oration skills”, he said and would say to me anytime he heard me speak in public.

I was humbled by his kind words and I gave my share of admiration for his principled, all embracing good self.

It was with deep shock that I received the information of your death Will.

I refused it on my class Whatsapp page many times because the life in him, I believe, could not have been quenched so easily even through death.

I will miss you Will. You were such a good friend, an honest EC official of your class, a lively guy of entertainment and a great person.

Do rest in the abode of the Most High god; rest in peace Will.

Till we meet again.

MAUD FADI, A LEVEL 400 STUDENT AND DANCE PARTNER EXTRAORDINAIRE

A day never passed by when we crossed paths that we didn’t exchange pleasantries and chat about the fun we had on a previous trip as we anticipated the next.

Anytime I was on a trip which he was part, I knew I would not lack a dancing partner.

I remember the flight G-13 trip to Kumasi. We danced our hearts out. He is one of the few gentlemen I have come across and I am grateful and privileged to have known him.

He was a calm and respectful soul; he treated his peers with such respect. His eyes always blossomed with big dreams and aspiration.

Will, surely we shall meet in Heaven and this time you shall be my dance partner to praise and worship our Maker.

Till we meet again may your perfect and gentle soul rest in perfect peace.

W) Dzogbann!!

LOUIS ESON BENJAMIN, A YEAR 2 DIPLOMA STUDENT WOULD MISS WILL’S SENSE OF HUMOUR

I met Will first on a Monday afternoon. My friends and I together with him were sharing jokes and when it was his turn, he said a ‘serious’ joke which got everyone laughing so heartily till our ribs could take no more.

Will was quiet and a very fashionable guy, he never joked with his clothes or took his appearances lightly.

Though he was a quiet guy, he made it possible that everyone could feel his presence making everyone who got in touch with him love him equally.

The last time I saw him he was about to have an interim assessment. I got closer and sat beside him. He was memorizing what he had learnt. I began to laugh so immediately he noticed me staring at him he began laughing too.

Surprisingly, we both as if by some form of magic simultaneously said “ma guy, G.I.J no be easy place oooo kwerh”. It will be well, we consoled each other.

And so painfully, I heard his sudden demise. I could not believe it until a few friends confirmed it. I lived in shock throughout the day. I would have brought him back to this great institution if I could turn back the hands of time.

WIL! WIL!! WIL!!! Please answer me it’s your friend Louis. Where are you? Speak to me WILL.

THE GIJ SRC ELECTORAL COMMISSION WOULD SURELY MISS HIS COMMITTED AND SELFLESS SERVICE

We are disheartened, very disturbed by the death of our brother, work mate and friend.

Nelson your death has made our world a poorer place. We at the Electoral Commission can hardly come to terms with the news of your sudden departure. We are devastated and are struck speechless in conveying our truest feelings at this moment.

In truth, most of us are just feebly mustering the strength in the face of a national tragedy, but your tragic demise has now knocked out from us our last fortress of consolation.

Nelson, your death, to the commission is a shock and let me say we are still in disbelief. Brother, if only tears could bring you back, then you soon would have been walking among the living again. Your charming personality and dedication to this commission would be forever missed.

We mourn you comrade!

One thing the commission will fervently remember you for is the beauty with which you appreciated your duties and your unmatched readiness to deliver.

I know that your friends and brothers who believed in your style of life and your careful choice of attire cannot stand the thought of your death. No we refuse to believe that you are dead.

The electoral commission of the just ended elections wishes to extend our deprived words of condolences to your family, your brothers, and sisters, loved ones and especially your mom who we are told is so devastated by your death.

Nelson you have succeeded in doing what we never expected. Death is inevitable but certainly we least expected that you would be its victim.

The world is poor; the electoral commission of GIJ is even poorer. The institute is disproportionately disadvantaged by your sudden demise. Nelson, we love you but your maker has spoken! Follow him safely.

Fare thee well. We’ll meet again across the Jordan.

Due! Due! Damirifa due!

Edwin Abdul-Jaleel Abanga CONTINUES TO COMMUNICATE WITH WILL. FOR HIM HE NEVER DIED. HE ONLY MOVED ON

In solemn silence do I listen and hear his voice from far say; death is nothing at all.

I have only slipped away to the next world I am in, and you are whatever we were to each other and still are. Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way you used to for death is nothing at all. I have only moved on

The life we live is but borrowed, why cling on to it like you own it? Earthly life is like a passage over a bridge. Some will surely get over it before the pack so why stay when you can move on to the other side where the fields are said to be greener and the sun no longer sets; where life has no span but goes forever? Why stay when you can move on?

Pull no horrific long faces when you hear my name. The life is longer at the other side. Tales told of the life after demise by prophets, parsons, priests and Christ is no lie. Gardens with rivers that flow underneath, honey and milky river that passes. I have found sweet peace after my demise.

Wipe your tears, why cry when I love it here, shed no tear for me for death is nothing at all, I have only slipped away to the next life. I have found the real life prophesied far from earth’s mirage, it is called paradise.

If you only but knew, you will quicken to join me but Alas!

So shed no tear for death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away to the next world.

As long as life and memory last I shall remember you and you shall surely remember me.

Death is nothing at all.

KWASI ADJEI, IMMEDIATE PAST GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE SRC DEVELOPED A FRIENDSHIP WITH WILL

I first met Will during one of my political tours on campus.

The young chap was a member of the Judicial Committee of GIJ’s SRC and the Committee was hearing a case on the April 2014 SRC elections.

He walked up to me and asked ‘Kwasi what’s up?’ I was mute because I didn’t know him. I smiled and walked away into the court room.

Since then we began ‘hollaing’ each other. Our friendship became tighter when I realized we stayed in the same neighbourhood. We even began going home together from the hostel.

Our friendship developed better on our usual Osagyefo Hall trips. I will remember Will any time I hear “Telemo” by Gasmilla; the lad danced in a competition aboard the trip and earned Telemo as a new name.

Will, being missed means you meant something to people while you were here.

Mirior Invictus my brother!

LEVEL 200 D CLASS OF THE GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM HAVE THEIR SAY.

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that frets and struts its hour upon the stage and then his head no more- William Shakespeare

I write on behalf of Level 200 D to celebrate a life; to mourn a loss; and to appreciate a gift from God.

We celebrate this life because we were witnesses of its beauty; we mourn this loss because we share the pangs of its sudden end; and we appreciate this gift of life, for though our hearts are heavy with grief for a loss so great, we are thankful for the wonderful years we shared with him.

Yes! Such was the vigour, the vibrancy and the warmth of the life he lived that we are still blinking, unable and unwilling to believe that truly it’s our Wilfred Kwasi Nelson who now lays before us under the icy hands of death.

On the 11th of September 2013, a group of young men and women from al corners of our nation with bright ambitions were joined together as a class in pursuit of common goals. While we were many, Will, as we affectionately called him stood out quickly.

Even before any official page could be formed for the class, Will took it upon himself to create a class Whatsapp page and that group enhanced the rapid integration of the class.

He was even the class choreographer in the AYA Ghana campaign project. You should have seen him as he taught us the right steps.

Will’s easy going, lively and friendly personality quickly endeared him to the class and it was only a matter of time before he made many friends.

In all things, Will was ready with a smile and a hug for anyone: these would be sorely missed.

But while will’s contribution to the collective good of the class was immense, space would not permit all recollections of his profound impact on each of our individual lives. And yet we can sum him up as tower of strength, a pillar of comfort and an instrument of peace.

In simple words he was just awesome.

The 5th of June, 2015 would always remain a day of sadness in the minds and hearts of this class, for on that day a gentle soul was rudely uprooted from our midst; a friend, a brother and a colleague was sadly lost.

Our heads our bowed in sorrow and tears continue to fall. The pain of our loss cannot be quantified in words and yet through the tears we must lift up our heads to the heavens and thank the Almighty for Wilfred, even if his, was a half life.

We have been blessed to enjoy his warm embrace, his wild smile, his sense of humour, his ability to dance, his marvellous generosity and his impeccable taste for fashion.

As Abraham Lincoln puts it “in the end, it’s not the years in your life that counts but the life in your years” and your years were certainly full of life my dear friend.

Will, your stars may have dimmed up above but they now glow in our hearts; Wilfred your candle may have blown out too soon but its glow will forever remain on our faces.

Will! Will! Will! We love you dearly but Jesus loves you more. He calls you and we cannot say no. Follow him gently into eternal rest.

Fare thee well!

PYPER-PEBBLES, A FIRST YEAR DIPLOMA STUDENT, POET AND SPOKEN WORD ARTIST EULOGIZES WILL

The great oak blooms

Spreading forth its branches

Embracing the wind

But autumn comes,

And its leaves wither

Without any warning you moved on

Wilfred the great oak

The ineluctable bell of death chimes our dawn

A reality that has rendered our subconscious and conscious vague, incapable to think

Our souls unsavoury that our voices cannot utter any dirge

You have left a void that couldn’t be filled

You have left hearts broken

You have left lives living in shackles and tentacles

The pain is sharper than a two-edged sword’s cut

No, we refuse to say farewell

For we shall surely meet again

Where time would have subdued the pain

We know you are in a better place, saved from this unforgiving world