KOJO BAFFOE
THE REAL DESTINY MAN “I describe myself as a half Ghanaian, half German writer from Lesotho..” wonder why I am writing this profile of my opposite number at a competitor’s publication when there are two fantastic reasons not to. First, it gives free publicity to that publication and second, it is an uncomfortable feeling to visualise him reading this piece like a barber who has just received a haircut. Having said that, not many expats have close to ten thousand twitter followers and after listening to his poem at Ghanafest 2011, I decided that his writing talent was certainly worth profiling.
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EXPATRIATE
“My father was an academic who always said that if something is bothering you, write it down,” Kojo who recently turned 40 explains. “I learnt from an early age the art of putting on paper what is in your head in a manner that conveys to the reader the exact picture you have in mind. My writing was developed by assisting my dad with research assignments and later, writing a column in a weekly newspaper he founded in Lesotho. It takes a lot of practice, just like a sprinter who is born with athletic talent needs to put
in hours of training. It is good to be paid to do what you love, but like any other job there are pressures such as deadlines which can occasionally inhibit your creativity.” Baffoe Senior left Ghana in the 1960’s for Germany where he met and married Kojo’s mother. They later moved to Uganda where Kojo’s father lectured at the University of Makerere. Unfortunately his mother passed away in Uganda and they relocated to Lesotho soon after.