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.jpg "Ngima Ng'Ato: Lennox Emmanuel Kuuku Arthur")
Ngima Ng'Ato
Chieng' nyuol mar Lennox Arthur en Tich adek. Dwe mar angwen 25, 1979.
Janyuol mare en Alexander Arthur gi Stella Arthur.
En ne oentie gi adek nyaminwa ber ahinya.
En en dhano riek.
Lennox en jatelo ber.
Ei 1999, en ne owuoth kod anyuola mare.
Ei London, en ne obedo jasomo.
En ne otich higa ng'eny.
Ei 2009, en ne obii nyaka Gana.
Lennox Arthur ne otho el tich ang'wen. Dwe mar apar gi ariyo 31, 2020.
Lennox Emmanuel Kuuku Baffoe Arthur was born on the 25th of April 1979 to Dr. Alexander Arthur and Stella Persis Arthur in Accra. He was the third of four children born to both parents. His childhood was spun and savoured with many family and friends at the Arthurs' popular residence in Kanda, a place that later became second home to many of Lennox's friends.
Being the only boy, and a precocious one at that, Lennox grew up as the special anchor to a doting mother and three fawning sisters: Fiona (of blessed memory) Sasha and Alexandra. Between endearing tantrums thrown at his mom, Auntie Stella, and pesky fights with his three sisters, Lennox still found a unique way to build an authentic, rugged, endearing personality as a young boy.
These traits made it easy for him to shine in the schools he attended. At Kotoka Primary School, in Burma Camp, he was a class act and was liked by both peers and teachers alike. When he later had his Junior Secondary School education in the same school, his charisma and intelligence earned him a Senior Prefect role in his final year. His special knack, even at that young age, was an ability to exude great charm without trying too hard.
In 1995 he was admitted to the Presby Boys Secondary School at Legon to read Science. The years at Presec were a major highlight for Lennox, who got into the school as a bigger and tougher boy than most of his peers. He earned a reputation as one of the enigmatic boys in Kwansa House and took extra-curricular activities seriously. Indeed, many of his friends attributed his enigma to his eclectic interests: reading, football, basketball through hiphop music to many others.
He served as Advertising Officer on the Presec Editorial Board in 1997 and was amongst the first editorial team to publish a general audience magazine for students; a feat that was widely acclaimed and later copied by other secondary schools. Lennox's keen interest in extra-curricular activities did not distract him from his studies and he obtained a distinction in Science on completion of his studies at Presec in 1997.
He gained admission to the University of Ghana in 1999 but relocated with his family to the United Kingdom shortly after. The relocation helped him re-evaluate his career interests leading to his completion of a Bachelor of Arts in Business with Information Technology at the London Metropolitan University. In addition to a certification in PRINCE2 Project Management that he earned later, he acquired the expertise to work on many commercial projects while in the UK.
In London, Lennox worked for MFI UK Limited (one of the largest suppliers of kitchen and bedroom furniture in the UK) for a significant period. He worked as a Senior Design Consultant, providing high-quality bespoke design services through consultations with existing and new clients, and contributed in many ways to a year-on-year increase in revenue of the company.
But the UK did more for Lennox than an opportunity to cut his teeth in the world of commerce. Whether it was making new friends in strident London pubs, chasing the bright lights of the London Trocadero or painting Manchester City red with old friends, Lennox was everyone's go-to man in the UK up until 2009 when he relocated to Ghana.
In London, Lennox had become a man's man. There were countless stories about the selfless, gracious, hardy, gritty man that he was from the many friends who hanged out with him at the time. The stories about the selfless Lennox who will drive 'the boys' from one end of London to the other on weekend adventures were many. Then there was the generous Lennox who would pick the tabs on nights out with 'the boys' with little hesitation; or more memorably, the fearless Lennox who gave and took punches for 'the boys' when the pub brawls broke out. In all this, Lennox Arthur was always the 'peer pressure' and never the pressured one. Everything he did, and was known for while in the UK, was borne from an authentic and unpretentious nature.
Remarkably so.
Relocating to Ghana was only a matter of time and when he did so in 2009 it was with – as acknowledged by his friends and family – a determination to enter a new phase of his life driven by entrepreneurship and the will to make a difference. Building on from an initial stint with a coldstore business, Lennox took on exciting ventures in Ghana. Notable amongst these were tech ventures with long-time friend Odadeέ Adu Saarah-Mensah. Together they built software packages and applications such as Passco for secondary school students and the VoteKast products and services that were instrumental in election year reporting in 2012. These start-ups were acknowledged widely in local and foreign press coverage.
By 2014 Lennox had racked up enough business management and tech start-up experience in Ghana to make him a good candidate for challenging roles in larger organisations. When an opportunity came for him to leverage his working experience in the Audit Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Lennox – with an eye on the long game - took up the challenge and consolidated his stay as one of the Unit's star performers in just under a year. The greatest impact he made at the Unit being the introduction of tech-driven productivity tools in work processes.
On the 31st of December 2020 when the Arthur family lost Lennox it was evident that death had come at a time when his star was shining the brightest.
In the eleven years he had been in Ghana, Lennox had wound around him so many intricate and enduring social bonds. Friends of friends had come to love him as family. Either at work, or in the many social clusters that he thrived in, he was always a cocked ear and a warm hug away. In the wee hours of his life, the pounding hearts of friends and loved ones as they rushed from one end of Accra to another to save him, the tears from the eyes of stricken friends who had rushed to his side in earnest to save him from slipping away… that was the evidence of the life he had led and the love many had for him.
Death came at a time when the world was ready to give back to Lennox; and to return to him all the gifts he had given to others in his forty-one years of life.
Death came for him at a time when he had reconciled all his virtues, his vices, his strengths, and his failings, and was poised for a phase of his life that was full of hope and brighter things to come. And that makes his passing unbearably painful. But whatever pain that death has wrought on us by taking Lennox Arthur away, we will find temporary solace in that his life will continue to live on in our minds and in our hearts for many more years than he got to live.