LIFE IS A PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: HATE NO ONE, ONLY HATE THE BEHAVIOR!
By Benjamin Pulle Niriwa, Written on 19.07.2025, Updated on 04.11.2025.
I have gone through pains! I have also experienced the best of love from people who are not only family members and friends, they have consistently been like “Guardian Angels” in my life. You are one of such people, dad. I just wished you and all fathers a happy fathers’ day in June 2025, then on 17th July 2025, you left us for eternity (Fig 1; Fig 2)! Never did it occur to me that I was wishing you “Happy Fathers’ Day” for the last time whilst you were alive. Everyone who knows you can attest to the fact that, you do not discriminate! You accepted everyone as your own. You always love genuinely! You have obviously demonstrated this kind of love towards your children, and that could be why I cannot remember when you ever slapped me or my junior brother. The only exception is that you always want your children to achieve beyond expectations!
Fig 1.: I wished my father and all fathers Happy Fathers’ Day in June, 2025.
This attitude of yours was a clear demonstration of how you genuinely love your children and wish them well in life. You were truly not just a loving father but a democratic father! You would always want to listen to your children before you make a decision about what you want them to do. You have never forced us to do something that we do not like!
Whilst you were still alive, as your first borne, we have disagreed for only six times:
1. You like smoking and I was also always telling you to stop smoking,
2. You wanted me to join the military, but I said that I cannot join because of my height,
3. I wanted to build a house for you; but you encouraged me to rather support my juniors, which I did,
4. You also wanted me to plaster a house, but I opted to complete my PhD first,
5. You wanted me to get married early like my junior sister and brother but I am still single,
6. Then the last was that; you wanted me to join your party, New Patriotic Party, NPP, but I did not join.
These above peaceful disagreements clearly described how you love your children and always wanted the best for us. They also described your truly democratic nature! When my uncle Eric Pagpan passed on and you inherited his children, you never discriminated against them. In fact, you kept advising us to always see ourselves as one blood, because though we might be from different mothers; we are from the same grandfather and father. I accepted your lovely advice.
Your love for your children extends to the whole extended family, the three communities where you spent most of your life; Tabier, Dadiaase, and Kyiridiagya. In these communities everyone knows you because of your inherent friendly and jovial manner. For what we know, everyone is your friend. This is exactly how I have been living my life; everyone is my friend but I make sure that I did not impose myself on anyone. What I personally like a lot about you as my father is that, you love unconditionally and accept everyone irrespective of the person’s tribe/race, religion, political party, structure, social or financial status in life.
Because of these inherent characteristics, like my uncle Eric Pagpan of blessed memory, who was voted for as an assemblyman for two terms; you were also voted for as a unit committee member and Unit Chairman of Kyiridiagya, under both National Democratic Congress (NDC) and NPP governments. Though you are a known NPP man, you were formerly an NDC's member and you still have friends in the NDC's party. You relate well and share political jokes with the NDC members, in particular.
Some parents even go to the extent of disowning their children for not practicing their religions, for joining a different political party, for not marrying the person they want them to marry and so on. But though a Roman Catholic, you did not force any of your children to be a Catholic. I became a Catholic only to realized that I was already even been baptized when I was a kid. I just got up one morning, probably led by the Holy Spirit, that I want to go church and I went to the Catholic Church. That was how it started! It was when I wanted to be baptized and I was told that baptism is not done twice, that I verified from you and my mother; then you told me that I only need confirmation.
We were the only two Roman Catholics (You and Me) in both the nuclear and extended families until now that Bro Kwabena Balfo, My Mother, and other family members joined. Sister Ama, the one after me, is a Church of Pentecost Member and Bro Enoch is a Baptist Church Member. These true-life stories explained that you were a true democratic father who has never forced your children to do what you like.
But though we belong to different Christian denominations, you have never made any statement that seems to discriminate against any of your children based on the church that he/she worships with. This same loving behavior is what you always portray outside, anywhere you find yourself. You have never discriminated against anyone based on any known differences!
At Kyiridiagya where you spent most of your life, you respected even small children! Any small child that you see is your “Hello”. There are many titles that are given to you by the residents of Kyiridiagya because of your truly loving and friendly nature. Though you were staying at Kyiridiagya, most people at Tuobodom, the Techiman- north municipality capital town, know you.
This relationship between you and these communities was not a fake one, as they demonstrated this love during your One Week’s Observation on 23rd August 2025. We made the announcement for only two days, but many people still made sure that they were present to give their respect to you. Because of the love that they have for you, as we are here mourning you, those who could not come here are asking whether we would have your final funeral rites at Kyiridiagya. We told them, yes!
This behavior is something that I have personally adopted throughout my life, and it is helping me a lot. Anyone who watches my WhatsApp status can attest to this fact! Majority of the people who watch my WhatsApp’s status are Akan! This is not fake love, because the first non-family member who has touched my heart and put a smile on my face is an Akan, Mr. Stephen Kwabena Nsiah. When I bought my diploma for forms, I knew no one at Kintampo Rural Health, now College of Health and Well-Being, Kintampo. But through my performance at the interview, I was admitted.
I bought my Masters of Philosophy in Medical Microbiology (MPhil Medical Microbiology) form at the University of Ghana, Legon. I was discouraged by some colleagues who claimed that even though they know highly connected people there, they could not get admission. I was told to sell it out because it would be a waste of time!
My response was that: “the destinies of people are not the same”! If it is the will of God or my destiny, though I know no one there, He will get me admitted into the program. To the mighty glory of God, I have successfully completed my MPhil there and I am currently doing my PhD there again. The person who supervised me for my MPhil project is not someone that I already knew, that was my second time of going to Accra. A Ga person was the one who supervised my project! The same Ga person, now a professor, is supervising my PhD project too. There is no highly connected person than God Almighty. This is one of the reasons why no one can stop from worshiping God.
There is nothing better than democracy! It is the best, except when it is abused as democrazy! The lovely life story of our late father should be an advice not only to Ghanaians, but the world. There is nothing that promotes peace for global entrepreneurship than what Mr. Debkpee Peter Pulle practically demonstrated through his life. This world is not our permanent home! Not no one should waste his/her energy fighting to have this world. You can fight, conquer and have this world; but the next few minutes, hours, weeks or years you will go and leave everything behind.
People must learn to be themselves! Most youths are pushed by societal pressures into practices that threatens their own safety! Ritual murder for quick money is evil and has bad consequences on the victims themselves and the society. Most youths are forced into armed robbery by our bias society! Though we mostly criticize them, we forget that, we are the same people who pushed some of these youths into these unhealthy criminal behaviors. How most people maltreat the elderly ones who unfortunately, are not rich, is embarrassing. Most youths witnessing such treatments might decide to avoid that by using wrong routes to make wealth quickly.
Though I have experienced painful and loving memories, loosing you is the most painful experience of my life. We love you, dad, and you will forever be in our hearts.
We wish you farewell, dad! May your gentle soul Rest in Perfect PEACE in Paradise. Amen!!!
Fig 2.: Picture of My Late Father, Debkpee Peter Pulle.
Thank you for Reading!
