Former President and flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has launched the Russian language translation of his memoir, ‘My First Coup D’etat and Other Stories from the Lost Decades of Africa’ at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
Speaking about the book published in July 2012, Mr Mahama said it is a memoir chronicling his upbringing as a young African boy as well as the history of Ghana and Africa during times of political and economic instability between the 1970s and 1990s. He mentioned that the book has also been translated into Portuguese.
Mr Mahama highlighted a chapter of the book that he believed would interest the Russian audience the most, recalling his time as a student at the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow during the era of Gorbachev and the Perestroika— the ‘restructuring’ of Russian society and economy.
He shared fond memories of his philosophy lecturer, Mr. Gudoshnik, who was initially unsure about teaching the orthodox philosophy of socialism as it was in the textbook provided. Mr. Gudoshnik, he noted, decided to have a more interactive approach to teaching, saying, “We’re going to learn from each other. I’ll tell you what’s in the textbook, and you tell me what you know and what you think about it.”
Mr. Mahama expressed gratitude to the Russian Academy of Sciences, Comrade Dmitriy Savelyev, a member of the Russian State Duma, the Russia-Ghana Parliamentary Friendship Association and his old friends and comrades who helped in translating the book and organising the launch event.
He also acknowledged his friend and editor of the book, Nana Ama Danquah, who encouraged him to share his stories in a book for the benefit of society.
The former Ghanaian president encouraged the audience to read the book to satisfy their curiosity and to discover the African story told in an easy-to-read and journalistic form.
Mr. Mahama expressed hope that the book would find a place in Russian academia for those interested in learning more about Africa.