TRIBUTE TO PATRICK NUTOR
Class of 1977, Achimota Primary School
Every one of us has a Patrick Nutor anecdote. We all have a story that goes something like “Do you remember when Patrick did this or Patrick did that.” Anyone of us would in truth, be qualified to pay tribute to Patrick. Such was his reach and influence. In the words of the late poet Maya Angelou,
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
We are deeply honoured and yet desperately sad to have to pay tribute to Patrick Kobla Nutor.
Many of us were as young as six years old when we first met Patrick in Achimota Primary School. He was one of those easy-going, cheerful, happy kids and easily made friends. For those of us who continued on to the secondary school, those bonds of friendship were further strengthened. Although we were all from different backgrounds, Patrick got along with everyone due to his easy charm, natural warmth and quiet leadership. He remained lifelong friends with many of us. As you all know, Patrick was big in size, but more importantly, he was big-hearted and it was not by chance that everyone referred to him as “Amega”. How he came to be called “Meganol” is a different matter and for another occasion.
We had a whale of a time in school, avidly playing soccer in our spare time and getting up to all sorts of boisterous mischief. Nothing ever malicious except when a few of us, Patrick included, got barred temporarily from the Achimota village taxi rank. Those were really good times, but in all this, Patrick had a serious and scholarly side to him. When he wanted to be, he was focused and very driven and he dragged us all along with him. He made it cool to be an academic high achiever. He was without doubt the top mathematician in our day.
Patrick accomplished great things in life. The fact that he would do so was never in doubt. He however did not go about accomplishing greatness just for the sake of it. With his accomplishments, he was generous to a fault. He was kind, he was thoughtful, and he was dependable. As a friend, he always had your back.
Although many of us did not see Patrick frequently in the later years, we carried on seamlessly from where we had left off, when we met. Patrick was the glue in all groups, encouraging others to be supportive of one another and showing by example, this type of love and concern. He would always reach out to us in good times and in bad. Patrick was always a resourceful and reassuring presence when we were in difficulty. He was also around to celebrate with us when we chalked various victories or milestones. He sought to bring us all together and the fact that we are connected on various social media platforms is largely due to Amega’s efforts.
His dedication to family and friends is an inspiration to us all, and with his wisdom, kindness and humanity, he enabled others to achieve things that they would never have thought possible. No doubt many of us have benefited immensely from his kindness and generosity.
He did us the honour of involving one of us, Bonano, a medical doctor, in his final battle which he approached in typical Amega fashion. He was calm, he was well informed, he was organised and committed. His last message to Bonano in response to his encouragement to keep fighting was a terse “I intend to”. Twenty-four hours later we heard of Patrick’s passing. We are still filled with disbelief, as most of you present here are.
We are all devastated at losing a dear brother and friend but all our thoughts and prayers at this time are with our sister Lynda, his children, mother and the rest of the family.
Rest in peace Amega.
Rest in peace, till we meet again.