Dr Felix Odartey-Wellington — He rose above his circumstances

He was only eight years old and in Class Two when he tragically lost his father in the heat of the 1979 military uprising in Ghana. However, growing up without a father's love and care did not deter him from achieving his dreams.
With the support of his mother and other family members, he went through all the struggles to complete his primary and secondary education through to university and Law School.

Today, Felix Nii Lantei Odartey-Wellington is a lawyer and has also obtained a doctorate degree in Communications.

Recalling the past, Dr Odartey-Wellington described how he lost his father, Major General Neville Alexander Odartey-Wellington, a former Army Commander of the Ghana Armed Forces, who died in action during the June 4, 1979 uprising in Ghana.

"Though I was very young, I still vividly recall the staccato sounds of  gunfire, the evacuation of my family from our Burma Camp residence and from one safe house to another, amidst steady rainfall and a feeling of dread all around," he related.

"Intermittently, I heard my father on radio asking for calm and for the revolting troops to lay down their arms," he added.

Asked how the news of his father's death was broken to him during the coup d'etat, he said, "The entire family heard it announced on Radio Ghana and that was the beginning of a journey into the unknown."

Touching on his education, he said his mum was defiant and resilient and knew education was the only way out for him and his siblings and, therefore, did her best to ensure that they were all educated.

"Interestingly, because of the incident leading to the loss of my father, I was prevented from enrolling in some government schools at the primary level," he said.

Dr Odartey-Wellington, an ODADEE, had his GCE Ordinary and Advanced levels at the Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon.  According to him, PRESEC was cool, "but strangely enough I never ended up in the sciences, for which PRESEC is renowned".

He added that he really benefited from guidance from his sisters and brother because they encouraged him to be himself and pursue an Arts programme rather than the sciences which was more encouraged at PRESEC.

"I really loved pranks and ‘jama’. Out of positive influences, I did a little athletics too because a lot of my buddies were into athletics," he said.

He would not elaborate on the “pranks" because "some of them border on juvenile delinquency", he joked.

Dr Odartey-Wellington, who had many interesting stories to share, said initially he had been interested in a military career right after Sixth Form, but, again, because of his past, that was not to be.

"I was regarded as a security risk," he said, laughing.

He ended up at the University of Ghana, where he majored in Political Science and Law, following which he completed his professional law training at the Ghana School of Law.

According to him, because of the tragedy surrounding his father's death, he swore to abstain from politics while at the university. In his first year, there was a demonstration in which he refused to participate.

“But, guess what, coincidentally when the police invaded the campus, they attacked us at Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby's pub, then called Lifeline, at the Akuafo Hall. I then realised trouble would find you even if you sit on the fence and that brought me into student politics. I saw politics as a force for good and I ended up as the elected Secretary of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) under the Presidency of Haruna Iddrisu in 1996. Interestingly, my family, including my late mother, was behind my political career 100 per cent," he said.

He disclosed that after Law School, he worked with Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Co. But, then, he had been stung by the media bug after being part of the pioneering staff of Radio Univers in Legon.

"Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah (current Sports Minister) was then the Students Representative Council President.

His administration had brought the idea of a radio station for the university into fruition and he came to my home at Madina and rustled me from my afternoon nap to join a few others to begin broadcasting for the station, which was Ghana's first independent radio  station. I had zero experience in broadcasting, though I had always dreamed of being a broadcaster," he recalled.

Radio Univers led to career stints at Choice FM and GTV.

"I loved working in the media but the media was the mistress and Law was the wife, so I decided to pursue graduate studies in Communications to regularise my media relationship," he said, laughing.

After obtaining his master’s degree in Media Studies from the Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, he credits a former Ghana High Commissioner to Canada, Mr Samuel Odoi-Sykes, for persuading him to do his doctorate degree at the Ryerson University in Toronto, instead of returning to Ghana to pursue a potential political career.

"I had a scholarship offer and Mr Odoi-Sykes advised me that spending the few years required for the PhD was worth it," he recalled. "I was on his staff at the Ghana High Commission in Ottawa and he was my mentor and so I listened. One thing led to another and after my doctoral studies, I ended up in academia. I don’t miss mainstream politics, though, because academia is an excellent space for promoting positive change."

Dr Odartey-Wellington is currently a professor of Communications at the Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia in Canada, having previously taught at the Osgoode Hall Law School and the Ryerson University.

He is regarded as an expert in broadcasting law.

He also recently co-authored Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe's autobiography, titled ‘Never Say Die! The Autobiography of a Statesman’.

Dr Odartey-Wellington said with his background, he believes God has plans for everyone.

"Just follow your dreams and God has a way of making them come true," he added.

By Hadiza Nuhhu-Billa Quansah/Junior Graphic/Ghana