Felix was the eldest among eight children. Being the most senior has its advantages and challenges: he was in a position to witness the struggles in the early days of his own parents before settling down on his own after graduation from the university.
Felix married a few years into his working life. That marriage fell apart after only a few years. Felix never married again until his demise. He died 30th December, 2018 and was buried 23rd February, 2019 in his hometown, Takla in Ho District, Volta Region.
As an individual in his adult life, Felix was not particularly an expressive person, and for those who knew him quite well, they can attest to the fact that he chose to keep his private thoughts that way—mostly to himself. On the other hand, he comes alive in the right company and circle of friends on broader, non-private discussions about local and global events of politics and public administration.
Felix had a deep sense of conviction and a strict sense of right and wrong: this served him well at times and not so well on other occasions. As a civil servant all his working life, and during the tumultuous years of changes in government which sent most officials seeking hideouts, nobody in the family worried about him, because we knew who he was.
Earlier on in life, as a young man who visited his parents over a weekend and was returning to Accra when an inattentive child crossed his vehicle on the Ho-Accra road, his sense of doing the right thing kicked in: he stopped to assist the victim, a “mistake’’ for which he almost paid for with his life.
He was never comfortable with leaving tasks unfinished, nor having a sense of not being around during difficult times when duty called. This personal attribute sometimes hindered his ability to jump at some opportunities as they came by.
He was one who helped in whichever way he could when he was able to, regardless of family affiliations. Since he does not trumpet his achievements, there is a treasure of goodwill towards him at places and in people’s hearts which the rest of the world may never know about.
Working Life
Felix graduated from the University of Ghana before the 1966 coup d’état which ousted Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the CPP from power. He joined the Ghana Civil Service and rose through the ranks. His work took him through the following Ministries and Agencies: Ministry of Works and Housing, Ministry of Defence, and the Volta Regional Administration in Ho. He was appointed District Commissioner (Chief Executive) of Keta in the President Hilla Liman era.
By the time the revolution 31st December, 1981 had set in, Felix was posted back to Accra, and he worked as Secretary to the PNDC Special Committee on the Economy of Ghana, with the Ahwoi brothers at the Old Parliament House
After his appointment at the Old Parliament House Felix was appointed as Executive Secretary to the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission at Kwabenya. Later, he was posted back to the Office of Head of the Civil Service where he went on an early (voluntary) retirement.
After leaving the civil service, he worked with Professor Mawuse Dake (of blessed memory) as Secretary to the Association of African Professionals and Experts in Accra. That was his last place of work, and he settled down in Ho in his retirement years.
Religious and Christian Life
Born into a family that is Presbyterian at heart, we cannot exactly pinpoint when his “conversion” took place. But as a result of his affiliations with others from different religious denominations, we realised that he came to study the Bible so well that we are still amazed at his deep knowledge of it. He read the bible daily and made copious notes. He said he intended to publish some of his writings, one day.
Perhaps some of these influences may have led to his laid-back participation in our regular religious and church activities as practising Christians. Whichever way he may have tried to justify it, it was a point on which we pleasantly disagreed. But that was just him. Differences in opinion is not necessarily a bad thing therefore, we believe that the Almighty God will be the better and ultimate arbiter of that argument.
As siblings, it should not come as a surprise that we also have our disagreements. What we can say with certainty is that despite his challenges as a person, Felix was not a mean-spirited man: he was not motivated by greed or hatred. Therefore, as his physical health failed in these last moments, everyone did what they could to support him, remembering well that, at some point in time, he was also there for others.
Early Life
Felix was born on 10th April, 1941 in Hohoe to Mr. Geoffrey Yao Agbo-Klu and Madam Elizabeth Yawa Sape, both of Taviefe-Aviefe and Takla Gborgame respectively.
At the age of 6, Felix started school, class one, at the Ho-Dome E.P primary school in 1947, and he continued to the Ho-Kpodzi E.P Middle School in 1953, completing in 1957. That same year he passed the Common Entrance Examination and proceeded to the Mawuli School before 1957 ended. In Mawuli School, he was known to be a very studious and brilliant student. He qualified for the 6th Form in 1962 and completed Upper 6th in 1963.
He entered the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1964 to read Sociology. Those were early post-independent days and Felix got introduced to national politics.
Our father, G.Y. was a CPP activist and an Nkrumahist at the time. Legon had converted Felix into a Busiaist. It was a delight to watch Felix and G.Y. debate each other as to who would make a better President for Ghana. Felix thought Dr. K.A. Busia would be a better President and Papa thought Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana’s First President) rather would make a better President.
An avid reader himself, our father subscribed to the daily Newspapers at that time and also to the Legon Observer (a publication of the Legon Society on National Affairs). So, by the time Felix came home on holidays, Papa was prepared and ready to debate him.
Regardless of our uniqueness—as individuals with our thoughts, dreams and aspiration, both fulfilled and unfulfilled—it is still painful to lose a brother, a sibling. It is our prayer that the Lord whose grace surpasses all understanding will give him eternal rest.