The President, John Dramani Mahama, has directed the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, to organize an official ceremony in honour of legendary highlife musician Agya Koo Nimo.
He made this appeal during the launch of the Blackstar Experience on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at the Freedom and Justice Monument in Blackstar Square, Accra. While commending the Legon Palmwine Band for their performance, President Mahama paid special tribute to Agya Koo Nimo—one of the pioneers of palmwine music.
“We saw the palmwine music this evening and I wondered if the King of Palmwine, Agya Koo Nimo, is still with us. I’m delighted he is,” he said. “We must honour him now—before he passes away—because his music is woven into our cultural heritage. We should not wait until his funeral to celebrate him.”
President Mahama then turned to Minister Gomashie and her team:
“Dzifa, wherever Agya Koo Nimo may be, please organize a fitting tribute. He has been honoured before, but Ghana must celebrate him once again—before God calls him home.”
About Agya Koo Nimo
- Birth Name: Kwabena Boa-Amponsem (christened Daniel Amponsah)
- Date of Birth: October 3, 1934
- Education & Early Career:
- Adisadel College (1947–1952)
- Technician’s course, Medical Research Institute, Korle Bu
- Technician, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (1955–1960)
- Musical Legacy:
- Founder, Addadam Agofomma Ensemble
- First Ghanaian album released on CD: Osabarima (1990)
- Elected President, Musicians’ Union of Ghana (1979)
- Interim Chairman, Copyright Society of Ghana (1985)
- Honorary life member, International Association for the Study of Popular Music
Major Honours & Awards
- 2007: Order of the Volta, conferred by President John Agyekum Kufuor
- 1991: Asanteman Award by the Asantehene; Flagstar Award (ECRAG)
- Vodafone Ghana Music Awards: Lifetime Achievement Award
- Entertainment Achievement Awards: Lifetime Achievement Recognition
- Konkoma Award and many more
Palmwine Music in Ghana
Palmwine music emerged in local drinking spots where working-class Ghanaians gathered to drink and listen. Its hallmark two-finger guitar plucking mimicked indigenous lute and harp techniques, often played in syncopated 4/4 or 6/8 rhythms.
Early exponents included Jacob Sam, the Kumasi Trio, Kwesi Pepera, Appianing, Mireku, Osei Bonsu, and Kwesi Menu—before Agya Koo Nimo rose to prominence in the 1950s.
President Mahama’s charge underscores the nation’s debt to Agya Koo Nimo’s lifelong dedication to Ghanaian music, tradition and culture—and his role in preserving the soundscape of our collective past.
