Editor’s Note
This issue of the Contemporary Journal of African Studies (CJAS), Vol. 4. No.2, is the eighth in the series under this title. At a general meeting of fellows of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, it was resolved that the next issue of the CJAS be dedicated to the memory of Prof Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu, FGA and Professor Emerita, who passed on in November, 2016, in Boston, MA, after a short illness. Accordingly, this issue is hereby dedicated to Professor Emerita Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu of blessed memory. Readers will find a fuller tribute on pp. 185-188.
Born in Boston, April 27, 1938, Prof. Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu started her academic life at the Institute of African in the 1960s. From the position of Research Fellow in African linguistics she rose through the ranks to the position of professor. She served briefly as Deputy Director of the Institute before accepting the Directorship of the Language Centre of the University. However, on attaining age 60, the mandatory retiring age, she returned to the Institute on post-retirement contract. She subsequently became Editor-in-Chief of the Research Review, a position she held until 2011 when her post-retirement contract came to an end. Thereafter, the University of Ghana conferred on her the status of Professor Emerita. Until her passing in November, 2016, she continued to mentor the current crop of editors and to feature on the editorial committee of the Contemporary Journal of African Studies (CJAS) — the successor to the Research Review. It will be noted that under her editorship the journal went online (hosted by SABINET and AJOL) while continuing to produce paper editions. The editors wish her soul a peaceful repose in the hereafter.
On another note: the editor and the editorial team acknowledge the financial support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York through the University of Ghana Building A New Generation of Academics in Africa (BANGA-Africa) Project. We also use this platform to express our gratitude for the support of various stakeholders, including the Director of the Institute of African Studies, the Vice-Chancellor and Pro-ViceChancellors of the University of Ghana, the Provost of the College of Humanities, and vii Prof Kweku Osam, as well as members of the editorial team, and the journal’s advisory board.
The editorial team is forever grateful to the assessors and reviewers of papers submitted to the journal. It is no easy task finding suitable and willing reviewers and assessors for the many papers submitted to the CJAS for publication. Though editorial policy prevents us from acknowledging individual assessors and reviewers by name, their services are however being acknowledged by means of formal letters of gratitude from the editor to each assessor and reviewer.
The editorial team takes this opportunity to express profound gratitude to Ms. Titilope Ajaji, a PhD student at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, for proofreading some of the papers published in this issue. We are especially grateful to Luke S. Liebzie and Prof R. Yennah of the Department of French of the University of Ghana for the translation of the abstracts into French free of charge. Sundel Services, Accra, continues to produce the paper edition of the journal; we are particularly grateful to Mr. William Sunu for consenting to produce the paper edition of this issue early enough to meet the deadline of July 4th, the date set for the commemoration of the late Prof Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu.
Rev. Dr. Stephen Owoahene-Acheampong continues to perform the role of Associate Editor in the day-to-day management of the journal, especially for the time that the editor was unavailable due to ill health. The editor is grateful for his support. Finally, we acknowledge the contributions of our publications assistant — Ms. Ruth B. Mango.
Many others equally deserve explicit acknowledgement for contributions to the CJAS, but space constraints do not make this feasible; we are nevertheless grateful.
