Rawlings and his PNDC escorted Fred to the airport directly from the party. He wasn’t allowed to return to the compound to retrieve his belongings, he wasn’t allowed to inform his staff they no longer had an employer and there was to be no $600,000 commission check. He was put on the first flight out of the country and told he could never return.
Saying Fred was dejected, depressed, shocked or any number of other startled emotional descriptions would not come close to the reaction he had to the events. He put all of his time and energy into helping Ghana generate better food sources, created economic infusions and managed to bring the country more money from their natural resource, cocoa than any other single person had ever done before.
He spent the next three months in his bathrobe. He was withdrawn and displaced. He couldn’t muster the energy or enthusiasm to attempt any sort of business endeavor. No matter what I did or said, I couldn’t reach him. He was at a loss. He couldn’t see beyond his despair.
I talked to him about counseling, but he wasn’t interested. I asked him to meet with his business associates, old college friends and even suggested a trip home to visit his mother. But nothing would tempt him to get out of his robe for three months.
