DJ Awana
Renowned Ghanaian disc jockey and staff member of the Multimedia Group, Samuel Tei Mensah Nartey, popularly known as DJ Awana, is dead.
He died at the 37 Military Hospital at the early hours of Sunday morning, after battling with illness for some time now.
Before his untimely death, DJ Awana was a presenter on Adom FM and Hitz FM, and was also well known for his signature tune, “3y3 Awana nie oo.”
The cause of death is yet to be made public by his family. Since the news of his passing went viral, a number of Ghanaian musicians, DJs and radio presenters who knew DJ Awana have taken to social media to pay tribute to him.
According to them, they have lost a colleague who had entertained radio listeners and music fans in the country all his life with his style of presentation.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, popularly known as Abeiku Santana, has expressed deep sorrow following the passing of the veteran Ghanaian disc jockey.
He recalled how he met DJ Awana when he joined Multimedia in 2001.
“At that time, Adom FM was about to undergo a reengineering and renovation process. Multimedia didn’t have a DJ assistant to play songs for them when I started at Adom FM. I wanted to focus on my presentation, so I decided to get a DJ assistant,” he explained.
“I was the first person Awana worked with, and he came in as a casual worker. His dedication was amazing. He would come in very early and stay late,” Abeiku shared.
“I was very sad when I heard the news, and I couldn’t control myself. God should take care of his soul,” he said.
Abeiku Santana encouraged everyone to live by the word of God and reflect on the fleeting nature of life.
“God created us, and we came from God. We must always remind ourselves that we are here to worship God and fulfil His will. DJ Awana’s demise should remind us that we are created in God’s image, and we have a duty to protect it. God will ask us for an account when the time comes,” he mourned.
Media personalities including Abigail Ashley of UTV, and colleague, Isaac Owusu-Ansah (OPD), also shared their condolences and praised the late DJ’s remarkable career in a chat with BEATWAVES.
BEATWAVES gathered that, the Ghana DJ Awards scheme headed by Mercury Quaye, the host of Hitz FM Drive Time, is yet to issue a statement.
DJ Awana began his remarkable media career in 2003 with Adom FM when the station was operating in Tema Community 2.
He caused a stir when he resigned from Adom FM and joined Oman FM in 2007, where he presented his unique selection of gospel music on Sunday mornings, as he used to do on Adom FM.
After three years at the Madina-based station, he packed his baggage and returned to the Multimedia fold.
By George Clifford Owusu