Features
When a Ghanaian international soccer legend loses his life in a tragic earthquake disaster in Turkey
My good friend and colleague of the inky fraternity (Journalist), Edem Mensah-Tsotorme, has rightly and aptly posted on his Facebook page a short tribute and it reads; “This life? He went to Turkey to make a living to feed home and the downtrodden only to meet his untimely death…”.
Yes, the body of our very young vibrant, skillful and hardworking Ghanaian footballer of international fame, Christian Atsu, has finally been recovered from the rubble of the collapsed buildings of the earthquake disaster in Turkey and has been declared dead by the search parties.
CONFIRMATION OF DEATH
His death was confirmed in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in Ghana on Saturday, February 18, 2023, and according to the Ministry, our Embassy in Turkey with the assistance from the Turkish Government was making arrangements for his body to be flown home for burial.
The recovery of the body on Saturday morning, comes 12 days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria claiming more than 40,000 lives. Atsu’s relatives- elder brother, twin sister and an official from the Ghana Embassy, were present at the site when the body was recovered.
Indeed, the death of this young Hatayspor FC player which has rocked the entire world, especially his home country Ghana, is difficult to comprehend and imagine considering the circumstances of passing.
CONFLICTING REPORTS ON ATSU’S WHEREABOUT
A few days after the earthquake, the 31-year-old Ghanaian footballer, was reported missing. Indeed, there were conflicting reports on social media as well as people who were somehow close to the player that, he had been recovered from the rubble and had been taken to an unknown hospital in Turkey, with some form of injuries, especially respiratory problem and that he was recovering.
That gave Ghanaians including the government and other top officials a little amount of hope, expecting his total recovery so that he could continue to ply his football trade and career.
Many were those who called for total prayers for the young philanthropist who had been supporting the downtrodden, especially, Ghanaian prisoners aside his professional football career.
TEAMMATES AND FORMER CLUBS MOURN ATSU
In the midst of the conflicting statements and uncertainties about his whereabout, there was a report from his football club in Turkey that he had not been found contrary to the earlier reports that his body had been recovered and taken to an unknown hospital.
Saturday’s recovery of the body, had therefore, seen a lot of loved ones, including most of his football mates in Ghana and across the world, as well as the former foreign clubs he once featured for, paying him tributes after hearing the sad news.
His friend and former Black Stars teammate, Mubarak Wakaso, was reported to have tweeted of his heartbreak after hearing the news. Other senior and veteran sports writers and commentators such as Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, Carl Tuffour, Rosalind Amoh, Kwabena Yeboah and others, have eulogised and given good account and various impressive testimonies about that great footballer.
Atsu’s former club Chelsea FC, tweeted as follows, “Everyone at Chelsea Football Club is devastated to learn of the tragic passing of our former player, Christian Atsu. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.”
Indeed, as a great footballer on the international scenes and a hero as he was, tributes have started pouring in from across the world about his demise and circumstances that led to it. Many have lost their lives but the death of Atsu has overshadowed everything.
I am compelled to use my favourite column to wish all families that have lost their loved ones and breadwinners in this tragic earthquake disaster, my heartfelt condolences. May the good Lord continue to bless the souls of their departed loved ones and grant them eternal rest.
May the Almighty God also console the bereaved families making them to understand that, everything happens for a reason and, therefore, they should continue to give thanks and glory to the Almighty God.
ATSU’S SHORT BIOGRAPHY AND FOOTBALL CAREER
Born at Ada Foah in the Greater Accra Region on 10th January 1990, Christian Atsu Twasam who happened to be a twin to Christiana Atsupie, attended the Feyenoord Football Academy at Gomoa Fetteh, now the West African Football Academy (WAFA) at Sogakope in the Volta Region.
We are told that despite his struggles of club football, Atsu was able to play a top-flight league in Europe for the majority of his career. After being scouted by Porto during his time at the defunct Feyenoord, the Portuguese club recruited Atsu in 2009 into their youth team at the age of 17, and it did not take long for him to be invited to the senior team.
It was difficult to allow him to go because of his incredible football skills. He eventually did and spent a season on loan with Rio Ave, where he made an immediate impact, which eventually earned him a place in Porto senior team upon his return.
JOSE MOURINHO RECRUITMENT
The arguably biggest move of Atsu’s career was in sight and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, demanded his services at the end of the 2012/2013 season when he rejoined the then UEFA Europa League champions.
It was interesting to know that Atsu never kicked a ball for the London-based club for four years in a row. He was offered a series of loans before landing regular playing time with another English club, Newcastle United.
With the exclusion of the Magpies, Atsu played on loan for four different teams while he was contracted to Chelsea. Vitesse, Everton, Bournemouth and Malaga, were all beneficiaries of Atsu’s services when he struggled to make the mark at Chelsea.
ATSU’S ADVENTURES WITH NEWCASTLE AND HATAYSPOR FC
When he joined Newcastle in 2017, having already played a season on loan, he played 121 times and contributed to 10 goals. When he finally left Newcastle in 2021, he joined Saudi Arabian side, al Raed FC, but he had to battle with injuries and as a result, only made eight appearances in the Saudi Professional League.
In an attempt to relaunch his career, he joined Hatayspor FC where he scored his first goal on his fourth appearance which snatched a win for his club, moments prior to getting trapped under the rubble for days, which claimed his life.
During his days with the Ghana Black Stars, Atsu was awarded the best goal for his strike against Guinea in the quarter-finals of the 2015 AFCON. He was named the best player of the competition. He represented Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
HIS MARITAL AFFAIRS AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICES
Atsu was a devout Christian and no wonder he had Christian as his first name and until his death he had been sharing Bible verses on social media. He was married to a German author, Marie-Claire Rupio with whom he had two sons and a daughter to mourn him.
Atsu was well- known for his philanthropic and humanitarian services in Ghana. He had a project of helping to free convicts who owed fines by paying their penalties and giving them money to start small-scale businesses on their own. Besides, he had helped many in the society both materially and financially.
BEFITTING FUNERAL AND BURIAL OF ATSU
Meanwhile, the government should be commended for the prompt and immediate steps taken to ensure that his mortal remains were brought home as quickly as possible on Sunday, February 19, 2023 for a befitting funeral and burial.
All that Ghanaians are expecting now, is for government to liaise with the family as assured by the Vice President when he received his body at the Kotoka International Airport, to give him a state burial befitting his status. He was a national asset who had paid his dues to his dear country and, therefore, deserves to be accorded as such.
A WORD OF CAUTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA BLOGGERS
This article cannot end well without cautioning Ghanaian bloggers on social media and other media outlets who continue to post all kinds of false and unconscionable information on their Facebook walls to deceive innocent people for no apparent reasons.
The way and manner some of those bloggers handled the issue regarding the Turkey and Syria earthquake, especially the involvement of Atsu, was so bad, knowing very well that his family, especially, the wife and children would be gravely disturbed by their posts.
For instance, the photograph showing how he had been trapped dead under the rubble in his apartment was unnecessary and uncalled for, especially at this time when the family, especially the wife and children are so traumatised. We need to be extra careful about the way and manner we report on this particular issue. Very sad indeed! Atsu you died a martyr and you will forever be remembered by the whole world.
Contact email/WhatsApp of author:
ataani2000@yahoo.com 0277753946/0248933366
By Charles Neequaye
Features
Tears of Ghanaman, home and abroad
The typical native of Sikaman is by nature a hospitable creature, a social animal with a big heart, a soul full of the milk of earthly goodness, and a spirit too loving for its own comfort.
Ghanaman hosts a foreign pal and he spends a fortune to make him very happy and comfortable-good food, clean booze, excellent accommodation and a woman for the night.
Sometimes the pal leaves without saying a “thank you but Ghanaman is not offended. He’d host another idiot even more splendidly. His nature is warm, his spirit benevolent. That is the typical Ghanaian and no wonder that many African-Americans say, “If you haven’t visited Ghana. Then you’ve not come to Africa.
You can even enter the country without a passport and a visa and you’ll be welcomed with a pot of palm wine.
If Ghanaman wants to go abroad, especially to an European country or the United States, it is often after an ordeal.
He has to doze in a queue at dawn at the embassy for days and if he is lucky to get through to being interviewed, he is confronted by someone who claims he or she has the power of discerning truth from lie.
In short Ghanaman must undergo a lie-detector test and has to answer questions that are either nonsensical or have no relevance to the trip at hand. When Joseph Kwame Korkorti wanted a visa to an European country, the attache studied Korkorti’s nose for a while and pronounced judgment.
“The way I see you, you won’t return to Ghana if I allow you to go. Korkorti nearly dislocated her jaw; Kwasiasem akwaakwa. In any case what had Korkorti’s nose got to do with the trip?
If Ghanaman, after several attempts, manages to get the visa and lands in the whiteman’s land, he is seen as another monkey uptown, a new arrival of a degenerate ape coming to invade civilized society. He is sneered at, mocked at and avoided like a plague. Some landlords abroad will not hire their rooms to blacks because they feel their presence in itself is bad business.
When a Sikaman publisher landed overseas and was riding in a public bus, an urchin who had the impudence and notoriety of a dead cockroach told his colleagues he was sure the black man had a tail which he was hiding in his pair of trousers. He didn’t end there. He said he was in fact going to pull out the tail for everyone to see.
True to his word he went and put his hand into the backside of the bewildered publisher, intent on grabbing his imaginary tail and pulling it out. It took a lot of patience on the part of the publisher to avert murder. He practically pinned the white miscreant on the floor by the neck and only let go when others intervene. Next time too…
The way we treat our foreign guests in comparison with the way they treat us is polar contrasting-two disparate extremes, one totally incomparable to the other. They hound us for immigration papers, deport us for overstaying and skinheads either target homes to perpetrate mayhem or attack black immigrants to gratify their racial madness
When these same people come here we accept them even more hospitably than our own kin. They enter without visas, overstay, impregnate our women and run away.
About half of foreigners in this country do not have valid resident permits and was not a bother until recently when fire was put under the buttocks of the Immigration Service
In fact, until recently I never knew Sikaman had an Immigration Service. The problem is that although their staff look resplendent in their green outfit, you never really see them anywhere. You’d think they are hidden from the public eye.
The first time I saw a group of them walking somewhere, I nearly mistook them for some sixth-form going to the library. Their ladies are pretty though.
So after all, Sikaman has an Immigration Service which I hear is now alert 24 hours a day tracking down illegal aliens and making sure they bound the exit via Kotoka International. A pat on their shoulder.
I am glad the Interior Ministry has also realised that the country has been too slack about who goes out or comes into Sikaman.
Now the Ministry has warned foreigners not to take the country’s commitment to its obligations under the various conditions as a sign of weakness or a source for the abuse of her hospitality.
“Ghana will not tolerate any such abuse,” Nii Okaija Adamafio, the Interior Minister said, baring his teeth and twitching his little moustache. He was inaugurating the Ghana Refugee and Immigration Service Boards.
He said some foreigners come in as tourists, investors, consultants, skilled workers or refugees. Others come as ‘charlatans, adventurers or plain criminals. “
Yes, there are many criminals among them. Our courts have tried a good number of them for fraud and misconduct.
It is time we welcome only those who would come and invest or tour and go back peacefully and not those whose criminal intentions are well-hidden but get exposed in due course of time.
This article was first published on Saturday March 14, 1998
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Features
Decisions have consequences
In this world, it is always important to recognise that every action or decision taken, has consequences.
It can result in something good or bad, depending on the quality of the decision, that is, the factors that were taken into account in the decision making.
The problem with a bad decision is that, in some instances, there is no opportunity to correct the result even though you have regretted the decision, which resulted in the unpleasant outcome.
This is what a friend of mine refers to as having regretted an unregretable regret. After church last Sunday, I was watching a programme on TV and a young lady was sharing with the host, how a bad decision she took, had affected her life immensely and adversely.
She narrated how she met a Caucasian and she got married to him. The white man arranged for her to join him after the marriage and processes were initiated for her to join her husband in UK. It took a while for the requisite documentation to be procured and during this period, she took a decision that has haunted her till date.
According to her narration, she met a man, a Ghanaian, who she started dating, even though she was a married woman.
After a while her documents were ready and so she left to join her husband abroad without breaking off the unholy relationship with the man from Ghana.
After she got to UK, this man from Ghana, kept pressuring her to leave the white man and return to him in Ghana. The white man at some point became a bit suspicious and asked about who she has been talking on the phone with for long spells, and she lied to him that it was her cousin.
Then comes the shocker. After the man from Ghana had sweet talked her continuously for a while, she decided to leave her husband and return to Ghana after only three weeks abroad.
She said, she asked the guy to swear to her that he would take care of both her and her mother and the guy swore to take good care of her and her mother as well as rent a 3-bedroom flat for her. She then took the decision to leave her husband and return to Ghana.
She told her mum that she was returning to Ghana to marry the guy in Ghana. According to her, her mother vigorously disagreed with her decision and wept.
She further added that her mum told her brother and they told her that they were going to tell her husband about her intentions.
According to her, she threatened that if they called her husband to inform him, then she would commit suicide, an idea given to her by the boyfriend in Ghana.
Her mum and brother afraid of what she might do, agreed not to tell her husband. She then told her husband that she was returning to Ghana to attend her Grandmother’s funeral.
The husband could not understand why she wanted to go back to Ghana after only three weeks stay so she had to lie that in their tradition, grandchildren are required to be present when the grandmother dies and is to be buried.
She returned to Ghana; the flat turns into a chamber and hall accommodation, the promise to take care of her mother does not materialise and generally she ends up furnishing the accommodation herself. All the promises given her by her boyfriend, turned out to be just mere words.
A phone the husband gave her, she left behind in UK out of guilty conscience knowing she was never coming back to UK.
Through that phone and social media, the husband found out about his boyfriend and that was the end of her marriage.
Meanwhile, things have gone awry here in Ghana and she had regretted and at a point in her narration, was trying desperately to hold back tears. Decisions indeed have consequences.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
