Features
Of Monuments and Graves
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• The Asomdwee Park was renovated recently
The last two weeks have been quite eventful for Ghanaians. First was the news that the Nkrumah Mausoleum was going to be refurbished to greater tourism standards, only that this time names or items of the very people who opposed him, and some who made attempts on his life, were to be added for good measure.
Second was the refurbishment of the grave/tomb of the only President to have, so far, died in office; Professor John Evans Atta Mills. It was to commemorate ten years of his death. I remember that day. I had woken up early in the Bronx to check on my home back in Accra when I had a call from one of my daughters about his death.
I called Kofi Abotsi of the Voice of America and broke the news to him. He did not believe me. He made a few calls to Accra and got confirmation. My friend, John Dramani Mahama, his vice, had left New York a few days earlier after launching his uto-biography ( My first coup d’etat) in the Big Apple.
I decided to return home to commiserate with Mahama, so I called a cab to take me to JFK. At the JFK departure lounge I sat by an older man when I had a call telling me that John was going to be sworn in as President that evening in Parliament. The man only heard my end of the conversation and asked what was happening in Ghana. I broke the news to him and he told his partner whose reaction drew the attention of other passengers. That was how passengers on that flight got the news. The man was Atta Mills’ mate at Achimota, and he was grief-striken at the news of his death.
If I were Sekou Touré, I would be grieving in my grave for releasing Nkrumah’s body to Ghana. After all, Nkrumah was a co-President of Guinea Conakry at the time of his death so he could have had a state burial in that country. Rather, Sekou was magnanimous to recognise his place of birth and let his remains go. This is Sekou:s offense. Now, attempts are being made on Nkrumah’s death as there were on his life.
No matter what reasons our government has for adding the likes of JB Danquah, Obetsebi Lamptey and others it makes a complete nonsense of the Nkrumah Mausoleum. Though a state monument, it bears Nkrumah’s exclusive identity; nothing more or less. There is nothing wrong for a country to have many monuments; they add to the richness of our culture and tourism potential.
Nkrumah has a unique place in our history and that of the continent and the black race. Let no one tell it differently. To do so will turn our history on its head. The Osagyefo was not an idler in the United Kingdom before he was asked to come home to help in the independence efforts. He was already deeply involved in the Pan-African activities that eventually caught the attention of members of the united Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). They knew and appreciated his pedigree.
So, if the present crop of leaders are minded to honour people they believe are deserving, nothing stops them from building monuments in their honour, but to add anyone to Nkrumah is an insult to the very people they seek to honour. Their subservience to Nkrumah’s stature is sealed by this decision.
What have we done to honour the memory of Paa Grant, the merchant who gave money for Obetsebi Lamptey to go to London and bring Nkrumah down? I am getting increasingly sad that we have come to a point where we cannot build consensus in our national discourse. No nation is built this way. Do we have to mention every single person who plays a part in the preparation of the broth?
Many leaders are known and remembered for great speeches they deliver, but no one is interested in who the speechwriters are. When Nana Addo read a completely plagiarised speech on his first inauguration, he took the backlash; not his speechwriters. The first time I sat back and watched a President read a speech I had written, I felt a sense of deep fulfillment and nationalism even though that President might not know I drafted that speech. I will go to my grave with the joy. No amount of museum in my name can match that joy.
Koku Anyidoho must take praise for his unalloyed dedication to Prof Atta Mills. I recollect when Prof Mills was virtually-orphaned’ after he lost the 2000 presidential bid, Koku, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye and Ludwig Hlodze stood with the Prof, waking up each day to sweep his Kuku Hill offices and run errands for him. This is service; commendable service.
However, no matter our good intentions we have the propensity to do the right thing wrong. This has been Koku’s lot. Might Koku have forgotten that Prof Mills came from a family? Or he just did not care? Even if he loved the late President more than his own family, Koku can lay no claim to his memory above that of the family.
Since the death of Mills, Koku has carried himself as though he is the only person who knew the cause of the president’s death and talks out of turn in that regard. Who is he to demand an autopsy report if he indeed knows what took his boss’s life? He should not cry more than the bereaved.
Koku is the son of the venerated and highly decorated General Anyidoho who saved the country of Rwanda when the rest of the world abandoned that country to its fate during the genocide of 1994. General Anyidoho has stayed away from any public statement, even on security matters, because of his son’s utterances. He fears people will juxtapose whatever he says on Koku’s postulations. I would not want to be in the General’s shoes at this point in time.
I visited the Asomdwe Park a couple of days ago. A pall of great sadness swept through my whole being. I put myself in the shoes of a tourist from Papua. Nothing tells me whose bust I was looking at except who unveiled it and assisted by another inscribed name. Whose bust, I asked me. It is clear Koku engaged in a personal agenda and aggrandizement.
That the state could involve itself in this without recourse to the Mills’ family is a complete failure of leadership. There is nothing wrong to refurbish the Park. It is perfectly in order so to do if the state is so minded. But the one whose grave/tomb is the subject of any attention, left a family behind. Did the state consult with them? Listening to Dr. Cadman Mills deliver his comments at the Atta Mills memorial lecture, it came clear that the state did not consult them. Question is: why?
Either those who advised the President, Nana Addo, on such matters, did not know what they were about or the President refused to take their advice. I believe if Atta Mills was asked where his final resting placeshould be, he would have indicated a private burial in an unmarked grave in his village.
I think there is need for a national discourse on where our leaders choose to be interred. The final resting place for my own buddy, Jerry Rawlings is yet undetermined since the Anlo Traditional Council boycotted his funeral. In one of our numerous encounters I asked Rawlings how he wanted his remains disposed of. I suggested cremation, to which he responded he did not grasp the rationale for that but promised to study literature on that subject.
Great men who chose cremation are at rest from people who would want to capitalise on them. Great minds like Kow Nkensen Arkaah, Prof Kofi Awoonor, Busumuru Kofi Annan and Captain Kojo Tsikata cannot be hounded anywhere for personal glory by anyone. I am not by any means suggesting that Atta Mills should have chosen to be cremated, but what his memory is being subjected to, it might have been a better option for him.
Whatever we do as individuals or as a collective have consequences. The law of retribution is as efficient as it comes. How memories of us will be when we are gone is dependent on what we do today.
By Dr. Akofa K. Segbefia
Writer’s email: akofa45@yahoo.com
Features
Confronting newborn abandonment in Ghana: When a cry for help is heard in a dustbin – Part 2
The root causes: It is never just one reason
My years of counselling at CPAC show me abandonment is rarely an act of malice. It is the tragic endpoint of seven overwhelming distresses:
1. Severe maternal mental illness —The hidden emergency
a) Clinical Postpartum Depression (PPD): This is far beyond “baby blues.” It is a severe mood disorder that can appear weeks to months after birth. Due to a massive drop in hormones, extreme sleep deprivation, and emotional exhaustion, the mother feels deep sadness, worthlessness, and complete emotional numbness towards her baby. Picture: A new mother sits by her bed all day, staring blankly. Her baby cries for hours, but she cannot lift her hands to carry the baby. She whispers, “This baby would be better off without me.” She does not hate the baby; she feels she has completely failed as a mother.
b) Peripartum Psychosis (Postpartum Psychosis): This is a psychiatric emergency. Rare but extremely dangerous, appearing suddenly within the first 2-3 weeks after delivery. The mother completely loses touch with reality. She hears commanding voices telling her to abandon the baby, or believes the baby is possessed by an evil spirit or is a “spirit child” who will bring a curse. Picture: A mother genuinely believes she heard a voice saying, “Leave this child at the crossroads at midnight or your family will die.” She abandons the baby not out of hatred, but because her broken mind believes she is obeying a higher spiritual order to save her family.
c) Pre-existing untreated Schizophrenia: This is a chronic, severe mental disorder that existed before the pregnancy. The stress of pregnancy and labour shatters her fragile coping. She suffers from paranoid delusions — believing people want to poison her and the baby — flat affect (zero facial expression), and grossly disorganised thinking, making it impossible to plan how to feed or clean a baby. Picture: A young woman whose family called her illness “spiritual attack” instead of taking her for medication wanders away after delivery, completely forgetting she even gave birth, leaving the infant behind.
2. Extreme socio-economic deprivation: For many girls in some parts of Ghana such as Kasoa, Madina, or Bekwai, poverty is not a statistic; it is a daily panic. No money for antenatal care, no money for hospital delivery, no money for baby diapers or formula. When a mother cannot feed herself, the thought of feeding another mouth feels impossible. Some mothers say, “I left her where someone richer would find her, because I could not watch her starve to death in my hands.” It is a distorted act of survival.
3. Intense societal stigma and shame: In Ghana, pregnancy outside marriage, teenage pregnancy, or pregnancy from rape can bring extreme family rejection. The girl is called “spoilt,” beaten, banned from church, or sacked from school. The fear of bringing shame to the family name is heavier than the fear of police. So she hides the pregnancy for 9 months, delivers alone, and abandons in secret to protect her family’s “honour.”
4. Paternal abandonment — The Man Who Ran Away: Behind almost every abandoned baby is a man who vanished. He says, “It is not mine,” or “Abort it,” and switches off his phone. The mother is left utterly isolated — no emotional, financial, or social support. She is criminalised alone, but the abandonment started with him. Psychological research shows paternal denial is one of the strongest predictors of maternal panic and newborn abandonment.
5. Substance abuse disorders: Alcohol, tramadol, and other drug addiction impair the brain’s executive functioning — the ability to plan, judge consequences, and process emotions. A mother struggling with addiction may give birth in a highly intoxicated or withdrawal state, unable to comprehend the needs of the newborn, leading to neglect and eventual abandonment.
6. The spirit child cultural phenomenon and superstition: In some remote pockets of Northern Ghana and even in few parts of Central and Ashanti regions, public health research shows babies born with congenital deformities, severe disabilities, or whose mothers die in childbirth are branded as “spirit children” or cursed. In extreme instances, families, under cultural pressure, mandate that such babies be exposed or abandoned at shrines or bushes. This is not mental illness, but a harmful cultural belief system that still kills.
The invisible wounds
On the baby: Risk of death from hypothermia, sepsis, and infection. Survivors suffer Anaclitic Depression and Failure to Thrive due to lack of touch. As adults, they battle Reactive Attachment Disorder, chronic mistrust, and identity crisis — “Why did my mother leave me in a dustbin?”
On the mother: Lifelong hidden grief, intense guilt, chronic PTSD, depression, and elevated suicide risk. A prison cell does not heal this.
On the nation: Overburdened orphanages like Osu Children’s Home, draining health budgets, and overworked Social Welfare officers.
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“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. For there is no difference; – Rom. 3:10, 21-22. (NIV)
Introduction
Dictionaries define righteousness as “behavior that is morally justifiable or right.” Such behavior is characterized by accepted standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness. The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.
The bad news is that true and perfect righteousness is not possible for man to attain on his own; the standard is simply too high. The good news is that true righteousness is possible for mankind, but only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have no ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But Christians possess the righteousness of Christ, because “ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21. This is an amazing truth. On the cross, Jesus exchanged our sin for His perfect righteousness so that we can one day stand before God and He will see not our sin, but the holy righteousness of the Lord Jesus.
Establishing our hearts in righteousness
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” – Proverbs 4:23
According to the above verse in Proverbs, our heart is the source of our life. Our life flows from our heart. The Holy Spirit resides in the spirit of the born again Christian. So there is a strong influence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the new-born Christian. But our heart is also comprised of our soul. As Christians we can choose to focus our soul on the Lord, or on evil things. If we focus on corrupt, immoral, and evil things our heart will be affected detrimentally. It will cause our heart to be crooked or wicked, instead of straight or righteous. So the Scripture says to keep, or guard, our heart. It is wise to protect our heart as what we allow to dominate our heart will inevitably become the fruit, or influence the outcome, of our lives.
One way to approach life is to continually ask the question, “How will this decision or action affect my heart?” Everything we do, every thought we entertain, everything we watch, read, or listen to, shapes our heart. Therefore, the future prosperity of our life will flow from how well we care for our heart.
Think of everything you do, every moment of time, as a seed. We have been given responsibility for choosing which seeds to plant in our heart. What will you grow in the garden of your heart? What seeds will you choose? Our heart is our garden, and our life is the fruit of our garden. So next time you are tempted to dwell on a bad thought, think, “Do I want this seed to grow and manifest in my life?” Next time you are tempted to indulge in a sinful action ask yourself, “Do I want the extension, or fruit, of this sinful action to be what I am known for?”
God gives us the freedom to plant whatever we like in our garden. God loves us regardless of the good or bad choices we may make in our lives. You may be reaping the fruit of some poor choices right now. And God is still saying, “I love you.” But He has wise advice for us; He desires we have a good life. He says, “Guard you heart with all diligence.” This Hebrew word translated ‘diligence’ conveys the meanings of: prison and guard (ibid). A superintendant of a prison is very particular as to what goes in and out of his prison. A prison has very tight security. Just as a superintendant watches over his prison, so we should also supervise our heart (our lives). We should exercise meticulous security with regards to what enters into our heart. Actually, even what comes out of it, as the Scripture says, “ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” – James 1:19, as “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” –Matthew 12:34b.
If what goes into, and what comes out of, our heart determines the success of our lives, what is the first important principle to establish in our heart? “In righteousness you shall be established;” – Isaiah 54:14
Righteousness is the key foundational truth we need to first establish in our heart. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33. Notice Jesus said, “His righteousness”, not our own righteousness. We have to seek and understand God’s righteousness. Isaiah 54:14 says, “Their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” God’s righteousness comes from God, not from within us. Humans cannot make themselves God’s righteousness, as all humans have sinned and are therefore inferior to God. God’s righteousness is a gift from God: “ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
Righteousness, or right standing with God, has been attained for us through the exchange Jesus made on our behalf. Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. God’s righteousness is imparted to us when we are made a new creature in Christ – 2 Corinthians 5:17. This righteousness is a gift from God and undeserved by us: “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”- Romans 5:17
Through our faith in Jesus’ blood, shed to remit our sins – Romans 3:25, God imparts righteousness to us by His grace. We actually become a new righteous creation, fully identifying in Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension. This is the foundational miracle we need to understand and have established in our heart. All the other miraculous promises of God come the same way, by God’s grace through faith. Righteousness must be established in our heart for us to truly have faith to receive our rich inheritance in Christ. Jesus has been made unto us righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are now “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us”. – 2 Corinthians 1:20
Establishing our minds in righteousness
God expects that, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will be radically changed. In Romans 12:2 He tells us, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
This transformation is to be a metamorphosis, of a magnitude at least comparable to that by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. He expects us to become totally different.
Scripture uses many different images to express the change that should occur: We become “a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.“ – 2 Cor 5:17. It is almost as if we become a new species. Scripture speaks of the “first Adam” who was earthly and fell into sin, and the “second Adam” (Jesus Christ) who was sinless and holy – Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor 15:44-49.
We are “made new in the attitude of our minds” – Eph. 4:23.
We “put off our old self” and “put on the new self” – Eph. 4:22,24; Col 3:9-10.
We “live by the Spirit” and not by the flesh – Gal. 5:16; Rom 8:13.
We become “instruments of righteousness” rather than “instruments of wickedness” – Rom. 6:13.
Each of these metaphors, in a different way, emphasizes the magnitude of the change that is expected. Each is dramatic and astonishing in itself; their cumulative effect is even more powerful. We are talking about a tremendous transformation. It should be visible to others, but its internal effect should be far greater than what others can perceive.
The goal of this transformation
What is the goal of this metamorphosis? Scripture states it in a number of different ways, which overlap and can be seen as different ways of expressing the same basic concept. Scripture often does this, because our minds are inadequate to comprehend, and our language inadequate to express, the full scope of God’s revelation to us.
To be continued!
Stay blessed!
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