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
The average modern Gold Coaster born and bred in Sikaman is an adventurous creature. Go to any part of the world and you’ll find Ghanaman diligently slugging it out either in the snow or in hot sweltering weather, earning a decent living.
Go to Guinea and see Ghanaman in the garb of a herbalist, curing the sick of various ailments. He makes the Guinean understand that not all diseases are caused by James Lucifer alias Jimmy Satan. On the contrary, most diseases are caused by kooko which can even attack the human nose and turn it upside down.
That kooko is also the cause of poverty and the internal bleeding of personal back-pocket economies. And that kooko can be cured using the chemistry underlying Sikaman herbal medicine which has been blessed by the gods of Larteh.
And before Ghanaman starts dispensing his herbal concoctions, he must attract the passing crowd with some Sıkaman-originated choreography, akin to a combination of adowa and agbadza, such that the dancer can easily dislocate a shoulder and start crying for his mother.
When the crowd is enough to form a quorum, Ghanaman must perform magic as a side-attraction, and proceed to sell his drugs. The drugs are genuinely made from potent herbs which the Pharmacy Board of Sikaman says it has no confidence in. Believe me, Ghanaian herbalists are practising in neighbouring countries like Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Benin, while we are discouraging them from practising in Sikaman.
Go to Las Palmas and see Ghanaman as a fisherman. He sails on Korean-owned boats and is forced to eat garlic and raw tuna for radiant health. The garlic is also supposed to protect him against witches. But sometimes, he is not good bedfellows with some Korean crew members, and once in a while a fight breaks out.
The typical Korean is a Kung Fu expert and before displaying a golden dragon data. He must first terrify Ghanaman with a Korean dance which consists of wild arms and leg throwing. But Ghanaman is usually not daunted. Why has he been eating cancer kenkey all years without developing cancer? It mean is a superhuman capable of countering Kun fu side-kicks to the ribs.
Anyhow Ghanaman’s most potent arsenal lies in his fists. If he is a southpaw, it mean left fist is probably insured and can cause damage. When Ghanaman lands a cassava blow and it lands on a Korean chest, it has the effect of a cruise missile. If there is no ceasefire a funeral cannot be ruled out.
Greenland
Go to Alaska and find Ghanaman there. Greenland, Iceland, Brazil, Argentina, Madagascar, everywhere and you’ll find him. He has become an international citizen and is generally lauded for his hardwork, sincerity and honesty.
However, some bad nuts are also condemned and despised.
The world and all its parts and corners are for the human race, and anyone can choose to live anywhere and earn a decent living so long as he doesn’t misconduct himself or become a social misfit and a law unto himself.
Sıkaman for instance accepts foreigners, and we are so liberal that people just come in through our borders and we welcome them with the best palmwine in town and goat light soup. Who cares about passports and visas? Our hospitality is, as it were legendary.
So we have Liberians, Nigerians, Sierra Leoneans, Togolese, Europeans, Americans, Scandinavians and Koreans in Sikaman. And some of them have misinterpreted our overzealous accommodation to mean “foolishness” and are misconducting themselves.
The newspapers carry stories of some unscrupulous Nigerians stealing, defrauding and collaborating with their Sikaman counterparts to rob people. You’ll find some good and law-abiding Liberians around but some other Liberians are in the business of fraud, robbery, money printing, money doubling, anything criminal.
Ghanaian hospitality can no longer be extended to such people. I do not think Ghanaians will be treated kindly either, when they misbehave anywhere in the world. Those who come from outside with the intention of bringing down their evil deeds and to practise them here professionally must be getting ready because Ghanaians are getting fed up with the menace.
These days, you’ll find strange people following you as soon as you emerge from a bank. If you are not careful, they’ll wrestle your briefcase from you and speed away in a waiting taxi.
Someone was just saying that many foreign criminals are flocking to Ghana because in their countries, they are enable to operate either because they are being looked for by the police for offences committed or fear instant justice at the hands of mobs. Ghanaians, it is said, are humanitarian in dealing with criminals.
Well, in some African countries, a thief who is being chased runs directly to the police station in his own interest and begs the officer at the counter to lock him up. Otherwise he’ll be lynched or be burnt to death. In Ghana, it is the opposite. The thieves run far away from the cop stations.
The criminals must reform and stay peacefully in Sikaman or quit. No court case!
This article was first published on Saturday September 5, 1998
The human condition is defined by two absolute, biological bookends: the commencement of complex cellular animation and its ultimate, irreversible cessation.
For centuries, medicine treated life and death as strictly separate states. Today, modern pathology and molecular biology reveal a more profound truth: the mechanisms that allow us to live are the exact same mechanisms that dictate how we die.
Understanding this relationship is no longer just a philosophical pursuit. It is a clinical necessity for managing public health in the 21st century.
Part I: How we live – The mechanics of animation
At its core, biological life is a continuous, high-stakes battle against entropy (the natural tendency of systems to degrade into disorder). To maintain form, consciousness, and function, the human body relies on three fundamental pillars:
1. Cellular respiration and energy production
Every second of human life is powered by the conversion of oxygen and glucose into Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), the universal energy currency of our cells. This process occurs within the mitochondria.
Without a constant supply of ATP, the microscopic pumps that maintain electrical gradients across our cell membranes fail, causing cellular collapse within minutes.
2. Homeostasis: The balancing act
To survive, the internal environment of the body must remain incredibly stable, regardless of external chaos. This balancing act, known as homeostasis, regulates:
Blood pH: Strictly maintained between 7.35 and 7.45.
Core Temperature: Ideally kept around 37°C (98.6°F).
Electrolyte Balance: Precise ratios of sodium, potassium, and calcium that allow nerves to fire and muscles to contract.
3. The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
The ANS acts as the invisible conductor of life, split into two complementary branches:
Part II: How we die – The path of cessation
Death is rarely a singular event; it is a progressive biological cascade. Whether caused by old age, chronic illness, or sudden trauma, the final pathways of mortality generally follow a predictable trajectory.
1. The cellular horizon: Senescence and Apoptosis
Every time a human cell divides, the protective caps at the ends of its chromosomes-telomeres-shorten. Eventually, telomeres become so depleted that the cell can no longer divide safely. It enters senescence (a state of permanent arrest) or triggers apoptosis (programmed cell death). This gradual, systemic loss of cellular renewal is the underlying engine of aging.
2. The clinical cascade of somatic death
When the body can no longer maintain homeostasis, somatic death (the death of the organism as a whole) begins. This occurs in a distinct sequence:
1
Clinical Death
Zero to four minutes
The heart stops pumping blood, and respiration ceases. While breathing and circulation have ended, the body’s tissues still contain residual oxygen and cellular energy reserves. At this stage, resuscitation is often still possible.
2
Brain Death (Infarction)
Four to six minutes
Deprived of fresh oxygenated blood, the brain’s highly sensitive neurons begin to starve. Lacking ATP, the brain cells lose their electrical charge, swell, and begin to burst. Permanent, irreversible neurological damage occurs within minutes.
3
Biological Death
Hours to days
The organs fail entirely. Without central control or blood flow, individual cells throughout the body consume their final energy reserves. Enzymes that once aided digestion begin to break down the body’s own tissues from the inside out, a process known as autolysis.
Part III: The modern collision of life and death
In the modern era, the boundary between how we live and how we die has blurred. Historically, humanity died primarily from infectious diseases and acute trauma. Today, global mortality is dominated by non-communicable, chronic lifestyle diseases.
Modern Pathology: How we live (the cause) how we die (the result)
Cardiovascular disease, chronic stress, poor diet, and lack of sleep keep the sympathetic nervous system hyper-activated, damaging blood vessels .Occlusion of coronary arteries leads to myocardial infarction (heart attack) or ischemic stroke.
Metabolic syndrome over nutrition and physical inactivity overwhelm cellular mitochondria, leading to systemic insulin resistance. Multi-organ failure, chronic kidney disease, and severe vascular complications.
Neurodegenerative Disorders Chronic systemic inflammation and sleep deprivation prevent the brain from clearing metabolic waste. Gradual loss of synaptic connections, leading to dementia and the eventual loss of basic autonomic functions.
Conclusion: The unified theory of health
Ultimately, how we live directly shapes the path of how we die. The micro-choices of daily existence-how we manage emotional stress, the quality of our rest, our communal connections, and our nutrition-either preserve the integrity of our homeostatic systems or accelerate their decline.
True medical advancement is shifting away from merely extending the final, frail stages of biological death. Instead, the focus is turning toward optimising our living years-ensuring that the intricate, beautiful machinery of human animation runs smoothly until its natural, quiet conclusion.
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
