The first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah died in exile in Romania in 1972, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, Prime Minister in the second Republic died in London on August 28, 1978. Military leaders Gen. Kutu Acheampong and Gen. Frederick William Kwasi Akuffo were executed by firing squad in June 1979. Dr. Hilla Limann, President in the third republic died January 23, 1998 in Ghana.
As we mourn our loss, there are a lot of things we can do in honour of the departed President, as our dear nation and posterity need us, and I believe the Late President will be happy wherever he is now if we do.
1. Do not weep
It is customary for us Ghanaians to weep when we lose a beloved one to death. It is psychologically soothing, but we can't spend all the time weeping as we need to save some energy to get back to work.
2. Examine ourselves
Self examination is necessary for us at this time as a nation. We must look deep inside ourselves and ask ourselves if we have been true to this country, as politicians, professionals, fathers, mothers, children, brothers and sisters and workers.
We need to look into ourselves as the President would have wanted us to, to determine the depth of our commitment to the country and its future.
3. Stop the personal attacks in our politics
While personal attacks in politics are inevitable sometimes, making personal attacks a regular feature of political activities and discussions is not productive and can easily lead to conflict.
I believe the departed President who has not been known to have openly attacked his political opponents in his campaigns and speeches would love to see us do politics devoid of the personal attacks and insults that only make the perpetrators less dignified than they sought to portray themselves, besides, it breeds indiscipline, leaving the young with no good example to follow in decorum and respect for others. No matter how divers our views on issues are, no matter how much we disagree, we should learn to make these views known to our opponents without insulting them.
4. Live in peace
The Late President Mills while he was alive, always insisted he was a man of peace. He preached peace and lived peaceably with all. He has been known to have stretched the olive branch to some of his sworn detractors. He made efforts to maintain peace in his political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the nation as a whole. I remember his victory speech when he was elected president after a tensely fought general elections in December 2008. He said the election was over and Ghanaians must live as one people.
5. Be productive
We can honour the departed President by doing our duties productively. So many of us Ghanaians spend too much of our time deceiving ourselves that we are working, and yet our productivity levels are so low, and too embarrassing to talk about.
During his lifetime as President, Ghana's cocoa sector, which for a very long time was the country's main foreign exchange earner produced one million metric tonnes of cocoa.
We can be productive if we work hard instead of working 'smart'. We must follow laid down procedures of work, and be creative.
6. Love the country
The manner in which some Ghanaians use their political positions, connections and privileges of office to loot from the national coffers is nauseating. No one or group of people who love their country will take food out of the mouth and healthcare out of the reach of the majority who can't afford. The monies that few people siphon from the nation and share among themselves, if used for development or used where they ought to, life will be better for many Ghanaians.
Public officials who demand bribes from citizens before they do their work, would not do so if they love the country. Policemen would not take bribes or manipulate evidence for or against another citizen just so they can twist justice in favour of people from whom they make money if they love the country.
The President would be very happy wherever he is if we love this country and do right at all times.
7. Put Ghana first
Ghana is more important than any individual or group of people. We must therefore, put the country first. The President has passed on, but Ghana is still with us. Ghana is the country we all derive our collective identity from. If the country matters to us first, we would not engage in acts that set the country back, if we think of the country first, we would be selfless as the President did, despite his health status. He was brave. Despite being unwell, he continued to serve the country to his own detriment. He put the country first. Not all of us are unwell, and it would please the departed President to see that we put Ghana first.
8. Speak the truth
We can honour the President's memory, when we pursue the truth. Being truthful is a virtue that humanity everywhere acknowledges. Lying in the name of the country does everyone little or no good.
Being honest and sincere in our dealings with one another is the greater good we can do for the country.
9. Respect his memory
No matter what our differences are, when someone dies it is said that no one should speak ill of them. We can honur the Late President by not denting his image. He is not here to defend himself. That doesn't however mean, that we should no have records of objective perspectives about his life on earth. He was mortal like all of us and he had his faults. We should speak of him as we would love others to speak of us.
10. Remember his family
The Late President had a family. He left behind a beloved wife and a son. Let's remember them in this moment of grief. It's our duty to support and comfort them, let them know their loss is our loss too.
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