It is ironic that the end of Rawlings came in the comfort of a bed – writes Akufo-Addo’s cousin

General news for Sunday, November 15, 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2020-11-15

Nana Yaa Ofori-Atta, a communications consultant and cousin to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has written a brief summary of his childhood and an engaging eulogy for the late President Jerry John Rawlings.

She wrote on her Facebook timeline: “It is particularly ironic that the end came in the comfort of a bed, in Korle Bu. Nurses and doctors, paid, on duty, teams ready to even save his life.

After Rawlings’ death on Thursday, November 12, President Akufo-Addo announced that the state will fund his funeral and give him a proper burial.

This, says Nana Yaa, during Rawlings’ days as Head of State and President of Ghana, he never granted his predecessors who passed away and were entitled to the same state courtesy; rather, at his command, they were “tied up like turkeys, without dignity, summarily executed, for public entertainment” and “thrown into nameless graves and left to rot there.”

Nana Yaa Ofori-Atta, who recounted what she described as a “Kakalika childhood village,” reiterated the famous mantra of “let the blood flow” during the days of the June 4 Revolution that was led by JJ Rawlings.

“I remember my mother howling at night, when the ‘news’ of the discovery of the burned bodies of the judges finally came out in bloody light. They were curfew days. Turn off the lights. She wouldn’t stop, ”wrote Nana Yaa. “I remember the fear. I remember those who shut up and smiled. Those who suddenly didn’t know you. And those who opened their doors. I remember the silence of abject defeat and poverty. The smell of it. I remember running. The indignity of exile. At least we were alive. ”

Nana Yaa continued: “May the praise continue from those who benefited from the fall of this country, twice, the casual abbreviation of life, the vicious devastation of lives, may the apologists and half-blind continue after the bloody event.

She accused: “Let no one today tell the grieving family that it is ‘rusting into pieces’. Absolutely. The man from yesterday. I will leave all the vestiges of you and yours again and again “

“The man from yesterday. Young children are young ”, he concluded.

Read below for Nana Yaa Ofori-Atta’s full post.

Young children are young.

Our own Trump. Long before “backing up and waiting,” another deranged narcissist with his hand on the trigger. Literally.

“Let the blood flow” was the drug addict roar of the Kakalika village of my childhood.

And now …

A state-funded funeral, the dignified departure he never granted to others, his greatest and best. They had the right, on his orders, to be tied up like turkeys, without dignity, summarily executed, for public entertainment, thrown into unidentified graves and left to rot there.

I remember my mother howling at night, when the ‘news’ of the discovery of the burned bodies of the judges finally came out in bloody light. They were curfew days. Turn off the lights. She wouldn’t stop.

I remember FEAR. I remember those who fell silent and smiled. Those who suddenly didn’t know you. And those who opened their doors. I remember the silence of abject defeat and poverty. The smell of it. I remember running. The indignity of exile. At least we were alive.

May the praise of those who benefited from the fall of this country, twice, the casual abbreviation of life, the vicious devastation of lives, continue the apologists and half-blind after the bloody deed.

Let no one today tell the grieving family that it “rusts into pieces.” Absolutely.

It is particularly ironic that the ending, came in the comfort of a bed, in Korlebu. Nurses and doctors, paid, on duty, teams ready to save even your life.

The man from yesterday. I will vote every vestige of you and yours, over and over again.

The man from yesterday. Young children are young.