This is my humble suggestion to former President John Agyekum Kufuor to be thankful to President Nana Akufo-Addo for offering to give his wife, the later Theresa Kufuor a state burial. However, Mr Kufuor should politely decline the offer because the president would be setting unnecessary precedence that the state should not set or can ill afford.

Are all former first ladies going to be given state burials when the time comes or just those from the president’s own party, or those the president personally knows? Ghanaians voted to make Mr Kufuor president, not Mrs Kufuor. Aside from the cost involved in a state burial, it is proper for Mrs Kufuor’s own family to give their loved one a burial they see fit with the support of former president Kufuor and well-wishers.

Aware that Mrs Kufuor was an accomplished person by any measure, the only reason why we are talking about a state burial is that she was the wife of a former president. But does that alone warrant a state burial? Like everyone else, it is the private responsibility of Mr Kufuor and the late Mrs Kufuor’s family members to give her a befitting burial.

Are we suggesting that the late Theresa’s family and friends, President Kufuor‘s family and friends and the many well-wishers, including myself, cannot give her a befitting burial? I’m sure there are many accomplished people in the country who also deserve such an honour.

People are suffering in Ghana, the economy is in shambles, and young professionals are leaving the country in droves. The leaders of the country must be seen to empathise with the poor and destitute who cannot afford food on the table, let alone pay for funeral expenses. Our present circumstances demand that every social responsibility expenditure must be done with utmost modesty.

The state should rather set up a funeral support fund with a committee to determine who gets help, not completely pay for the cost of funerals of just First Ladies, but other important personalities who have contributed to the wellbeing of Ghana. I suggest GHC65,000 each. This would be a better way of spending the nation’s money than a state burial. The average funeral in Ghana costs not more than GHC45,000. YƐ yƐ deƐ ehyia, ansa na yaye deƐ Ɛfata.

Dr. Amoako Baah
Conscientious citizen