By Dennis Peprah
Wenchi, (B/R), March 04, GNA – Residents in the Wenchi Municipality have expressed discontent over the poor state of the Mausoleum for the late Professor Kofi Abrefa Busia, the Prime Minister for the Second Republic of Ghana.
As the nation observes the Ghana Heritage Month this March, the residents, said they were worried about the successive governments’ neglect of such a monument and tourist destination site to deteriorate.
During a visit, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) noticed weeds were taking over the Mausoleum, situated in Wenchi in the Bono Region, the hometown of Prof Busia, and left under the mercy of the weather.
Positioned in between the two-storey Mausoleum building, which served as the private residence and offices of the late Prime Minister, is the tomb of the illustrious son and statesman which is decorated with ornamental trees and a bust erected in his memory.
On the tombstone, is an inscription that reads “Kofi Abrefa Busia, 11 July 1913-28 August 1978. Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Ghana”.
However, speaking in an interview with the GNA, Dr Emmanuel Akumfi-Ameyaw, an Accra-based Reverend Minister, a native of the town, described the Mausoleum as a “momentous site,” saying if rehabilitated, it would attract both local and international tourists.
“The late Prof Busia was not only a statesman, but also an international icon and his Mausoleum will boost the nation’s eco-tourism if the government improves the facilities there,” he stated.
Also inscribed on the tombstone is a scripture: “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain”, a scripture picked from -Philippians 2:16.
A library block at the Mausoleum, the GNA gathered, constructed by former President John Agyekum Kufuor was also left to deteriorate.
Inside the facility are books, artefacts and other learning materials of the late Prof Busia.
Dr Akumfi-Ameyaw said the people of Wenchi were worried that the Mausoleum of the late African academia was left in ruins, saying, instead it could be developed into an education research centre and to justify the late Prof Busia’s contributions to the nation’s education.
“In fact, his contributions to education and politics remain exceptional and unquestionable,” he stated.
Mr Richard Kwadwo Adu, another native of the town, and a former Wenchi constituency youth organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), indicated that the surest appreciation the nation could demonstrate to the Busia family for their contributions to national development was for the Government to rehabilitate and develop the Mausoleum into an international standard.
“The contributions of the Busia family and the entire Wenchi people to the growth and development of Ghana is glaring for all to see. It is therefore extremely sad for successive governments to look unconcerned for this great monument to ruin,” he stated.
Nana Adom Busia, another native and royal of the town, said it was always pathetic to visit the Mausoleum in the wet seasons, saying almost all the roofing leaked whenever there was rainfall.
He, therefore, appealed to wealthy citizens of Wenchi, home and abroad to be concerned and assist in putting the Mausoleum into good shape, saying “Posterity would not spare and judge all of us if we allowed such a monument to go waste.”
Checks revealed the late Prof Busia was the first University Professor in Ghana who contributed to deepening Ghana and Africa’s position on the academic map of the world through teaching in many countries across the world.
He was born in Wenchi on July 11, 1913, and died in Oxford, England, on August 28, 1978.
GNA