The Mausoleum of the Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Ghana, Professor Kofi Abrefa Busia, is supposed to be one of the preferred tourist destinations for people who visit the Bono Region.
Situated in between two-storey buildings which were once used by the late Prime Minister at Wenchi, his hometown, is the tomb of one of the illustrious sons of Ghana with a bust erected in his memory.
The large walled compound housing the mausoleum is located on a hill about 400 metres off the Wenchi-Akrobi road from the centre of Wenchi town.
Inscriptions on the tombstone read thus: Kofi Abrefa Busia, 11 July, 1913-28 August 1978. Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Ghana.
Frontage of the Busia mausoleum
Also inscribed on the tombstone is a scripture: “Hold fast the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain” – Philippians 2:16.
As I stood by the graveside and observed the deterioration of the two buildings which had sandwiched where the remains of the African academician, whose contributions to the country’s education and politics were unquestionable had been laid to rest, the only question which came to my mind was; “Is Ghana worth dying for?”
A peek at the fast deteriorating interior of the Busia residence
And reading the quotation from Philippians 2: 16 inscribed on his tombstone, I began to wonder whether he had not laboured in vain.
Dilapidation
A member of Busia’s family, Ms Francisca Osaa-Baah, who gave the Daily Graphic team access to one of the two-storey buildings, added; “It is a pitiful sight during a rainy day here.”
“There are leakages in the roofing which allow water to seep onto the second floor and drips onto the first floor. I have to spend the entire day to mop water in the rooms,” she stated.
An aerial view of Prof Busia’s house and mausoleum
The entire compound, apart from the tomb, is overgrown with weeds, a situation which is sure to make visitors who have heard so much about the late Prof. Busia wonder whether the country places premium on important national monuments.
Library facility
Added to this spectacle is the fact that a library block built by former President John Agyekum Kufuor to keep books andartefacts belonging to the late Prof. Busia has also been taken over by weeds.
“The library is a complete facility with the floor tiled and can be used for the purpose for which it was built,” Ms Osaah-Baah, who also said she was a daughter of Mr Foster Baah, who is in charge of the place, stated and wondered why nobody was paying attention to the rehabilitation of the facility.
A library built in honour of Prof Kofi Busia by former President John Agyekum Kufuor
“People from various universities who come here to trace the history of Prof. Busia and visit his tomb are always disappointed since apart from the tomb, there is nothing here to suggest he was once the leader of this country. They only stand here and shake their heads to show their disapproval of how things have gone wrong here,” she added.
Ms Osaa-Baah called on the government and other people whose lives had been impacted by the late Prof. Busia to be more concerned about the current sorry state of the mausoleum. “This place has to be renovated to befit the status of a past leader of the country”, she stated.
A resident journalist, Nana Mfreh, who led the Daily Graphic team to tour the various tourist facilities in the Wenchi Municipality said even though the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia cut the sod for the construction of another project when the 40th anniversary of the death of Prof. Busia was observed in Wenchi, nothing had been done afterwards.
Busia’s tomb at the Mausoleum
Some residents who spoke to the Daily Graphic asked the government and the family of the late Prof. Busia to come together to see how Busia’s Mausoleum could be maintained.
“The current state of the place is an eyesore and the earlier something is done about it, the better,” Mr Kwaku Dwomoh, a resident of Wenchi said.
History
Professor Busia became Ghana’s first University Professor who helped to deepen Ghana and Africa’s position on the academic map of the world through teaching in many countries across the world.
Ms Francisca Osaa-Baah, a member of the Busia family who spoke with the Daily Graphic
When he became Ghana’s Prime Minister during the Second Republic, he introduced a rural development ministry which aimed at opening up the rural areas through the provision of roads, health posts and pipe borne water among other social amenities.
Born in Wenchi on July 11, 1913, Professor Busia died in Oxford, England, on August, 28 1978.
At the Sunyani Jubilee Park is a 12-feet statue of the late Prof. Busia standing beneath a four-post arch that represents the key attributes of the Prime Minister of the Second Republic, namely a scholar, a politician, a royal and a statesman.
www.graphic.com.gh
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