State gave Rawlings a befitting funeral – Okudzeto Ablakwa testifies

Member of Parliamentent for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has lauded both the State and the Ghana Armed Forces for holding a befitting ceremony for the late Jerry John Rawlings on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

He described the funeral as a well-staged one held in an honourable manner.

Speaking on the burial ceremony with GhanaWeb, the legislator said, “It has been a befitting send-off, a very well-staged funeral. The state has honoured a former president, a former commander-in-chief very well in a dignified manner. The Ghana Armed Forces must be commended for a splendid and a very gracious send-off to an African icon.”

Mr Ablakwa then charged young politicians to emulate the good examples Rawlings exhibited to help the country develop.

“We need to be sober and reflect on the legacy of His Excellency Ft Jerry John Rawlings. The legacy of selfless leadership, the legacy of probity and accountability. The legacy of looking out for the ordinary man and being the voice of the voiceless… As young politicians, those are those are the values we must learn and it is important that the legend that he is, those of us who remain alive should live by the steering examples and inspiring footprints he left, " he said in an interview with GhanaWeb's Ernestina Serwaa Asante.

The former statesman died at the Intensive Care Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital on November 12, 2020, at age 73.

He was buried at the Military cemetery in Accra on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.