RE: Boycotting Funerals Is Not the Answer

Rejoinder to “Boycotting Funerals Is Not the Answer” Spectrum Editorial December 3, 2009

Dear Journalist,

After reading your December editorial, once again you have blamed the Chiefs for circumstances that we are not responsible for. The first was the refreshments at Ghanaian events, and then you wrote about the Chiefs boycotting Nana Adu-Gyamfi’s funeral. This was recklessly irresponsible for you to do, because you did not care to check on those facts before publishing any information to the Ghanaian community.

In your first editorial about the Chiefs, the blame was attendees at Ghanaian events complaining that they were ignored and were refused to be served. You then gave the reason being that all the drinks were served to the Chiefs, Queen mothers, and the Elders which then created a situation like an Animal Farm. Inferring that the Chiefs, Queen mothers, and Elders were more important than the attendees was wrong because we also know that we’re not the only people that make donations at these events. We would like to remind you that we are not the host of these events. Instead of you blaming the hosts and advising them on how to host these events fairly, you preferred to blame us. Do not forget, our drinks are also shared with our members who sit behind us. When we are seated, we hardly get up from our seats to even go to the bathroom, let alone know who is served and who is not being served. As you wrote, we are bound to keep the majestic and colorful presence to continue to grace the occasion. Do you want us to get up and go around checking to see if everybody is well served? Is that an added responsibility of the Chiefs? I see you always with a drink, why don’t you tell them how you got yours?

In your December editorial, you claim the chiefs boycotted the Koforidua man’s funeral organized by Nana Adu-Gyamfi the Chief of Brong Ahafo. The word boycott you used was very wrong since you did not care to check the reasons as to why the chiefs were absent, but found it convenient again to accuse and embarrass us through your own made up story.

If you want to know the truth about the “boycotted” funeral, here is the story. At our last Chieftaincy meeting we discussed which and what type of events the Chiefs, Queen mothers, and elders will continue to attend. We decided that we are no longer able to attend multiple events on weekends, contribute ($100-$300), and also deal with the toll of our absence on our families.

It was at that meeting that we decided to patronize those who belong to our associations and support the other Chiefs, Queen mothers, and member events. At a point during the discussion, the question was if you know the event holder or host (who is a brother, sister, or very good friend) who is not in the association what do you do? It was Nana Adu-Gyamfi, the Brong Ahafo chief who organized the Koforidua man’s funeral who said that in that regard, you can visit that person before or after if you want, but you should not attend the event if he doesn’t belong to an ethnic association. After further deliberation we all agreed to the motion and then discussed when to implement the rule. Some suggested immediately, while others said that there should be a grace period for the information to go out and have the announcement made at different events. These announcements were followed up at the various events, and the Chiefs had the chance to inform their members of the new rule at their association meetings.

It was some weeks after the decision when Nana Adu-Gyamfi decided to take up the Koforidua- man’s funeral and started to inform the other Chiefs to support him. As our culture dictates ethnically, Nana Adu-Gyamfi (Chief of Brong-Ahafo) is not supposed to organize the event since the deceased is an Akim. Nana Akwafo Brempong Akyemhene, if at all, should have been responsible for the funeral, but since our rule was in effect, he didn’t because he doesn’t belong to Okyeman Association. Nana Adu-Gyamfi decided to organize the funeral because the Koforidua man used to work for him, otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone forward to be responsible.

At Paa Kwasi’s birthday party, the announcement was made of the Koforidua man’s funeral. The question and discussion was that the grace period should be extended to accommodate his funeral. The majority of the Chiefs declined the request for extension and that was the reason that we were not present at the funeral. We were adhering to a previous decision taken by all.

At the grace period discussion you the Journalist joined in to say since we did not publish the rule in your newspaper, it should not take effect. You never offered to publish the rule for free and we were not ready to pay $200 for publishing it. We have our own way of letting the community know of our new rule. The following day I called you and through our conversation, I suggested and you also agreed that we should organize a forum and answer why the Chiefs came to that conclusion. I did not know you made up your mind to again use your newspaper to embarrass the Chiefs and make us look heartless to the community.

You were born and raised in a chieftaincy family. Where in Ghana do you see a Chief sitting at a funeral from beginning to end? Is it too much to ask every Ghanaian to belong to an Association for the Chiefs to patronize their events? If a Ghanaian wins the lottery does anybody ask where he or she is from? But if death occurs and there is nobody that wants to be responsible for the deceased, then you want to look at the deceased’s ethnicity Chief to handle the problem. When we took the oath did we say that we will be responsible for every Ghanaian who does not want to be responsible for him or herself?

Lastly, the Chiefs were not present at the funeral organized by Nenefe the Video man for another fellow Ghanaian. Yet you didn’t seem to show any concern or even question why the Chiefs were not present. Did you, Journalist show up at that event? If not, why? What about the funeral held in your office? Were all the Chiefs present? Was he not a Ghanaian? Why didn’t you also mention him in your article if your concern was for all Ghanaian funerals?

Togbe Venya I (Kwame Ampofo) President, Ghana Chieftaincy Council of Metropolitan Chicago