Why Atta Mills continued to sleep at Osu Castle despite advice from his family to move out

Samuel Atta Mills, a brother of the late Ghanaian president Professor John Evans Atta Mills, has detailed the extent of sacrifices he (Professor Mills) made in order to provide sound and exemplary leadership to Ghanaians.

In a statement delivered on the floor of Parliament to mark the 12th anniversary of his demise, Samuel Atta Mills, who is the Member of Parliament for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem constituency, positioned his late brother as a servant leader who sometimes sacrificed personal comfort to protect the nation’s interest.

An instance of Professor Mills' outstanding humility and leadership qualities that has stuck with Samuel Atta Mills was when the late president declined counsel from family members to vacate the Osu Castle, which was then the seat of government.

According to him, the room designated as the sleeping place for the president then had structural deficiencies, which meant that whenever it rained, buckets and containers had to be placed at certain points to collect the water from the leaky roof.

Unhappy with the development, the family on numerous occasions advised Professor Mills to alter his plans by sleeping in his house at Spintex in Accra and working at the Osu Castle.

Professor Mills, however, rejected the counsel on multiple grounds, including the fact that it would inconvenience his neighbours, Ghanaians who ply the Spintex road daily, and also incur the nation huge sums of money.

“One of the things that struck me when I used to be there with him was that his bedroom at the Osu Castle used to leak whenever it rained. Whenever it rained, we had to put buckets in the bedroom at the Castle. We asked him to go live at home and come to work every day, and he said, 'I don’t want to inconvenience Ghanaians.'

“He said, 'Can you believe such a busy road as Spintex Road and the president coming to work between 7:30 and 8 a.m. every day with his sirens and the motorbikes blocking the road for the president to come to the office and doing the same thing in the evening? He didn’t want to inconvenience Ghanaians.'

“Secondly, the estate where he lived was a very quiet neighbourhood, and he didn’t want to disturb his friends in the area with all the cars. Thirdly, he asked us to imagine the amount of resources that would be used to fuel the vehicles, the security men who would follow him, and the money it would cost the nation,” he said on the floor of Parliament.

On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, a wreath-laying ceremony was held by the family of the late president and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to honor the memory of the president, who was christened Asomdweehene due to his humility and peaceful nature.

The event was, however, not peaceful as the family and party clashed with a faction led by former Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Samuel Koku Anyidoho.

The family, led by Samuel Atta Mills, has registered their displeasure over the incident and warned Koku Anyidoho that he will face repercussions for his actions.

EK