HUNDREDS WITNESS UNVEILING OF BUSIA'S STATUE (PAGE 14)

Hundreds of people from various parts of the Brong Ahafo Region in particular and elsewhere in the country, last Friday converged on the Jubilee Park in Sunyani to witness a solemn ceremony for the unveiling of the statue of the late Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia.
The unveiling of the statue, which was performed by the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, was in commemoration of the 95th Birthday of Dr Busia and the 30th anniversary of his death. It was jointly organised by the Busia Foundation International, with the Brong Ahafo Regional Council and Ambassador Jimmy Aggrey Orleans in collaboration.
As early as 7:30 p.m. the people had started making their way to the park, which is opposite the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Headquarters on the Sunyani Kumasi main road, to take their seats.
When the Daily Graphic got to the durbar grounds at about 8:30 a.m. there was a deafening sound of fontomfrom and kete being performed by the drumming group of the Sunyani Centre for National Culture (CNC), which treated the audience to splendid and spectacular dances.
At the ark where the eight-foot statue had been erected were the two sculptors, Messrs Emmanuel Obeng Bonsai, a research fellow at the Faculty of Fine Art at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and G.A. Sekyere, a holder of Masters of Philosophy in Art Education, who had dressed the all-concrete bespectacled figure of the late Dr Busia in cloth, with the right hand raised.
The two sculptors, who are natives of Ayerede, near Nkoranza, and Acherensua respectively indicated to this reporter that it took them eight months to complete the project at a highly subsidised cost of GH¢1,000.
According to them they decided to work on the statue at a reduced cost because they were citizens of the region, and had also taken inspiration from the late prime minister during their studies, adding that the actual cost of the work would have been over GH¢ 20,000
The statue was designed by Mr I.K. Amankwah, an architect of Ice Consult in Sunyani, who is also the presiding member of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly, and sponsored by the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC)
Among the personalities who graced the occasion were a Member of the Council of State, Madam Amma Busia, who is also a younger sister of Dr Busia, and other family members as well as ministers of state, Members of Parliament (MPs), Municipal and District Chief Executives from the area. Others were the President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, Okatakyie Agyemang Kudom IV, and other chiefs, queens, the clergy and dignitaries from the United States of America.
The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Rt. Rev. Dr Robert Aboagye Mensah, led a team of Methodist bishops in the region to usher in the programme, with Bible quotations and prayers, because the late Dr Busia was a devout member of the church.
Songs from the Methodist Hymn Book such as Lead kindly light and Rock of ages played by the 3rd Infantry Brigade Band in Sunyani, kept the arena solemn.
In an address the Vice-President said he felt overwhelmed by the emotions of the day and probably the greatest recognition one could achieve was to be immortalised after one's death in ways that sought to perpetuate one's life in the memory of a society.
Alhaji Mahama also noted that the unveiling of the statue was to help sustain the memory of the late prime minister as it encouraged the citizenry to reflect on his ideals in governance.







That moment, he said, came to complement other events, activities and organisations dedicated to the late Dr Busia, including the Busia Foundation International itself as well as the delivery of an annual memorial lecture.
He pointed out that Dr Busia was also known to have been a prolific writer and wrote copiously not only in his area of expertise but also on politics and religion, and that many people placed his accommodating, yet tenacious leadership style to his long association with religion.
Alhaji Mahama stressed that considering that he was a member of the royal family of Wenchi he lived his early years in service with missionaries who amply rewarded him with opportunities to advance his studies.
Indeed, the Vice President noted that Dr Busia was a colossal character who excelled in whatever he touched.
"For me, perhaps the most important justification for his enduring memory was the depth of his political and social development ideals. Many do not know that he and A. I. Adu of blessed memory were the first Ghanaians to be appointed to the high offices of assistant district commissioners in the colonial services as far back as 1942", Alhaji Mahama observed.