Ursula Wematu Asaghedewe, widow of Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, has paid a deeply moving tribute to her late husband.

She read the tribute on Friday, August 15, during an interdenominational state funeral held in honour of the eight military personnel who lost their lives in the August 6 helicopter crash at Sikaman in the Adansi Akrofrom District of the Ashanti Region.

Asaghedewe eulogised her husband as a devoted family man and a dependable friend who was always ready to sacrifice for others.

“Peter took care of his family just as he took care of his friends. He did everything to make sure my life was comfortable. My husband was a go-to person for everyone who knew him, sacrificing and laying down his life to come through for anyone in need.

"Anyone who knows Peter knows that he would go hungry for the sake of his loved ones. Two months ago, when you held my hand in the delivery room through the birth of our beautiful baby, Wenlie Wesoamo Anala, we had new hope for our future and expectations for our family and the life we wanted her to have,” she recounted.

The widow recalled how, despite her husband’s tight schedule, he made time to bond with their newborn daughter before returning to duty.

“Ahh, Bafemi, I expected you to stay with me for at least a month to help us settle into our new reality, but for the love you had for our country, you had only just a week to spend with us. Before you left, Wenlie held you back for an extra week because she was not feeling well. Now I know why she was holding you back from returning to Ghana.

"But for your dedication to your work, you had to make the most difficult sacrifice — to go and serve our country, leaving behind a sick new baby and a new mother who was still healing.”

She further recounted her husband’s final days with his family, describing them as priceless but painfully short-lived.

“Two weeks only? Oh, what two weeks those were! Two weeks of endless kisses on Wenlie’s little face. I have never seen a broader smile than in the little time you spent with her. You promised me that, come rain or shine, you would return in October for Wenlie’s christening.

"Eiii, God! What am I going to tell her in a few years when she starts asking for her father? How do I explain that the hardships she is about to face, being fatherless, were not the life we planned for her?”

Struggling to hold back her grief, she ended her tribute with a farewell:

“This was not the plan, Peter. This was not it! Please come back and tell me this was all a very terrible nightmare.

"I am supposed to be consoled with the fact that you died knowing God and that there is rest for you until we meet again. I will forever cherish the moments I spent with you, and I certainly cannot wait for that glorious reunion.

"Bafemi, my love, journey well. I love you.”