More tears flow for PV Obeng

More than 1,000 dignitaries, citizens and foreigners lined up last Saturday, for the one-week commemoration of the death of Paul Victor Obeng, Senior Adviser to President John Dramani Mahama, whose unexpected death shocked many across the country in particular and the globe at large.

As part of the customs of the Ashantis, especially the Adansi Traditional Area – where PV Obeng, as he was affectionately called, hailed from – the widow, three children and some immediate family relations in black ceremonial dresses, sat at the front row as mourners queued up to greet the bereaved family.

Some passed silently while others shed tears as they greeted and embraced the widow, Rose Obeng, who could not control the tears that intermittently flowed down her cheeks.

The ceremony, held at the premises of the Don Bosco Senior High School in Tema, attracted many mourners, including members from both the opposition political parties as well as the key figures of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), notably the party’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia aka General Mosquito.

Delegations from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Council, KNUST Alumni, traditional heads, and business tycoons, among others, showed up to mourn with the bereaved family.

Dignitaries from the Ghana Police Service, led by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan; Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Beatrice Zakpaa Vib-Sanziri, Tema Regional Police Commander and other senior police officers were also present.

It took many hours for all those who wanted to pay homage to the family to do so.

Earlier, a church service was held at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Tema, which was attended by Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, ministers of state, traditional leaders, sympathizers and friends of the late chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).

Most Rev. Gabriel Justice Anokye, Metropolitan Bishop of Kumasi and Administrator of the Obuasi Diocese, in a sermon, noted that the late Mr. Obeng had fought a good fight through dedication and selflessness to individuals and the nation.

According to him, everyone would someday die, therefore every human being must repent from their sins and give their lives to God.

The Metropolitan Bishop said that he would inform Pope Francis during a Catholic conference to be held in Rome, Italy, about the sudden death of Mr. Obeng, who was knighted by the Pope with the title “Sir” for his good works.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur, who expressed personal sorrow about Mr. Obeng’s death, later exited through one of the doors ostensibly to avoid the media.

Mr. Obeng, 69, was said to have died of asthma attack while driving on the Spintex Road in Accra and was rushed to two different hospitals by a cabbie before he was pronounced dead by the Lekma Hospital at Teshie, a suburb of Accra.