The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has stated that the death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, was an event that beat his expectations.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service held in honour of the late Queen by the British High Commission at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Accra on Friday, Dr Bawumia recounted his immediate reaction to the news that the Queen’s doctors had expressed concern about her health.
According to him, the Queen, despite the shock her death evokes, ought to be celebrated due to the immense benefits derived from her reign.
“When my attention was drawn to the Royal Family’s statement on the afternoon of September the 8th this year, expressing doctors’ concern about the health of the Queen, I least expected that her passing was that eminent as she was seen in public two days earlier appointing Prime Minister Liz Truss. Though her passing came as a shock to us, her 96-year-old long life and 70 years of reign as Queen of the United Kingdom and the realms and as head of the Commonwealth are worth celebrating,” he said.
The vice president further highlighted the relationship between Ghana and the late Queen, with emphasis on the impact of her leadership on the world.
“The passing of Her Majesty the Queen has been received here in Ghana with a heavy heart, prompting His Excellency the President to direct that all flags in Ghana fly at half-mast for seven days. The high points of Ghana’s relationship with her majesty were in the years 1961 and 1999 with her official visits. Indeed, in her 1961 visit, a special highlife tune was composed in her honour called ‘Welcome Your Majesty.’ Her famous dance with Ghana’s first president and influential pan-Africanist, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, at the farewell ball in Accra in 1961 was described by scholars as both symbolic and significant to the Commonwealth. Her Majesty the Queen showed remarkable leadership in an era marked by strong anti-colonial and independence waves in the African continent. It is therefore not surprising that under her reign, the Commonwealth saw such a huge transformation,” he said.
Some government functionaries who attended the service included Chief of Staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Others include traditional leaders such as the Gbese Mantse, His Majesty Nii Ayi-Bonte II and other members of the Ga Traditional Council.
The late Queen Elizabeth died on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at the age of 96, having ascended the British throne some 70 years ago.
Her funeral is scheduled for Monday, September 19, 2022.
GA/BOG
