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Benjamin Aidoo reflects on donating money to Ukraine, leading Showmax’s ‘My Perfect Funeral’
● Benjamin Aidoo
From becoming a global sensation for his coffin dance meme (an image, video or piece of text, typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users) to finally selling the meme as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT )— a certificate to say you own something digitally, Benjamin Aidoo has had quite a journey.
And his luck is not about to run out anytime soon as the prominent Ghanaian pallbearer is now the face of the Showmax Original reality series ‘My Perfect Funeral.’
The 10-part Ghanaian series, which was launched in December 2022, follows five families as they prepare to bury their loved ones.
In this Showmax interview made available to The Spectator, Benjamin talks about ‘My Perfect Funeral,’ and his reasons for featuring on the show, donating his money from the meme auction to Ukraine and why the world should expect more funeral memes from him and his group.
What made you decide to be part of My Perfect Funeral?
It was to honour my friend Tommy Lee (one of the pioneers of our pallbearers’ group) and my adopted father, who both passed away. I wanted to do this for them so that the world can see and understand what celebration of life means. Being on this show made that possible.
In your own words, what would you describe as a perfect funeral?
For me, a perfect funeral means having a successful and timely funeral, regardless of any issues that may arise like family disagreements or anything else.
As a pallbearer, what has been the most interesting funeral you’ve attended so far?
There’s one I attended where someone was buried with a special coffin. The deceased was a tomato seller, and she was buried in a fancy coffin which was carved as a box of tomatoes. While we carried and danced with the coffin, people were throwing tomatoes at us. I don’t know whether they were aiming at the pallbearers or the coffin but it was very interesting. I have never witnessed something like that before and I loved it.
What lessons do you hope ‘My Perfect Funeral’ imparts to viewers in Ghana and across Africa?
Life is too short, therefore, enjoy it. Forgive easily, respect nature and honour humans because you don’t know when and where you’re going to die.
Earlier in April 2022, you sold your coffin dance meme
at 327 ETH ($1,045,409), one of the highest meme auctions in history. How did it feel to earn this much money?
It was a great feeling, but most importantly, I felt happy that we were able to give back by donating some of this money to Ukraine to help the country get back on its feet.
Did you feel any loss to see the meme go to a new owner?
No, because I’m just happy and grateful that God has been so good to me. I’m very passionate about what I do, I’m hoping that soon, everybody around the world is going to hear about my work or even adopt it.
It’s been months since you sold the meme. Has this sale impacted your life in any way? And has it impacted the way people in Ghana interact with you?
The answer is both yes and no. Ghanaians are out for my neck because they know that the money is there but they don’t know the ins and outs of it all. Part of the money from the sale went to charity in Ukraine. We need to give back to society as part of our journey and where we’re coming from.
With that money, I’m helping the needy in my community and also supporting my team of pallbearers because I have more than a 100 guys working with me and we do a lot of projects. So yes, that money has impacted a lot and there’s more to come.
Should we expect more funeral memes from you?
Yes, I’d say you should expect more funeral memes from us very soon because there’s music and dance and a whole lot of play on social media.
Catch Benjamin Aidoo as he helps families give their loved ones a fitting send-off in My Perfect Funeral streaming on Showmax, with new episodes every Thursday.
Source: Showmax
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
