Monument for Atsu: A call too early

 Dear Editor,

About three weeks ago, I wrote a letter to The Spectator expressing the hope that the ex-Gha­na international footballer, Christian Atsu, would be found. Though he was even­tually found, he was not in a state that we were expect­ing. Last weekend a number of dignitaries joined the bereaved family to observe one week of his demise.

Prior to the one week observation, I chanced on an online publication where a delegation from the Ada Traditional Council had gone to formally announce the death of the football star to President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House.

In the midst of the conver­sation at the Jubilee House, the elders reportedly ap­pealed to the government to build a monument in honour of the late footballer. The request was hinged on the player’s contribution to the game in Ghana as well as his humanitarian works.

It is not clear if the request would be granted but my initial reaction after reading the story was wheth­er the timing of the request was appropriate.

Although, I agree with the fact that the remarkable contribution of the late foot­baller cannot go unnoticed, I thought the request from the Traditional Council was coming too early, considering that the player had not been buried.

I guess a good time for requesting a monument in honour of the late footballer should be after the March 25, 2023 date which had been scheduled for the funeral. The timing of the request, in my opinion, was premature.

I cannot tell what the President would decide even­tually but even if the physical monument is not built to hon­our the celebrated footballer, the philanthropic works and the lives he had impacted in the course of his career would remain the greatest legacy.

James Kwame Obeng,

Achimota-Accra