9 months ago
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The mortal remains of the late Dr Ebenezer Nii Armah Tackie, the father of the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, was on Saturday interred in a private burial characterised by traditional rites held at the Ga Mantse Palace in Accra.
The late father of the Ga Mantse was the former Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Development Studies and Head of the Department of Architecture of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.
Nii Armah Tackie, 83-years-old and was survived by four children and seven grandchildren.
Clad in red and black attire, mourners from diverse all walks of life converged at the Ga Mantse Palace to pay their last respects as they filled past the mortal remains of the deceased
Among them was the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, paramount chiefs of the various Ga traditional areas, a delegation from the National House of Chiefs, clergy, Members of Parliament, members of the Ghana Institute of Engineers and Planners, and the Ghana Bar Association.
The Ga Mantse in an emotional but touching tribute, described his late father as an ambitious and selfless person who combined his academic job with his private consultancy and leadership roles in several groups.
“At an advanced age, instead of taking over as Mantse, he preferred to advise me behind the scenes, and ensured that our great heritage is well maintained for future generations. He was my chief advisor and I am bereft of his wise counsel, ” King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II added.
A representative of the Ga Paramount Stool Dzase Tunma We, Abola, in a tribute noted that the late Dr Tackie made time to attend to every meeting of the Ga Paramount Stool Dzase and issues that affected his royal ruling house despite his busy schedule.
The late Dr Tackie, he said was instrumental in gathering historical materials of the late Ga Mantse, King Tackie Tawiah I, who reigned as Ga Mantse from 1862- 1902, adding “your contributions towards the growth of the Ga state will never be forgotten.”
The Presiding Archbishop and General Overseer of the Action Chapel International, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams reminded the mourners to be deliberate in working on their salvation.
Death, he said, was inevitable irrespective of one’s age, or status in life, as it was appointed unto man to die once, but after that judgement, as he referenced the scriptures of the Holy Bible.
Archbishop Duncan-Williams therefore, urged Ghanaians to continue to live in peace and harmony, and always pray for God’s forgiveness, because “we have an account to give to our maker for the kind of life we live here on earth. Real life begins after death.”
Prayers were said for the bereaved family and the Ga state after which the casket containing the mortal remains of the late Dr Tackie was lifted and taken around the funeral grounds three times according to tradition, before the final private interment.
Some of the projects the late Dr Tackie supervised and planned as an architect were the new Kumasi Shopping Mall, Kumasi Central and Bantama Markets, and the Makola Shopping Mall.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
