Ghana urged to honour helicopter crash victims through 'lives of service'

Ghanaians should honour the memory of the eight people killed in last year's military helicopter crash by living lives of service, integrity and sacrifice, the spokesperson for the National Chief Imam has said.

Speaking at a national inter-faith memorial service in Accra on Thursday, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu urged the country to look beyond mourning and instead reflect on the certainty of death and the legacy each person leaves behind.

"We are here not merely to exist but to accomplish a mission and fulfil the purpose for which we were created," he told mourners gathered under the theme "Lives of Service, Legacies of Sacrifice."

The memorial marked one year since a Ghana Armed Forces helicopter crashed in the Adansi area of the Ashanti Region while carrying senior government officials and military personnel on official duties to Obuasi.

The crash claimed the lives of Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Environment Minister Alhaji Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Muniru Mohammed Limuna, National Democratic Congress Vice-Chairman Samuel Sarpong, Deputy Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation Samuel Aboagye, Squadron Leader Peter Baafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manaen Twum Ampadu and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

The disaster plunged Ghana into national mourning and prompted tributes from across the country and abroad.

Addressing government officials, religious leaders and bereaved families at Thursday's service, Sheikh Shaibu said death remained an unavoidable reality that spared no one, regardless of status or achievement.

"Every human being has a destiny that is undeniable and irresistible," he said. "When God's appointed time comes, no soul can delay it."

Drawing on Islamic teachings, he said the victims neither chose the time nor the manner of their deaths, describing their passing as part of God's divine will.

He urged those attending the service to view life as a responsibility rather than an accident, warning that every person would ultimately be accountable for how they used the opportunities entrusted to them.

Reflecting on the period after the crash, Sheikh Shaibu said the grief that gripped the nation had gradually faded, recalling how the wreaths and tributes displayed during the funerals eventually disappeared.

"I asked myself, 'Where are they?'" he said. "Those wreaths represented our emotions and how deeply we were affected by their deaths. Yet within a short period, that memory gradually faded from our minds."

He said memorial services were important because they kept alive the memory of those who had died while serving their country.

Quoting from the Qur'an, Sheikh Shaibu said acts of service and sacrifice would never be forgotten by God, urging Ghanaians to focus less on material success and more on the impact they leave on others.

"Our deeds, our service and our sacrifices are what will continue to speak for us after we are gone," he said.

He said the theme of the memorial should serve not only as a tribute to the eight victims but also as a challenge to those still living to build lives defined by integrity, compassion and public service.

"The theme, 'Lives of Service, Legacies of Sacrifice,' should not merely describe those we have lost," he said. "It should become the guiding principle for those of us who remain."