The Ghana Armed Forces on Tuesday observed the maiden annual memorial public lecture in honour of the late Defence Minister Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah at the Burma Camp in Accra. Dr Omane Boamah and seven other public officials lost their lives in a military helicopter crash at Adansi Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region on August 6th, 2025.
Tribute to Selfless Leadership
The event, which was chaired by Nana Dr Emmanuel Adu-Sarkodee, the President of the Ghana Employers' Association and Akwamu Manwerehene, featured two main speakers. Reverend Father Dr Ebenezer Akesseh, the Parish Priest of Christ the King Parish of the Catholic Church, Accra, delivered the first lecture on the topic “Selfless Leadership in Public Service: Lessons from the Life and Legacy of the late Dr Omane Boamah”. He described public service as a vocation and a divine calling to serve humanity rather than a profession pursued for personal gain.
Rev. Dr Akesseh reiterated that the late Dr Omane Boamah exemplified servant leadership by dedicating his talents, medical expertise and political career to the service of Ghana. He consistently placed the needs of others above his own interests. Rev. Dr Akesseh cited an instance where the late minister interrupted his journey to personally assist a woman in distress and ensured she received urgent medical care, demonstrating that compassion must always be accompanied by action.
Accra Beyond the Floods
Professor Kwasi Appeaning Addo, a former Director of the Institute of Environment and Sanitation Studies, Department of Marine and Fisheries Science, University of Ghana, delivered the second lecture on the topic “Accra Beyond the Floods: Rethinking Enforcement, Urban Planning and Community Resilience”. He made a call to action for the Accra Beyond the Floods Equation, saying in honouring the legacy of the late Defence Minister, a climate resilient Accra could be realised by combining disciplined urban order with progressive engineering.
This would secure the capital against flood disaster, building on its early foundational work, by leading national environmental investigations and tree planting campaigns. Prof. Addo stressed that the proposed Accra flood resilience strategy could integrate natural infrastructure; AI driven enforcement and community led action to transition into a secure and sustainable capital.
A Call to Action
Prof. Addo urged the nation's traditional leaders to protect natural purpose by acting as strong custodians of their lands, refusing the sale of wetlands and flood plains to developers, to ensure social accountability. He encouraged civil society and the media to champion truth and equity, as well as maintain continuous independence oversight on the prosecution of corrupt planning officials.
Prof. Addo also urged citizens to take active charge of their neighborhood's cleanliness, volunteer as community-led early warning and disaster response teams, and refuse the purchase of land in flood plains. He appealed to them to act as whistle blowers on illegal development that threatened their community's safety, declaring that this was their collective action.
The event was attended by Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Dr Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff at the Presidency and Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Finance Minister and Acting Defence Minister, among other dignitaries. It is clear that the legacy of Dr Omane Boamah continues to inspire and motivate efforts to build a better, more resilient Ghana.
Source: Joy Online
