Lavish Tombstone:  Is This Opunis Way To Unveil His Opulence?

Bibianiha has gone viral on the Social Media. The small town has become a cynosure. Until probably the past Monday June 19, 2017 about 99.9 per cent of Ghana’s population knew nothing about her. It’s archetypal farming community—peaceful and perhaps quiet during night times.

Over the weekend the small town which is located in the middle belt of Ghana, precisely in the Brong Ahafo region caught the intrepid eyes of the Paparazzi and many from far and near because of what one funeral expert described as a ‘lavish’ tombstone built by the Opuni family to memorialise their departed mother.

The deceased woman was said to be a successful cocoa farmer and had businesses throughout the region and even beyond.

It is understood the Upright tombstone, which stands like a self-contained house was jointly financed by the former Ghana COCOBOD Boss Dr. Stephen Opuni and his siblings (an aristocratic family sort of). According to the local media the edifice ‘shocked ‘and ‘surprised’ many that attended the funeral or saw it on the Social Media.

The cost of the headstone is not known. But given the backlash Dr. Opuni had received in recent times regarding his alleged involvement in some financial impropriety at the COCOBOD, I wondered I whether the former CEO made the good judgement.

It’s reported Dr. Opuni’s siblings had expressed similar concern.

“But for the political consequences our brother might suffer considering our polarised political environment and the associated mischiefs, we would have constructed something more elegant than what has become a public issue,” his siblings said.

Tombstone or Headstone
Traditionally, materials like marble, granite, and field stone are used to make headstones to venerate the dead. Some manufacturers choose or prefer to use concrete, wood, bronze, sandstone, limestone, iron and other similar materials too. In the United States, an upright headstone shall cost up to $10,000. Nonetheless one can get simple upright tombstones in the range of $1,000 to $3,000. So the average cost of gravestone is$1,500 to $2,000. However companion headstones are priced higher than the ones made for individuals.

Now let’s put Dr. Opuni mother’s tombstone into perspective vis-à-vis the wall and the land space. Given its sheer size I think it was built probably for the family. It fits into a companion headstone category, which possibly can accommodate more than four people. Thus the cost of the project could be put in the region of $20,000 about GHc 60,000.

Without a doubt the edifice has generated lots of argument. Dr. Andrews Prempeh a neurosurgeon based in Canada reacted to it via his twitter handle and facebook wall. He described the criticism as ‘primitive’, adding the practice is a common one and nearly everyone who loses the mother feels bereft.”

He however advised the public not to build such tombstones. I” think such c tombs shouldn’t be constructed in the cities because of scarcity of lands.”

Political Consequences
I certainly don’t think the storm has the wall as its main target, things happen and they happen for a reason. As matter of fact before walls were built there were storms. They’ve been there since creation. However, the conflict between the two began when walls strayed into storms’ pathway.

And this is why many are talking about this issue. Yes it’s their own money and they can choose to do whatever they decide on. But, did he Dr. Opuni consider the political ramifications? Is this Opunis way to unveil his Opulence? Couldn’t he and his siblings have perhaps set up a foundation to help the poor and needy in society?

Be reminded, beforehand, Dr. Opuni and his brothers knew that constructing such a monument in a tiny town, where probably the satellite villages aren’t connected to the national power grid, probably his neighbour’s children cannot afford three square meal in a day, possibly there are dropouts because most parents can’t afford s their children’s school fees etc. In fact, it truly begs the question.

Indeed Ghanaians revere the dead so much so that funerals have become the heartbeat of Ghanaians' social life. Profligate spending on funerals has no doubt sparked criticism from political and religious leaders.

Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, the Archbishop of Accra, said this sometime ago: "We are investing in the dead rather than the living ... and that is bad. The surest way to remember the dead is not the type of coffins used to bury them nor is not the type of cloth or T-shirt won during their funerals, but doing something positive for the dead which would benefit the living."

To say funerals in Ghana cost fortune is an understatement. An average funeral should cost between $15, 000 to $20,000’ Burial $689.00 and the installation of a headstone. Compared to United States, today the average North American traditional funeral costs between $7,000 and $10,000. This price range includes the services at the funeral home, burial in a cemetery.

Cremation
In the US Cremation starts at $489-$589. But that practice isn’t popular in my native land. The first public figure in Ghana who opted that he be cremated after his death was Vice president of the 4^th Republic Kow Nkensen Arkaah who died in April 2001. The next distinguished Ghanaian whose name quickly comes to mind is a couture designer Kofi Ansah who passed on in 2014.