Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has revealed the reason behind former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s restricted mobility.
According to him, the former President chose the country over his health and personal well-being even when the situation was dire.
On November 14, 2007, former President Kufuor was involved in an accident at the Opeibea House on the Accra-Madina highway.
The statesman, however, escaped unhurt. But for the Asantehene, Mr Kufuor should have taken some time off to recuperate. Thus, former President Kufuor’s refusal to be absent from his presidential duties played a contributory factor in his current state.
“He cannot walk, and I said to him that it was his own fault and I have told him. He had an accident on his way to the (Osu) Castle, he was saved, and from 37 Military Hospital he went to sit in the Castle to work. I called him from Kumasi and asked him; ‘What are you doing in the office?’ And he said ‘I am okay, nothing happened to me.’ I said ‘No, you better go home and rest, Ghana will still be there’. He stayed in the office until four before he left,” he said on Tuesday.
This behaviour, the Asantehene believes, shows a man who loved his country and always considered it first.
“This is the man who sacrificed his life for Ghana. Thank you so much for the service you gave to Ghana,” he said.