One may have observed that most times, young people do not attend funerals. They usually see it as the preserve of elderly.

This was exactly the situation at the funeral of the late highlife legend Paapa Yankson at the forecourt of State House in Accra on Saturday, 21^st October, 2017.

The funeral was heavily attended by old musicians like Pat Thomas, AB Crentsil, Gyedu-Blay Ambulley, Rex Omar, Yaw Sarpong, Charles Amoah, Nana Kwame Ampadu, Sidiku Buari and Abirekyieba Kofi Sammy.

Others were, Daughters of Glorious Jesus, Tagoe Sisters, Nana Fynn, Rev. Thomas Yawson, Rev. Mary Ghansah, Bice Osei Kuffuor, Rex Omar, among others.

I did not see any ‘young musician’ there. When I talk about young musicians I mean those that mostly fall below 40 years age (my own parameter). I am talking about the likes of Samini, Stonebwoy, Efya, Adina, Shatta Wale, Bisa K Dei, Flowking, Becca, K.K. Fosu etc.

The only person I was told attended the funeral after I had left at 12pm was Kofi Kinaata. Maybe most of them attended later at night when the funeral has closed.

The ‘I won’t die now’ factor

There is a school of thought that people attend funerals so that when they die someday, they will have people attend theirs too. Yes, it might sound ludicrous but that is why most people go to funerals.

Why do you care about what happened to your funeral or body when you are dead? Obviously that is a weak reason for attending funerals. We attend funerals to console the bereaved, most importantly.

If you have lost a close friend or family member, it s easy to relate to this; the mere presence of people at the funeral numbs the pain and sorrow in your heart. For a moment, it makes you feel loved and cared about.

So, apart from celebrating the dead who is gone and knows nothing about what happens after their death, the ‘communal healing’ it gives family and friends is very necessary.

With this in mind, one does not have to be of a certain age before they attend funerals. Funerals are not meant for old men and women.

Lack of the ‘we’ spirit

Another school of thought also has t that at times, there are certain things that would move a young person to be at a funeral; and that is if they deceased in their age bracket or a close friend.

There are a lot of people who also posit that perhaps the reason most young people do not attend funerals (including Paapa  Yankson’s) was the fact that the highlife legend was not their friend – nor in their age bracket.

Because of this, they may have felt disconnect with the whole activity. When Ronnie Coaches, Vybrant Faya and rapper Ghetto KB died, there were also many young musicians in attendance than the old ones.

Work over funerals

On Saturday, October 21, 2017 there were a lot of shows in town, principal among which was the Becca @ 10 concert which paraded almost all the current big music stars at the National Theatre to celebrate Becca’s 10 years in music. Most of these young musicians may have been preparing for the show by then hence their absence at the funeral.

Generally, young musicians have more buoyant career than the old ones which means that they would be more engaged for shows even during ‘funeral times.’

To wit, while the young think about making money, the old think about how they will be ‘buried’ when they die.

Bridging the gulf

The above-stated variables are realistically the picture on the ground. However, I believe it is about time we changed the narrative. There may not be equilibrium in young-old attendance at funerals but the gap could be narrowed.

It is about time we made time for each others as people in the same industry irrespective of our tight work schedules and age differences.

Conclusion

Paapa Yankson was a legend and it was expected that musicians from different age groups would be well-represented.

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By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

([email protected])

The post ‘Young’ musicians missing at Paapa Yankson’s funeral [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“We will not allow a person or a group of persons to hold us back in our developmental agenda of Accra,” he said.

Dr Vanderpuije was speaking at a press briefing on Thursday  when he returned to Accra with a 28-member assembly members and businessmen who attended the third annual 16-day exchange programme in Columbia in the US.

They comprised 16 assembly members, 10 business men and women and two assembly staff.

The programme was aimed at building the capacity of the assembly members in the best practices of city management and also to afford businessmen to establish business partners.

Dr Vanderpuije said the AMA would ensure that the people in the metropolis adheres to its bye-laws concerning unauthorized structures and indiscriminate dumping of waste.

“President John Dramani Mahama attaches great commitment to sanitation and flooding in Accra and we will not let him down by ensuring that the right things are done,” he said.

He said the exchange programme had helped the assembly a lot in education, health and sanitation and had opened more opportunities for the rapid development and business in Accra.

Dr Vanderpuije said the visit helped them to have fruitful discussions with Exim Bank on some loans for the start of the Conti Project to dredge the Korle Lagoon and building a recycling plant in Accra.

Dr Vanderpuije expressed gratitude to President Mahama and President Barak Obama creating the enabling environment for the exchange programme which is part of the Millennium Development Goals.

Source: GNA

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