The late Professor John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Library has fallen into disrepair. Still, President John Dramani Mahama has promised to bring it back to its former splendor and said that renovations are currently being made.
At the wreath-laying ceremony held at Asomdwee Park on the thirteenth anniversary of the late President Mills’ death, he made this pledge.
President Mahama said in his speech,
“Kofi Totobi Quakyi has been involved with the library since its inception. After we left the office, it was handed over to the University of Cape Coast.”
“Kofi Totobi and a small group are already working on bringing that memorial library back to the shape in which it should be,” he assured Ghanaians.
President Mahama reaffirmed the government’s dedication to making sure the library fulfills the goal for which it was created.
President Mahama used the occasion to pay a moving homage to the late President John Evans Atta Mills, reminding everyone in attendance that true honor goes far beyond yearly wreath-laying ceremonies, in addition to restoring the actual building.
“Honoring the late President Mills should go beyond laying wreaths once a year. The most meaningful tribute is to live out the values Mills cherished: humility, honesty, and accountability,” he said.
“He was always calm in the storm, a voice of reasoning, a voice of restraint, and a voice of hope. His was not the politics of insults or vengeance, but the politics of service, compassion, and reconciliation. Even in the face of provocation, he responded not with anger, but with grace.” In the face of difficulties, President Mahama characterised the late Mills as a rock of composure and reason.
“Even when confronted with betrayal or disappointment, he remained steadfast in upholding his principles, and he never allowed power to change who he was. He remained until his last breath a servant of the people, a man of peace, a man of God, and a man of Ghana,” he recalled.
“I saw these values in action every day. I witnessed his concern for the most vulnerable in society and his tireless efforts to extend opportunity to every Ghanaian, regardless of background. He was not loud; he was not flamboyant,” he mentioned, sharing his experience of the late president’s leadership.
“He believed that leadership should be lived and not performed. Professor Mills governed this country with a deep moral compass. He placed truth over experience, people over politics, and country over self.”
President Mahama emphasized the enduring significance of the late Mills’ teachings in the frequently polarizing political environment of today.
“These are lessons that continue to resonate, particularly at a time when our politics can be very divisive and disconnected from the hopes of the ordinary Ghanaian.”
“As we stand here at his resting place, we must ask ourselves what it means to truly honor the memory of this great man. It is not enough to lay wreaths at his grave once a year. It is not enough to sing his praises in death,” He added.
“The most authentic tribute we can give Professor John Atta Mills is to carry forward the values he held dear: to rekindle the spirit of humility, accountability, and ethical leadership. He believed in justice not just as a legal principle but as a way of life. He believed that peace was not the absence of conflict but the presence of fairness,” the president urged.
Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), also spoke at the event and noted that the event’s calm atmosphere reflected Professor Mills’ genuine personality. He stated,
“The only variable that has changed is the swapping of positions of two very important persons in this country, and they just swapped their positions perfectly. One from a former president to the sitting president, and the other from the sitting president to a former president. So, if this celebration is happening in a peaceful atmosphere, that is the true reflection of the lives and beliefs of Professor Mills.”
“I have peace in my mind, peace in my heart, and I believe that Professor Mills is enjoying peace in his grave,” he added.
