Nana Ampadu To Be Given State Burial

Arrangement has been made to give a state burial to the Onwontofuo hene , Nana Kwame Ampadu I on the forecourt of the State House in Accra on 8th April. This was as a result of a meeting with the family and the President at the Jubilee House last month. Consequently, 8th April has been set aside as a date for the funeral rites. However, as a royal, his final interment would be done at Obo Kwahu in the Eastern Region whiles the final funeral rites would be held at the Police depot at Tesana , Accra. According to the family spokesperson, the president expressed the desire of the state to partake in the funeral of the ace iconic musician for his unquantifiable contribution to Ghana’s arts and culture. It would be recalled that Nana Ampadu passed away in October 2021 after a short illness at the Legon Hospital.

The autopsy record disclosed that the illness that killed him painfully was a brain tumor. The revered musician suffered intermittent illness that aggravated and was therefore rushed to the hospital where the doctor in charge was reported to have delayed a bit, leading to the painful death of the adored musician. The Ghanaian music overlord was born on 31 March 1945 at Adiembra at the Afram Plains in the Eastern Region. to Madam Afua Ntiriwaa and Opanyin Kwame Ampadu the Abusuapanyin of Obo Kwahu Asona Clan.

Nana started his primary school at Obo Anglican primary school on the instrumentality of a family friend who intervened as a result of Nana’s diminutive structure as against the set standard of the admission requirements of the school. According to his family he was born with a walking handicap and therefore remained on the ground for four years before he started walking miraculously at age four per strange circumstances ( Nana used the instance to compose Odo Na Eye song ).

He was a very brilliant and intelligent child and had the singing instinct and he became the leader of his school choir. It was no wonder that soon after finishing his elementary school in 1960, he had the urge to join a band. Nana while alive told journalists that his father did not send him to secondary school ,even though he could have done that inspite of his cleverness.

According to him, his father found him a job at the Mpraeso district office as a messanger. One day, while resting in his office one of his school mates was passing by,he saw him there and then asked him ; ‘ ‘Kwame, what are you doing here, why dont you go to Accra and join a band. ‘ ? Nana said he quickly left the job and joined his brother Rover Amoo in Accra.

This development did not go down well with his family who had to search for his whereabouts. Few months later, he joined the Yamoah’s at Adabraka , Accra at a tender age of 17 years. He there and then started writing his own songs in 1962 after leaving the Yamoah’s band which had relocated to Kumasi. He bought his first his first instruments in 1963 and later out doored his own band at Nima in Accra per the support of some Kwahu leading businessmen. Consequently he released his first song in 1963 (Maye Suminaso Ntonko ) and he never looked back. After his death he is reputed to have composed over 800 songs, with countless unpolished songs ( both circular and religious ).

He is rated as the world’s leading composer with the largest number of songs finding his name in the Guineas Book of records. He won the Onwontofuo hene in 1974 at the Rex Cinema in Accra. Over 30 Ghanaian bands met there but in the end, Nana emerged the over all best back then and wad given the tittle Onwontofuo hene. He sang on various things, issues , events and items including animals. He had trained a lot of musicians. He was a leading member of MUSIGA and other arts associations. He wrote folkloric stories, wrote songs for young musicians, told a lot of Ananse stories including the famous ‘By The Fire Side ‘. He married a couple of women and left behind 10 children , one of whom is continuing his father’s profession, music. A great fitting burial as a sign of showing him the usual last respect, May his soul rest in absolute peace .

Source : Nana Poku /johnawuniktv@gmail.com