Fmr. Regional Minister Jabs Businessman For Burying Father in Toyota Corolla(Video)

Former Upper East Regional Minister, Tangoba Abayage has criticized a businessman with the name Norbert Atodio for burying his father in a Toyota Corolla at Navrongo.

According to Madam Tangoba, the money used for the elegant burial in terms of using a Toyota Corolla instead of a wooden coffin could have been invested in the lives of the community members.

She opined that his flamboyant action does not make him a hero in any way but rather makes him look morally bankrupt.

Abayage, who is also a former Ghanaian ambassador to Italy registered her displeasure towards Mr Atodio’s action in a Facebook post and used the opportunity to advise rich and influential persons never to violate customary rites in the community.

“Earlier last week news broke over the internet of an indigene of Navrongo traditional area, specifically Doba who had decided to bury his dad in a Toyota Corolla (never mind the year of manufacture as the man in question Mr Atodio wanted us to believe). A lot of tongues wagged”.

“Questions were raised: was it true? What was the reason? Isn’t it a slap in the face of tradition? Was his father already driving when he was alive? Is he that rich? What does he do? What is the environmental implication? Can’t he be stopped or he’s just playing games with the general public?”

“Of course, a lot of people had private chats with me on the issue. Since I didn’t know much about the man and the history behind this story I also made my enquiries to obtain further and better particulars. And I surely gathered the details I needed to acquaint myself with the issue. Although the massive grave had been dug and beautifully tiled, a lot of people were still sceptical about the real execution of the plan with many hoping a last-minute intervention will stop him from going ahead”.

“Well, we woke up yesterday to be informed that the burial had taken place under the cover of darkness: between 1-3 am on Saturday. People are shocked, excited and angered depending on which side of the coin they flip. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I however wish to state what I think and note that this is purely my opinion.
There are those who raise environmental concerns: I’m not an environmentalist so cannot tell to what extent his act can cause environmental damage. Some argue the car, the engine and all the fossil fuels it went down with will be hazardous”.

“That’s so accurate but you see, we are in a country where agencies charged to ensure environmental sanity sit back and watch thousands of tons of hazardous elements dumped anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Were they informed about this? Did they hear it from the grapevine? What action did they take to stop this burial from occurring?
Yet another school of thought says it flouts our traditions. Eeeerrrrm! This is the first of its kind ever, maybe even in Ghana. I don’t know which part of our tradition his action flouts”.

“I’m sure the traditional authorities were aware of this decision by this man to bury his dad in a car. If his actions went against our traditions I’ll like to think they could have stopped him, using all the traditional accoutrements at their disposal. But they didn’t”.

“Can he be cited for illegalities? If yes I’m sure someone can test this in the courts.
MY TAKE ON THIS WHOLE SAGA IS ON MORAL GROUNDS. This man has been in the limelight for a long time now. He came onto the scene as a herbalist (self-styled doctor) and gained traction quickly. He subsequently opened a private radio station, Pure FM in Navrongo which station, like most small radio stations, has its own several ups and downs”.

“People say he’s rich; I don’t know because I’ve never directly encountered him. For someone of his calibre, I’m yet to hear of any major social interventions he’s conducted for his immediate community, Doba or Navrongo at large; I may be corrected. For such a man to drive a whole car with a dead body inside underground smacks of a person who’s morally unjust to the society he sits in to make his money. I know his station, his community, and some members of his immediate family are aware of our social tenets and I’m wondering how any man with a right moral conscience will overlook all these that immediately surround him to do what he’s just done”.

“I’m told his dad was a very powerful herbalist whose work attracted a lot of foreigners (he became a beneficiary of his father’s great legacy). Which better way than to have told the dead dad, he’ll rather use the money for a car to build a lasting legacy of a herbal training centre to honour him? Could he have chosen to use the funds to revamp his ailing station and restructure it to perform top-notch in honour of his dad? Could he have done any other humanitarian project with that money in honour of his dad?”

“Yes, he could. But he didn’t, he rather chose to bury his dad’s legacy in a tomb. That for me is morally wrong and on that basis, I condemn this singular act of Mr. Atodio.
NO, THIS DOESN’T MAKE YOU A HERO AT ALL, IT MAKES YOU MORALLY BANKRUPT.”