A year ago, on August 6, 2025, a Ghana Armed Forces Z-9 helicopter went down in the Adansi Akrofuom District on its way to Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
In minutes, the nation lost eight men: two ministers, a deputy national security coordinator, a former regional minister, a deputy disaster management coordinator, a pilot, a co-pilot, and a flight sergeant.
Yesterday at the Ohene Konadu Auditorium, UPSA, the nation paused again.
Under the theme “Lives of Service, Legacies of Sacrifice,” we gathered in Christian and Muslim prayers, in hymns and in silence, to remember.
President John Dramani Mahama, Vice-President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, service chiefs, families and citizens sat together with bowed heads. (See the front page for story).
It was not a day to relive pain. It was a day to give that pain meaning.
“Some tragedies are borne quietly within families and communities; others touch the conscience of an entire nation.
This was one such tragedy,” the President said.
He was right.
The silence that followed the announcement last year was unlike any other.
It was disbelief mixed with grief. We remember where we were.
We remember the names we lost: Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Alhaji Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Samuel Sarpong, Samuel Aboagye, Wing Commander Peter Bafemi Anala, Flight Lieutenant Manaen Twum Ampadu, and Flight Sergeant Ernest Addo-Mensah.
They came from different backgrounds and professions, but they were bound by one calling: service to Ghana.
They left behind unfinished conversations, appointments they meant to keep, and families they expected to return to.
That is why memory matters.
As President Mahama stated, “A country that forgets those who serve, slowly forgets the values on which it is built.
Memory... affirms that sacrifices matter, that service is honoured, and that lives dedicated to the nation will never disappear into the shadows of history.”
The most moving moments yesterday were not the speeches.
They were the family tributes.
The son of Alhaji Limuna, Kasha Ridwan Limuna, spoke of a father whose kindness “created many families for us beyond our own.”
Prof. Rufai Haruna Kilu described his brother, Dr Murtala’s, leadership as “clothed in compassion and true service.”
Wives, children and siblings spoke of men who were present, who gave, and who led by example.
These testimonies remind us that public service is not abstract.
Behind every ministerial portfolio and military rank is a father, a husband, a friend.
When we lose them in the line of duty, we lose more than officials.
We lose mentors, providers and pillars.
Anniversaries must do more than comfort.
They must correct.
The men we lost served within systems.
Those systems must protect them.
This means regular safety audits for military and government aircraft, stricter adherence to flight protocols, better maintenance schedules, and investment in equipment.
A memorial of stone is temporary.
A memorial of standards saves lives.
From the barracks to the ministries, those who serve deserve decent conditions, proper insurance, psychosocial support for families, and recognition that goes beyond ceremonies.
The welfare of a pilot, a soldier, a civil servant, is a national security issue.
Yesterday’s service was deliberately interfaith and non-partisan.
Christian and Muslim prayers. Government and opposition figures.
Military and civilians.
The families’ grief did not ask for party cards.
In a polarised time, this is the model we must keep: that service to Ghana transcends affiliation.
The greatest memorial we can build is not one made of stone or bronze; it is one built through responsible leadership, improved standards, and a steadfast commitment to protecting those who dedicate their lives to Ghanaian citizens.
We must also think of the families left behind.
A year on, the absence is still fresh in our memories.
The state must ensure that the dependents of the fallen are cared for in education, health and livelihood support.
That is the debt a grateful nation owes.
What do we do with that?
We live differently. We demand more from our leaders.
We serve where we can, in our communities, offices and schools.
We refuse to reduce public office to privilege.
We treat it as a sacred trust.
One year on, the pain has not disappeared.
But it has purpose.
The legacy of Dr Omane Boamah, Dr Murtala, Alhaji Limuna, Mr Sarpong, Mr Aboagye, W/C Anala, Flt Lt Ampadu and F/Sgt Addo-Mensah is not just in what they did, but in what we now choose to do.
Let us build the institutions they believed in.
Let us strengthen the safety standards they deserved.
Let us expand opportunities for all Ghanaians so that their sacrifice was not in vain.
As the congregation closed with “Faith of Our Fathers,” it was both prayer and promise.
We remember. We honour. And we will do better.
