A cross section of Ghanaians have called on the Government of Ghana to declare the memorial of the May 9, 2001 Accra Stadium Disaster a national day of observance.
They were speaking after the annual May 9 Remembered street walk in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital on Saturday 6 May 2017.
The walk was organised by the sponsors and founders of the yearly May 9 Remembered initiative led by Mr Herbert Mensah, former Kotoko chairman.
Some of the participants were of the view that the memorial of a national disaster of such magnitude must be embraced by the state as a national event rather than to look on while private individuals make personal sacrifices to keep the memory of those who lost their lives alive.
The Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul Mumin Haruun, added his voice to the call for the authorities to support the annual May 9 Remembered celebrations.
A participant in the walk also remarked, “This should be a national event that should be celebrated every year. The ministries of Sports, Tourism must to put resources together to make it a national event”.
Another person even suggested that sports fans put pressure persons in authority to actively participate in the event, condemning the neglect of successive governments in the May 9 Remembered.
“Mr. Herbert Mensah deserves commendation for taking it upon himself to ensure that those who lost their lives are yearly remembered.
“It is regrettable, that government officials are not taking part in it because it won’t benefit them politically,” a man in his early 50s stated.
Mr. Herbert Mensah, who is also the President of the Ghana Rugby Union, stressed on the need to for the nation to celebrate those who lost their lives on May 9 whilst promoting sports in the country.
“We tend to forget our heroes until they are gone. Our heroes are supposedly the big men that we take note of, but for me, the people who died at the stadium on May 9 were the true heroes, the real heroes.
“The ones who go to our parks expecting to watch a match and not coming back after that, what a tragedy. they are the real hero and I try to make sure that nobody forgets them.”
He was grateful to Hisense, Interplast, Inesfly, Sunda International, Melcom and other corporate organisations for supporting the remembrance over the years.
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