In recent days, Ghana has been shaken by two sobering events: the tragic loss of eight government appointees and military officers in a helicopter crash, and the removal of the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
These developments, though unrelated, converge to remind us of a profound truth – life is fleeting, and positions are transient.
These are not just headlines. They are reminders. No matter how high we climb, how powerful we become, or how secure we feel, everything can change in an instant, in a blink.
History abounds of leaders who ruled with iron fists. They silenced dissent, punished critics, and surrounded themselves with praise-singers. But when they died suddenly, their villages mourned only the fear they left behind, not the love. The funerals of these once feared people were grand, but their memories were bitter. “Let your legacy be your kindness,” our forebears would say, “not your crown.”
Today, I see semblance of these stories playing out in real life.
The men who died in that helicopter crash were not just officials. They were fathers, mothers, friends, mentors.
But when life was cut short, as brutal as theirs was, their titles are now gone. Their possessions are irrelevant. What remains is the impact they made or failed to make while they lived.
Beyond death
But this goes beyond death, which is inevitable.
It straddles the fragilities of life, including one losing his/her position or capacity to deliver.
The removal of Justice Torkornoo, who became the first head of the judiciary in Ghana’s Fourth Republic to be removed from office under constitutional provision, further illustrates how quickly fortunes can change in positions of authority.
A committee found that grounds of stated misbehaviour had been established and recommended her removal from office.
Her case serves as a stark reminder that even the highest judicial office in the land is subject to accountability and constitutional processes and that today you can command power over all the justice administration process and tomorrow become an ordinary citizen.
When that happens, nothing matters but the impact one made with the position or capacity. It is the examples of our power – not the power that matters society and people will only remember the memories or scars that we left in hearts and minds.
Lesson for living
As our elders say, the footprints of the dead are lessons for the living. Thus, to those still holding positions of power, this is our moment of reckoning.
Do not use your office to antagonise. Do not weaponise your authority to settle scores. Do not forget that the very people you look down on today may be the ones history will celebrate tomorrow. And you, with all your power, may be forgotten if your leadership leaves no positive mark.
Also, humility must guide our actions. The helicopter crash victims were traveling to address illegal mining—a noble cause that demonstrates how public service should focus on societal benefit rather than personal aggrandizement. Their final mission reminds us that true leadership lies in serving others, not in being served.
We must resist the temptation to victimize or antagonize others. Power is intoxicating, and it often breeds arrogance.
However, those who abuse their positions today may find themselves powerless tomorrow. The official who dismisses subordinates unfairly, the minister who treats citizens with contempt, or the appointee who uses his/her office to settle personal scores should remember that positions are temporary, but the pain inflicted on others can be permanent. Worst, their position is not cast in stone but fleeting.
What next?
As we mourn the helicopter crash victims and reflect on the Chief Justice’s removal, let us embrace the sobering truth these events reveal: positions are temporary, but impact is eternal.
The true measure of our lives will not be the titles we held or the wealth we accumulated, but the positive difference we made in the lives of others.
While we each have different ways of making impact, we must continually ask ourselves: what will be said of us when we are no longer here? Will people remember our compassion or our cruelty? Our service or our selfishness?
I speak especially to government appointees, public servants, and those in positions of influence. You have been given a platform, not for personal gain, but for the public good. Use it wisely. Use it humbly. Use it to build, not to break, irrespective of what you endured in the past or who is at the receiving end.
Because when the curtain falls — and it will — only your impact will remain.
Let us live and lead with the awareness that tomorrow is not promised. Let us prioritise humanity over hierarchy, service over status, and legacy over luxury.
Ghana needs leaders who understand that true greatness lies not in the position you hold, but in the lives you touch.
By Seidu Agongo
The writer is a businessman and philanthropist
