Nigerian actor and filmmaker, Pete Edochie, has sent a final message to the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, barely 24-hours to the final funeral rites and burial of the longest-serving Ghanaian head of state.
The actor who bears a striking resemblance to the former leader is seen in a video widely shared on social media talking about their friendship and fondness for each other. His message is produced below:
“My brother Jerry, your passing has reminded me once more that death is the ultimate destiny of men. I am told by authorities that death is simply the separation of the spirit from the body. But the spirit does not die.
“For two people who were as close as both of us, I say it’s a question of time when my own spirit will be separated from my body, we shall be together, we shall smile, we shall hug and we shall tell our jokes.
“Until then, good bye Jerry, good bye, good bye,” Edochie concluded.
“Rest in Peace & Power, my dear friend Jerry Rawlings. Your legacy is forever part of African history,” Edochie wrote on instagram in November shortly after the death of his friend was announced.
The funeral schedule for Rawlings started last Sunday with a mass at the Holy Spirit Cathedral. His body was laid in state on Monday and today for the public and government functionaries to pay their last respects.
Final rites and burial will take place tomorrow. He is expected to be interred at the military cemetery in Accra. The former leader died in November 2020 at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
Nigerian actor, Pete Edochie eulogizes his friend, late ex-president Rawlings.#TV3GH pic.twitter.com/am4K6sIora
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) January 26, 2021