More than 20 Nigerian Governors and Senators were in the Volta Region over the weekend to sympathise with Mr. Divine Dzegbla, a special aide to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Nigerian delegates were part of about 200 top personalities from around the world, among them global entrepreneurs, who travelled into the country on chartered flights to mourn with Mr. Dzegbla, one of Volta descent. Mr. Dzegbla had lost the mother, Madam Theodosia Adzo Demanya Dzegbla (1936-2024), and the funeral preparations took weeks, involving the construction of mega tents and canopies at the Ho Jubilee Park for the over 2,000 people that attended. A helicopter airlifted the remains of the deceased from the Volta Regional Capital, Ho to Anyako in the Keta Municipality for internment after a burial service at the Elorm Parish of the E. P Church. Police and other security agencies were busy managing traffic. Mr Dzegbla is a known business magnate based in Nigeria, and present at the fune ral was Mr. John Dramani Mahama, former President and Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress. Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of Asogli, was also present, and among top personalities from the Nigerian Government were the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Commissioners of State and Assistant Commissioners of Police. Mr Dzegbla is said to have decades of close working relationship with the Nigerian President and other leaders on the continent, while successfully juggling diverse business streams around the world. Dr. Kayode Fayemi, a past Governor of Ekiti, who spoke on behalf of the delegation extolled Mr. Dzegbla's commitment to PanAfricanism. 'You will notice that there is a strong Nigerian Delegation here this morning, and that should not surprise you. I would not want to say that our brother, the son of our mother, has divided loyalty - not at all. I would like to describe him as a quintessential Pan Africanism example. Because for some of us, we actually forget where he actually comes from, and whether it is in Nigeria or Ghana or even in Benin Republic with President Boni, I have met him in several circumstances in which he has demonstrated his total commitment to the liberation of our continent and the good and prosperity of our people,' he said. Mr. Kojo Demanya, Chief Protocol Officer and Coordinator for the funeral, told the Ghana News Agency of the considerable number of multinational business leaders that attended, and shared brief on Mr Dzegbla. 'He is also highly connected in the Nigerian politics a bit,' he told the GNA, and added, 'He's not a politician but he runs a few things, and the Nigerian president sent an envoy to attend on his behalf.' Mr. Demanya said the majority of visitors were new to the country, and therefore hoped the event contributed to growing trade and investment in the subregion. 'There are a lot of people who are getting to know Ho for the first time, and businessmen always sniff business where business is cooking and prob ably when they look around, they would know what they think can be of good prospect to them. Apart from that, the reception hosted all of them and there was a lot of interaction. There was a Turkish group that came, another group from Malaysia, Chinese business friends of his, and they all met under one roof.' The funeral coordinator would go on to state that the event planning endeavoured to best present the nation's culture and heritage to the diverse nationalities that honoured the event, and therefore featured a rich offering of local cuisine and art. 'We say that in Ghana, funerals are another form of tourism, so definitely they came, they saw, and I am sure they are happy. The usual Ghanaian hospitality showed its face again and deeply so because they saw a lot of cultural performances, they saw the way we do funerals here, and they had our beer, our drinks, and tasted some of our local made drinks. 'So, all those things would impact positively on them. So we believe that by the end of the whole thi ng they are taking something back home and it's not only coming to sympathise with us but something that is going to leave a memorable and a lasting impression of who we are as Ghanaians or as the people of the Volta Region, and I think it's good for us.' Mr Demanya said the deceased was a devout member of society who dedicated her life to helping others and was therefore well beloved. Theodosia Demanya Dzegbla was born in Tafo in the Eastern Region in 1939 and spent her early years in Peki Blengo in the Volta Region, where she began her education. She nurtured a deep passion for teaching and started her career as a pupil teacher in Tongor Kpalime before progressing to become a trained teacher. Her biography chronicled her life journey and said she demonstrated 'hard work, humility, honesty, obedience and sacrifice,' both as a teacher and a devout member of the EP Church. There were tributes and messages of condolence from the Nigerian President as well as from the Ministry of Defence, Solid Minerals Dev elopment, and the Ministry of Finance of the oil rich African nation. There were also solidarity messages from the office of the Chief of Air Staff of Nigeria, and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders. 'The whole idea is to honour and show deep respect for the matriarch - our grandmom, our mother our aunt that we lost, and she played her part giving her best to the country as a professional teacher for decades. So, people like that deserve a lot when they pass on. So, we are happy that all these people came to mourn with us and it came to a successful end,' the Funeral Coordinator remarked. Source : Ghana News Agency