Wenchi (B/A), July 12, GNA- The 94th birthday celebrations of the late Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, former Prime Minister of Ghana has been commemorated at Wenchi his hometown in the Brong Ahafo region. The ceremony for the late Prime Minister in Ghana's second republic was organized by the Centre for African Art and Civilization, an NGO in collaboration with the Methodist Church, District Assembly and the Ghana Education Service.

It was held at the Wenchi Methodist Church where students and pupils in the district gathered to learn and hear more about the great man from the area.

A tribute read by Mr S.K. Num, a 90-year-old friend of Dr Busia described him as a celebrated Ghanaian and African scholar and politician.

Mr Num also read part of a letter the Premier wrote to him whilst at the Oxford University which said "Learning without God is empty and acquiring knowledge is useless unless it makes you a better servant of humanity".

The advice by the late Premier to his friend set the tone for other speakers at the ceremony who urged the youth to eschew unproductive activities that would not allow them to achieve their aims and objectives in life.

Bishop Charles K. Konadu of the Wenchi Diocese of the Methodist Church noted that Busia's "encounter" with the scriptures at his youth made him the best and exposed him to the world of knowledge and wisdom. He advised the youth to allow God to influence their lives, saying the fear of God was very important for them to progress in life and to pursue their chosen careers.

The Bishop expressed regret that the youth of today were pre-occupied with armed robbery, occultism, hard drug abuse, alcoholism and other practices that rather tended to retard their progress. "These practices cannot help you to succeed", he told them, saying that the trend could be reversed, and that as Dr Busia was being remembered it must dawn on every responsible Ghanaian to work harder towards this change.

Bishop Konadu suggested the promotion of mission schools to enable the youth become responsible and God-fearing leaders.

He noted that the modern era had presented many opportunities to the youth to study and achieve higher laurels, and urged them to concentrate on their books "since education is the key to success". The Methodist priest called on teachers to lead exemplary lives as role models and give off their best to help mould the youth to responsibly take up the mantle in future.

Mr. Michael Wiredu-Kusi, Wenchi District Director of Education expressed his concern about the "unacceptable" fall in the standard of education in the district, leading to its abysmal performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations and urged all to help reverse the situation.

He said the district placed 16th and 17th respectively in the 2005 and 2006 examinations, out of the 19 districts in the region. "The current standard is a disgrace to Professor Busia and we need to redouble our efforts to change the trend to honour his name and status", Mr. Wiredu-Kusi added.

Nana Frema, a sister of Professor Busia, urged the youth to be imbued with the fear of God as his brother exhibited, so they would achieve their aims and visions.

Ms Felicia Obuobi, Director of Centre for African Art and Civilization said the celebration of the birthday of Professor Busia was in line with the sub-theme, "Honouring Our African Heroes" of the PANAFEST/Emancipation Day/Joseph Project.

Prizes were presented to deserving students and pupils at the ceremony.