There is no remedy for death, but death itself is a remedy”—Spanish Proverb.
The country woke up last Friday morning to be greeted by news that grieved many hearts and sent the whole nation into mourning. Many wished it was one of the usual death pranks some people play on celebrities in the country. Alas, it was as true as the sun rising from the east that Priscilla Opoku Kwarteng, aka Ebony Reigns, was no more.
HOW I HEARD THE NEWS
I woke up at my usual time, 4:00am, to prepare for the day’s activities. As usual, I checked my whatsapp messages to see if there was any urgent message from any friend or family member. Strangely, I found close to eighty messages. Almost all were about Ebony’s accident. Some wanted to know if the news was true, while others wrote to inform me about the gory accident.
The news hit me like a thunderbolt. I quickly made a few calls, which confirmed the heart-wrenching news. How I managed to walk to the mosque for the “Fajr” (dawn) prayer is still a wonder to me.
When I returned from the Fajr prayer, at around 5:20am, I saw more messages. This time, the messages came with pictures of the deadly accident. I could not believe my eyes as I watched the pictures. There, on the floor, lay the lifeless bodies of Ebony and two others. I struggled to contain my tears as I remembered Shakespeare’s metaphorical expression of life being a stage.
MY RELATIONSHIP WITH EBONY
I’ve never known Ebony personally. The closest I ever came to her was at the reception of Joy FM. She was then leaving after granting an exclusive interview, while I was just entering the premises. She was her usual affable self. I took the opportunity to shake hands with her and told her I was her greatest fan. She smiled and thanked me. How I wish I had taken a photograph with her.
Though we did not know each other, I was her facebook friend and also followed her activities on Instagram. I religiously followed her activities and was abreast of all the news about her. I was among the first to get any of her songs immediately it was released. Indeed, I was a source of reference to my friends on anything about the Dancehall Queen.
Unlike the latter-day converts, some of us loved her music the very first time we heard her in 2016. Despite my dislike for her fashion sense, I still could not help but love her music. Aside her sweet voice, perhaps the use of PUN (playing with words) in her lyrics was what won me over.
As a student of literature, I couldn’t pretend not to have noticed how she played with words in her lyrics. The innuendos would make you think about it, even though she had not explicitly mentioned it. Though not physically attached, my soul resonated with hers lyrically.
AN EXCEPTIONAL TALENT
That Ebony was an exceptional talent is not in doubt. Though many hated her fashion sense, none doubted her talent. This was evident in the numerous hits she churned out in her short professional life. In an industry where only a few could release two hits in a year, releasing five hits in the same period was nothing but pure brilliance. I doubt if there will ever be any like her in the next century!
SO-CALLED PROPHETS
Prior to Ebony’s demise, we heard one or two prophets prophesy her impending death. Soon after her death, many more have come out claiming to have prophesied same. My only beef with the so-called prophets is why they did not approach her quietly to help reverse the impending danger.
Clearly, the so-called prophets want to ride on the wings of Ebony’s death to become popular. One such prophet is jumping from one radio station to another gleefully hitting his chest for successfully predicting Ebony’s death. He is also parading another musician to support his claim that he (the prophet) had saved him (the musician) from the claws of death. Funny, isn’t it?
We pray for long life to see the day a member of the prophet’s family would join their ancestors. Then shall we ask him why he could not save his family member from the claws of death.
SPIRITUAL TERRORISTS
I refer to the so-called prophets as “spiritual terrorists”. They only use their predictions to terrorize unsuspecting victims.
Can you imagine the psychological trauma of many prophets predicting your death? Sleepless nights, the fear of travelling and the mistrust for close relations are a few that come to mind.
You see, death will come when it has to come. The spiritual terrorists can do nothing about it when the time comes. Some die young and others die old. That is a truism of life. So the spiritual terrorists must spare us their doom predictions. I pray to be alive to see the day these spiritual terrorists would be dragged to court for causing psychological trauma.
PICTURES TAKEN IN THE MORGUE
I’ve seen pictures of Ebony taken in the morgue. Obviously, her brassiere was deliberately taken off to expose her breasts. The perverts had lusted for her body when she was alive. So even in death, they could not control their lust.
It is worrying that perverts could go to that extent. But even more worrying is that the hospital authorities allowed such a perverted action to take place. With such attitude, why won’t Mr Trump say those of us on the African continent live in a hole that faecal matter passes through?
CONDOLENCES
Even though some have tried to undermine Bullet after Ebony’s demise, his role in making Ebony who she was cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, the greatest losers in Ebony’s demise are the parents, siblings and her managers.
The pain of parents, siblings, managers and close friends at a time like this can never be understood, unless one has gone through similar experience. I can only imagine the pain of Ebony’s parents, siblings, close friends and managers. May they be able to navigate these turbulent waters.
Ebony maybe gone, but she still reigns in many hearts. Our prayer is for her soul to have peace with its Maker.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!