Not all ‘deaths’ are the same, at least in Ghana and Nigeria.

The people of West Africa, like people everywhere, acknowledge that death is not a choice. Some African communities, however, don’t accept the notion that one cannot choose how he or she takes it.

Now think about it, if you spend 3 hours at the mall flipping over every Victoria’s Secret lingerie or bra that you’ll probably use for a couple of months, if not weeks, why would you not spend more or at least a proportional length of time preparing for what will be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, your coffins?

Well, that is exactly what carpenters (call them Coffin  Designers) in Nigeria and Ghana are telling us to do. Walk through the streets of Ibadan (Nigeria) or Kumasi (Ghana) and the flashy, funky hard-to-describe coffins along major roadsides will leave you ‘flaberwhelmed’ (do you have a better word for being both flabbergasted and overwhelmed?)

Coffins in Nigeria and Ghana are designed not only for the fun of it but with a real message: your coffin should reflect your personality, profession, religion and even your level of accomplishment in life.

Are you a priest? You’ll get a Bible Coffin. A fisherman? You can spend the rest of your life in the belly of a whale (remember Jonah in the Bible?). A scientist can easily have an Erlenmeyer flask coffin designed for him or her. How about a ‘pen coffin’ for the academic?

There is an auto commercial I hear on one radio station which says that the inside of your car should reflect your personality. If this is true, why not have the same mentality for your coffin which is not a lease and shall never be subject to repossession.

You don’t have a choice as far as death is concern. The choice is yours, however, to die anyhow or die in style.