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| Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II |
As the
Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori
Panin both celebrate fifteen years on the Golden Stool and Ofori Panin Stool
respectively, as well as the Okuapehene, Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa III also
celebrates a huge landmark of forty years on the Ofori Kuma stool, this article
takes a look at chieftaincy itself, some success stories of chiefs over the
years and the fate of chieftaincy in modern Ghana in the face of daring
challenges.
Chieftaincy as
we may know is one of the oldest institutions in Ghana and actually one of the
few remaining cultural relics of the past. Dating back to somewhere in the
fourteenth century, chieftaincy has become an embodiment of our existence as
different groups of people who would later come together to form the nation Ghana.
A dip into the archival sources reveals that Kings and chiefs were much revered
in the olden days than they are today thanks to the emergence of democracy and
its associated changing hands of power from chiefs to politically elected or
appointed figure heads.
Chiefs in the past and even today remain the
nodes of connection between the central government and the ordinary people of
the community and sometimes the larger group of people depending on the status
of a particular chief. In other words, they are the mouthpiece of the ordinary
citizens of a particular community. They have also mobilised their people for
development in the past, a clear example of such great king in this regard was Okyenhene
Nana Sir Ofori Atta of Akyem Abuakwa who founded the Abuakwa State College at
Kyebi for his people.
Chiefs in the 21st
century Ghana have also not slept on their stools and skins but also strive to
bring development not only to their various traditional areas but the country
at large. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on his enstoolment 1999 vowed to
improve education in Ashanti and Ghana as whole. He set up the Otumfuo
Educational Fund awarding scholarships to the teeming needy but brilliant
children throughout Asante and beyond and also building educational
infrastructure in places in dire need. Today he has the Otumfuo Charity
Foundation that tackles the various spectrum of developmental needs such as
HIV/AIDS, Healthcare, Environment among others.
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| Okyenhene Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin |
The Okyenhene is
also not left out in bringing development to his people and Ghana as a whole.
On his enstoolment as Okyenhene in 1999 he vowed to wrestle the wanton
destruction of the environment in his Kingdom, he set up the Okyeman
Environmental Foundation to champion that cause. Indeed, he has been the loud
mouth of environmental preservation ever since and the zeal to see the
environment protected has culminated into the establishment of an environment and
agriculture university to oversee that agenda. He also has much interest in Education,
HIV/AIDs, Sanitation, and issues relating to child development, subsequently he
has an endowment fund for these areas of interest. It is worth mentioning that
he broke an ancient tradition (barring chiefs from running) to lead a marathon
and actually tested for HIV in public, a feat, he is the first traditional
ruler to chalk.
The Okuapehene
over the last forty years of his enstoolment has brought peace and development
to the people on the Akuapem hills and beyond. Serving as the president of the
eastern regional house of chiefs, he had been instrumental to the peace and
development of the Eastern Region at large and the people of Akuapem
specifically. Readers would recall when conflict broke out in Akuapem somewhere
1994 culminating in the withdrawal of allegiance of some Akuapem chiefs to the
Okuapehene Ofori Kuma stool, he remained steadfast as if he knew peace would
once again return to Akuapem. Today the matter has been resolved amicably restoring
Akuapem back to its former glory of peace loving people.
It would
interest readers to know that the Okuapehene is the traditional nephew of the
Okyenhene. A brief history of the Akuapems
tells how the Akuapems ( then loose groups of Guans) solicited the help
of the then Okyenhene, Nana Ofori Panin to ward off the Akwamus who were
terrorising the Akuapems, the Okyenhene readily accepted to help and dispatched
his nephew Safori who led a thousand forces to defeat the Akwamus. As a reward
for the gallant Akyems, he was asked to stay and rule over the Akuapems and a
stone planted to that effect, the Okyenhene gave his royal blessings to Safori
the new king of Akuapem. This brief tells how the Okyenhene is the traditional
uncle of the Okuapehene. The Okuaphene Oseadeeeyo Addo Dankwa III has written a
number of books including “The Institution of Chieftaincy in Ghana; The future”,
and “Christianity and African Traditional Beliefs”.
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| Okuapehene Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa III |
Obviously it has
not been easy for the chiefs in achieving some development feats for their
people and country at large, gone are the days of “see no evil nor speak no
evil of chiefs”. In times past flouting a chief’s order could lead to decapitation
of the culprit not to talk about speaking evil of a King. However, today,
thanks to modernity and democracy chiefs have become objects of vilification and
public ridicule in our country sometimes by their own subjects. Not even the
highly revered ones such as the Asantehene and Okyenhene are spared in this
spectacle. Mostly, clear sabotage have been evident in this practice.
Typical saboteur
works include an allegation perpetrated by a royal of the Ofori Panin Stool
that the Okyenhene was highly involved in galamsey in 2011, almost bringing the
Okyenhene’s much touted campaign against environmental degradation into
disrepute. The Asantehene was also not only accused of been an accomplice in
the infamous MV Benjamin missing cocaine saga but also buying a magnificent
mansion in London at the expense of his people among others but thankfully all
these allegations turned out to be false. In the face of all these works of
saboteurs, not only do the chiefs
continue to work hard to bring development to their communities but also
continue to be relevant in the day to day running of communities as well as
matters relating to the preservation of culture and traditions of our dear
country.
In ending this
piece, I would call on Ghanaians to appreciate our chiefs and support them in
their quest to bring development to their people and desist from mudslinging
our revered chiefs. I would also encourage our chiefs to remain resolute in
their quest to seek development for their people in the face of such vexatious
and frivolous allegations. God bless them as they mark another milestone on the
Golden Stool,the Ofori Panin Stool and Ofori Kuma Stool. Happy anniversary to
all other chiefs marking significant milestone this year 2014. On a lighter note,
I wish to invite all lovers of chieftaincy, culture and traditions to the
grand anniversary celebrations in Kumasi this May, Akropong in October and
December in Kyebi of the Asantehene, the
Okuapehene and the Okyenhene respectively. Long live Chieftaincy Long live
Ghana
