Written by Nkrabeah Effah Dartey
Reader, I love history.
I did history in Achimota School up to GCE A level, and I am the quiet founder and president of African History Association International (AHAI)
I love history because early in life I was told in class in Achimota one day by a tutor that: if you want to know what will happen tomorrow, then you must get total grasp of what happened yesterday and a critical awareness of what is happening today.
Herodotus, the famous classical historian wrote that every historian is never surprised by events, and the biggest tragedy in history is that men don’t learn from history. Reader, King Solomon was right: there is nothing new under the sun.
I am from Brong Ahafo Region, with no link whatever to AKUAPEM, except that my work as a court going lawyer has brought me in touch with several important personalities in Akuapem, plus of course, NPP politics.
For the benefit of readers, let me orientate you properly to AKUAPEM in Ghana today.
Geographically, Akuapem lies to the east of Accra, on the Akuapem hills. They have about four constituencies or so, and they have big towns – Aburi (with their famous Botanical Gardens and Aburi Girls Secondary School). They have Larteh with their famous fetish AKONEDI shrine, they have DAWU with their former Premier League campaigners Dawu Youngsters, they have Awukugua, home town of Okomfo Anokye the famous fetish priest in Asante history, then they have ADUKROM, where Dan Botwe is the MP, they have Mampong where they have Tetteh Quarshie Hospital and finally they have AKROPONG – capital town – which boasts of the oldest teacher training college in Ghana, home of Presbyterian Church, and the seat of the OKUAPEMHENE.
Most Ghanaians associate the Akuapems with RESPECT for authority, they are peace loving, not controversial at all. They produce mainly pastors, lawyers, professors and top politicians, including two Heads of State and three Inspector Generals of Police and army generals. They also have fat rich businessmen. They are unique in Ghana
There is controversy about their name, AKUAPEM. Some say it means NKUW-APEM – a thousand troops, others say it means NKOA-APEM-a thousand slaves for their overlords, the Akwamus, and others say it means NKUM-APEM – they kill in thousands. Which is which?
Most Ghanaians including me woke up on Wednesday 6th December 2017 to hear with surprise that TWO CHIEFS have been installed in Akropong – how? This peace loving people? What is the problem?
What made the story more bizarre is that the two leading contending parties are the Queenmother who has selected and installed Odehyee Kwasi Akuffo and the Akuapem Banmuhene who has also installed a 31 year old Odehyee Kesse Antwi. Most interesting? Saayoo!!!
I was in the Supreme Court the other day when the full bench presided over by Justice Atubuga in delivering the unanimous judgment on the 17 years old Berekum chieftaincy case declared: “The power of the Queenmother to select a successor to the stool she shares with no one”.
So, when it comes to selection and installation of a chief, in most Akan areas, the Queenmother is SUPREME.
Not so, in Akuapem. (emphasis mine)
To start with, AKUAPEM Traditional Area has 17 Constituent towns, with AKROPONG as capital.
Initially, the Akuapems were sweating under the tyrannical rule of the Akwamus, and they sent a deputation to plead with the Akyems to come and liberate them. The Akyems came, and built KURO-PON – capital town, from where they ruled all Akuapems.
So,, first and foremost, Akuapem paramountcy is the sole preserve of the Akyems. No controversy about it.
Secondly, there are three RULING Houses in Akropong: the first is NKETIAA Royal Family, which produced Nana Kwame Fori, followed by AMA OGYAA Royal family, which produced Nana Addo Dankwa III who ruled for 41 years and died in 2014 and was buried in early 2016.
The third and last is SAKYIABEA Royal family whose turn it is now to produce an Omanhene.
Now, under their custom, when it is the turn of a Ruling House to produce a Candidate, the ABREWATIA or let’s call her the “Inner Circle Queen Mother” will nominate someone, then show him to the Inner Circle Head of family, who will then escort the Candidate together with elders the appropriate Royal family to the Queenmother of Akuapim who will then escort him to the Kingmakers who are all top Akyems scattered in Akuapim. After that the nominee will be sent to the Krontihene who will swear in the new Omanhene.
This is the procedure for installation of a Paramount Chief in Akuapem. The Queenmother, Kingmaker, yes, but has no right to penetrate the Ruing House to choose a successor. She cannot bypass the inner circle Abrewatia to choose anybody. That is the custom in Akropong.
Unless tradition is followed, ultimately, no matter how long it takes, the Regional House of Chiefs, the National House of Chief and the Supreme Court will set things right.
In the current scenarios, the Queenmother and the Asonahene, both Kingmakers, yes, are sponsoring the 67 year old Odehyee Kwasi Akuffo, while the Abrewatia of the Inner Circle Sakyiabra Royal family has nominated her son, Kesse Antwi, backed by as many as 8 kingmakers. Both nominees are from the same Ruling House, but the question is who has the right to nominate the successor? Is it the Queenmother or the Abrewatia?
But there is sand in the gari.
NDC bigwigs are fully behind the Queenmother nominated chap, with some prominent powerful chiefs in Akuapem, in the wings, while NPP is backing the Abrewatia group, using the warrior Banmuhene as focal person. The Banmuhene is not an Akyem and is not a kingmaker, but just the strong man who wants tradition to be followed.
More sand in the gari – the current IGP David Asante Apietu is a direct blood relation of the Queenmother, so the police in their strength are on call, supporting the Queenmother, in the name of “law and order”.
With this scenario, what is the way forward?
All over Ghana, I have noticed that when it comes to CHIEFTAINCY, tradition is KING. You can use money, raw power and whatever, FOR SOME TIME ONLY, but eventually, TRADITION will reign. Only the other day, after ruling Berekum for 200 years, the Supreme Court has ruled that all those child are CHILDREN, with no right to the stool in a maternal inheritance area.
The Queenmother must back down. Tradition must be followed. The Abrewatia’s choice is supreme.
And, interesting enough, the longer the controversy lasts, time favours Kesse Antwi, growing more mature with each passing day.
I am sorry, but whether NDC or NPP is beside the point – TRADITION IS KING!!!