Remain Faithful To Golden Stool Or Suffer Repercussions � Asantehene

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has reminded chiefs who owe allegiance to the Golden Stool of their pledge and allegiance and, therefore, the need for them to remain faithful to that pledge or suffer the repercussions of disrespecting it.

He said any chief who disregarded the traditions and customs of Asanteman, with the intention of tarnishing the image of the Asantehene, was bringing a curse upon himself.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu served the reminder last Saturday when he addressed a durbar of the chiefs and people of Asanteman to mark the 80th anniversary of the Asante Confederacy.

The durbar was attended by chiefs from the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Volta regions who owe allegiance to the Golden Stool.

There were delegations from Worawora in the Volta Region and Bechem, Tuobodom, Kenyase No1 and No2, all in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Also in attendance were former President John Agyekum Kufuor; the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Paul Afoko; the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong; and Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, a leading member of the NPP.

There was also a representation from the clergy, including a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Most Rev Sam Prempeh; the West African Provincial Archbishop of the Anglican Church, the Most Rev Daniel Yinkah Sarfo; the Archbishop Emeritus of the Kumasi Catholic Church, the Most Rev Peter Kwasi Sarpong; the Archbishop of Kumasi, the Most Rev Thomas Kwaku Mensah, and other religious leaders.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu indicated that greed and love for money had made some of the chiefs to disregard the age-old tradition of succession and rather sown seeds of disunity among families.

He questioned their loyalty and courage which, he said, were required of all those who owed allegiance to the Golden Stool, adding that if those who had shown disrespect to the stool thought they were doing that to tarnish his image, “you should know that I am only a servant to the stool”.

Commenting on the Kumawu chieftaincy issue, the Asantehene blamed some of the kingmakers of the Kumawu Traditional Council for not allowing truth to prevail and following their stomachs and money to bring the chieftaincy institution into disrepute.

He said throughout the process of the enstoolment of the current chief, Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua, “all those who had broken away from the traditional council were part of the process, but after the candidate had been accepted, they then turned back to kick against him”.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu contended that the impression was being created that he was solely responsible for the enstoolment of the Kumawuhene, “but it was a collective decision we took”.

On politics, he said even though one of his predecessors, Nana Agyeman Prempeh, had been the brain behind the formation of the United Party (UP), which emerged from the National Liberation Movement (NLM), he (Nana Prempeh) had abandoned the UP to support the government for the sake of the development of the country.

The Asantehene said he was pursuing the same policy to ensure that the Ashanti Region also benefited from the national cake.

“I am for the government and don’t support any political party,” he said.