Kwabena Nyamekye
Nana Akuffo Addo must be halted in his tracks as he continues his 40 years war against politicians from the Asante region. I make this call as since 1979 when he led the personal attacks on Victor Owusu from Agona in Asante, he seems to make it a habit of attacking politicians from our great region and I insist that it is time to show him power! I make no bones about the fact that the Asante region is the bedrock of the Danquah-Busia tradition. Akans support the tradition not for tribal reasons but for the fact that our values are found in the tradition’s political ideology. Open markets, democracy, strong local government/federalism, strong chieftaincy and respect for human rights are ideas that sit well with Akan world views and Asanteman is included in this view.
Now no Danquah-Busia politician has snubbed his nose at Asanteman apart from Nana Addo. Pa Grant, Busia, Danquah, Tedam, and Blay, are at the top of a long list of persons who though not from Asanteman have immense respect for us as the engine of the tradition’s longevity. Ignore Asanteman, treat it with disrespect, and you will never come to power on the Danquah-Busia platform. Strangely, Akuffo Addo seems to fail to recognize this. Let us look at his track record to date. There was the attack on Victor Owusu, well-documented in the history books. Come 2000 when an Asante native, JA Kufuor sweeps to power he brings Nana Addo into his government yet there seems to be no appreciation for this. In 2005 his newspaper, the Statesman, prints a disgusting article about how it is Nana Addo’s turn to lead the party in 2008 and how he Nana Addo is better qualified than Kufuor, he speaks better English and so on. There was a backlash and so Nana Addo had to come out and disavow knowledge of this but we all know the stage was set for his agenda. Later that year there was the hooting of Kufuor at Legon. As if this was not enough even when Asanteman backed Nana Addo and his bid to lead us and gave him a rousing welcome in Kumasi, he still turned his attention to Kufuor and sidelined him from the campaign. He goes down to a sad and miserable defeat and yet he proceeds to blame Kufuor! Unbelievable! He even throws in Alan Kyerematen while we all know that he kept him out of the campaign as well.
In 2012 he commits sacrilege by bringing in the Golden Stool into his woes. You lose the vote in Wenchi, Busia’s hometown and you blame the Golden Stool. The creation of Okomfo Anokye and Osei Tutu, two leaders whose boots Nana Addo cannot lace, this Stool has held us together for 4 centuries. Against all odds, British rule, the exile of King Prempeh I, the dissolution of the Asante Confederacy and even the desecration by Seniagya, this Stool has our soul and we revere its occupants. Akuffo Addo suggests that the current King was involved in persuading the Supreme Court to rule against his election petition. He accuses the Stool of siding with Mahama just because the occupant was acting diplomatically at a function he organized. It seems the Asantehene can’t do anything these days without Nana Addo tagging him as NDC! Sacrilege I say again as the Golden Stool represents our beliefs and our beliefs are articulated in part by the Danquah-Busia tradition and will have nothing to do with Nkrumahism or the NDC. However all great leaders must know how to balance interests and as Nana Osei Tutu II has always said, Manhyia is open to all!! A great leader has spoken here! He does not organize hooting of people! He does not say he cannot work with anyone! Nana Addo is no match for this man who carries the mantle of our past Kings! Now Nana Addo has turned his attention to Kwabena Agyapong and I think this is where battle must be joined with him. If he wants to go to war with Asanteman we will give him his wish. Let the Asante porcupine sting him! Let the Golden Stool radiate power! Let the might of Asanteman grind him down into the dust! We have 400 years of history before Nana Addo and 4 million years after the NDC have whipped him for a 3rd and final time next year, Asanteman will still be there!!
Sons and daughters of Kobia Amamfi, Osei Tutu I, Opoku Ware I, Osei Assibey Bonsu, Yaa Asantewaa and all our other great Kings and Queens, resist Akuffo Addo! All that Kwabena Agyapong is doing is his work, struggling to bring Nana Addo to power and yet Nana Addo himself does not appreciate this. If he does not then the power that taught General McCarthy sense in 1824; the power that stretched from Kumasi all the way to modern-day Burkina Faso; the power that reached into parts of modern-day Ivory Coast; the power that pounded the British forts in 1807 by the Atlantic Ocean; the power that hammered the British army led by Major Cochrane at Bobikuma in 1863; the power that has inspired its sons and daughters to generate prosperity across this country (cocoa farms, private banks, pharmacies, private universities, etc); the power that created Asante Kotoko (acknowledged as one of Africa’s greatest football teams); the power that gave the world the dazzling Kente Cloth should smash Nana Addo into a thousand pieces for all to see. When President Mills mentioned the Great Ashanti Project he knew what he was talking about!! From Governor Hodgson to the PNDC, our will remains firm, unbroken by all those who conspire against us!! Sagrenti and Kofi Awoonor have come and gone but our great Kingdom, our Golden Stool, our King and our leaders remain as solid as mountains, as majestic as the sky and as invincible as the sun. It is time to give Nana Addo a taste of this power and we can do this by issuing a simple threat – respect Kwabena Agyapong or come 2016 we will all vote skirt and blouse on Election Day and by doing so ensure Mahama remains president and this will make your certain humiliation even more humiliating!
WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE EXCEPT AKUFFO ADDO. WE HAVE KWABENA AGYAPONG TO DEFEND.
ASANTEMAN UNITE!!!
