“… there was “Susubiribi” before there became “Asante Kotoko” or “Kum Apem”; for Akyem precedes Asante, Akyem is the parent of Asante, even as Adansi is also the grandparent of Asante” – Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe Jnr.
The run-off presidential elections are just a few days away. I would like all Asante who are proud of our history and the important position of the Asantehene in the politics and history of Ghana to ponder over the following questions as they enter the voting booth on 28th December to cast their precious votes.
1. Why did President Kufour choose to support Alan Kyeremanteng during the NPP presidential primaries and not Akufo Addo? Why is there a bad blood between President Kufour and Akufo Addo?
2. Why did Akufo Addo deem it expedient to appoint Alan Kyeremanteng to head his presidential run-off activities in the Ashanti Region?
The appointment of Alan Kyeremanteng by Akufo Addo to head his presidential run-off campaign in the Ashanti region is a clever move, albeit an underestimation of the Asante mind and intelligence. It is an indication of Akufo Addo’s determination to play and ride on Asante nationalism and fully harvest it to his own advantage and that of Okyenhene and Akyem Abuakwa. He is using Alan Kyeremanteng as an Asante pawn in a brilliantly conceived scheme. If elected President, Akufo Addo will elevate the Okyenhene and Akyem Abuakwa over the Asantehene and Asante. He will threaten Asante national identity by so doing.
This calculated scheme is meant to rectify what Akufo Addo, an arrogant and acerbic Akyem tribalist, and a clique of equally tribalist Akyem individuals, including the academically deranged Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe Jnr., regard as an excessive Asante dominance and hegemony in the NPP. It is the ardent desire of ego-driven and narcissistic Akufo Addo to get the credit and recognition for changing this. He will become the “true son” of Akyem Abuakwa. Picture in your mind an arrogant and excessively ambitious Akufo Addo riding on the back of and guiding an elephant, with a blindfolded Alan Kyeremanteng sitting behind him, an elephant that is about to crush the Golden Stool and the Okomfo Anokye Sword under its feet!
President Kufour saw through this cleverly devised scheme long ago. It is the root cause of the bad blood between him and Akufo Addo. This explains why President Kufour supported the candidacy of Alan Kyeremanteng – to preserve the position of the Asantehene and our Asante national identity and pride.
President Kufour does not trust Akufo Addo, but given his prominent position in the NPP and his office as president, he cannot articulate this publicly. Many have wondered why President Kufour did not throw himself energetically into the Akufo Addo presidential campaign. As much as President Kufour wishes the NPP well, it has never been his desire or wish to have Akufo Addo as his successor.
Like Akufo Addo and Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe Jnr., there are some disgruntled Akyem who feel that Akyem prominence among the Akan has been torpedoed and trampled upon by what they regard as Asante hegemony and domination dating back to what is commonly described as pre-colonial Asante imperialism or expansionism. These Akyem elements believe that the Akyem are the original Akan and that this is attested to by the fact that the Akyem do not have a Twi dialect like other Akan-groups.
This point was articulated by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe Jnr. in one of his characteristically tribalist and hate-infested articles on Modernghana.com on Jan 6, 2008. Describing President Kufour as “ever-cunning and devious old Sleepy-Eyes”, he notes:
“Indeed, any Ghanaian of Akan extraction who actually believes that the Akyem people speak with a “twang,” even as the Asante people are widely known to “drawl” their speech, must be a “naturalized” Akan. (…) Why do we have Asante-Twi, Fante-Twi, Okwawu-Twi and Akuapem-Twi, but not Akyem-Twi? The answer is simple; it is the Akyem, recognizing our Adansi heritage, who speak what might aptly be termed as “Mainstream Twi.” But even more important must be recognized the incontrovertible historical fact that there was “Susubiribi” before there became “Asante Kotoko” or “Kum Apem”; for Akyem precedes Asante, Akyem is the parent of Asante, even as Adansi is also the grandparent of Asante”.
For these disgruntled and tribalist Akyem therefore, an Akufo Addo presidency will make it possible to elevate Akyem Abuakwa to what they believe to be its proper and rightful place and make us, the Asante, understand that “Akyem precedes Asante”. As “the parent of Asante”, Akyem will have the opportunity to tame us, their recalcitrant and prodigal Asante offspring. It will also help rectify what they conceive as the power imbalances between the “Asante” and “Akyem” blocs within the NPP. This is the tribalist Akyem mindset that Akufo Addo and his clique will bring to bear upon an Akufo Addo presidency. Why would Alan Cash allow himself to be used as a pawn in a tribalist scheme that is designed against his own people? Is he going to be the Akyem slap in our Asante face? Remember 1979, the Popular Front Party and the late Victor Owusu? Akufo Addo was one of the brains behind the Akyem tribalist machinations that caused the demise of Victor Owusu, a true Asante son. Victor Owusu never recovered from the traumatic effects of this betrayal and died a pauper. Akufo Addo and his henchmen got away with it in 1979. Will they succeed in manipulating and outwitting us and slapping us in the face again on the 28th of December?
Do not be deceived and fooled. Akufo Addo has not changed. President Kufour knows him too well and does not trust him. Why should any Asante? Beware the 28th of December!
Paul Kwame Osei-Owusu – Social Entrepreneur. Oslo, Norway
Email: oseiowusu@live.no
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