Open Letter to Asanteman Council

Dear Nananom,

I am one on your subjects who hails from Kumawu. You might have heard about me, or read about my views on Asanteman in general and Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II in particular as might have been published, and continue to be published, on the Ghanaian internet news portal. On this Sunday, 5 July 2015, I feel obliged in the course of rendering service to the inhabitants of my place of birth, Kumawuman, to publish this open letter to you.

You are very much aware beyond dispute, Nananom, that there is an ongoing chieftaincy wrangling in Kumawu. I hope you will not deny this fact by arguing that everything has been amicably or legally settled hence my letter to you must be taken with a pinch of salt. Should you do that, then I am afraid, you will be acting like the ostrich that playfully buries its head in the sand, same believing that nothing is happening when indeed, its very backyard is into a full-blown conflagration.

You all know how Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is maintaining an intransigently biased position in the adjudication of the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute all for his perceived selfish motives. You, as a Council, can well be accused of complicity as evidenced by your deplorable roles played, as captured in a video posted on YouTube titled, "Asantehene involves in corruption". However, let me give you the benefit of the doubt, on presumption that don't fully support his obstinate stance, or are not aware of his biased and egoistic interests in the Kumawu Stool dispute.

Going by my presumption of your unawareness of his questionable attitude to seeking the prevalence of justice and peace in Kumawu, I shall quote you the following Akan proverb. "Opanin a 3tena fie ma mmofra we nanka no, se yereka nanka we fo3 a 3kaho". It is literally translated into English as, "Any elderly person who stays home while children eat puff adder (a type of snake) is included when counting puff adder eaters". This means whoever sits in the company of wrongdoers, even if he/she does not involve him or herself directly actively in their wrongdoings, he/she is still guilty of an offence when the wrongdoers are caught. Will he or she not be accused of being an accomplice?

Is it also not said, "It does not belong to he who is leading to redirect their steps?" Until you persuade me to accept for a fact the Asanteman Council is simply there to rubber-stamp whatever their leader (Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the occupant of the Golden Stool) says, however irresponsible his views may be, I shall still hold you responsible for your commissions, omissions, failures and deliberately acts of perversion of truth.

The days of the existence of total monarchy in then Asante Confederacy disappeared with the capture, deportation and repatriation of Asantehene Otumfuo Agyemang Prempeh I, to and from Seychelles in 1896 and 1924 respectively. The Asantehene's Overlordship was confirmed taken away permanently during the restoration of the Asante Confederacy in 1935. Where then does Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II draw his autocratic powers from, to obviously needlessly meddle in the Kumawu chieftaincy affairs without any of you raising the alarm? Why are you failing to redirect him, pointing him to the correct traditional procedures as are applicably in place?

I am sorry to say you are watching in silence while Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is eating back his own sputum hence incurring the wrath of, and castigations by, many a discerning Kumawuman citizen.

Would you please tell me the cause of the disputation between one Abenaa Wurukye from the Kumawu Adomako Pim family and the Ananangya royal family over the Kumawu Koduah Stool (Kumawu paramount stool)? Did Abenaa Wurukye not invoke the Great Oath of Asantehene on both the Kumawuhemaa Nana Abenaa Serwaah Amponsah from the Kumawu Ankaase royal family and the Ananangya royal family? Did she not say on oath that the Kumawu Koduah Stool belongs to her? Did she not say that she put Nana Abenaa Serwaah Amponsah on the throne, buttressing her contention with an Akan proverb, "Nkokohwedee mmienu nkok3 obi afuo ase?" She wondered if it was possible for two bush fowls to fight over spoils in someone's farm. Did she not mean to tell the stool does neither belong to the Ankaases nor the Ananangyas, but to her Adomako Pim family?

Was her oath not countered by the late Nana Nti Kwakye, the Abusuapani (Family Head) of the Ananangyas? Did he not invoke the same Asantehene Great Oath on Abenaa Wurukye, saying the Kumawu Koduah Stool does not belong to her as alleged, and secondly, that she is not a royal?

Did Kumawuhemaa make any conscious effort to invoke a counter oath to rebut Wurukye's? No! What did Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II say to Kumawuhemaa when all his prodding to get her into invoking a counter oath failed? Did he not publicly announce to her that the day the Ananangyas emerge victorious in their dispute over the throne with Wurukye, Kumawuhemaa would equally have been defeated hence would go with Wurukye?

What was the outcome of that case between Wurukye and the Ananangyas? Was she not defeated? Why then is Asantehene turning over his coat, same believing and insisting that Kumawuhemaa and her Ankaase family members are rather the true royals of Kumawu with matrilineal lineage to Barimah Tweneboah Koduah I, the originator of the Kumawu Koduah Stool?

Were you not all present during the adjudication of the Ananangyas versus Wurukye's case? Did you not participate in the adjudication of that case which took about two years to arrive at a judgment? What do I see now? Have you not gone back to support a totally different agenda where you all now see Kumawuhemaa and her family as the true paramount royals of Kumawu? Who do you think to be deceiving if not yourselves?

Nananom, please bear in mind that gone are the days when you could get away with completely preposterous decisions without anyone able to raise a voice against it. I hope you are not taking Kumawuman citizens for fools. Be mindful of your actions because people have read a lot, travelled far and wide, and are more knowledgeable now than they were before. Most Ghanaians of today are not afraid to point out the shortcomings of our traditional leaders to them. They are ready to rebuke them when they err or when they abuse their position regardless of how tradition obliges a show of reverence for them.

I am standing up tall to be counted. I will stand up, own up and man up if I err in the course of my service to the people of Kumawuman. I require same of you, Nanamon.

I hope you will appreciate the wisdom in this letter to subsequently reassess your collective attitude towards Kumawuman. I can at this stage promise you that you will never be allowed to rewrite the history of Kumawuman to suit the dubious aspirations of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. Are you proud of your actions as depicted in the mentioned video? Will you behave in the same manner if given the second chance?

Please, advise Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to pull out completely from the Kumawu chieftaincy case because we shall not allow him to falsify our rich history with intent to rob us in broad daylight.

Yours Sincerely,

Rockson Adofo