Sagrenti War celebration by Asante not necessary

This is exactly my point. I have not listened to all, but for me, since the announcement of the commemoration of this Sagrenti war, I have not agreed with it being commemorated/celebrated by Asante on such a Grand scale. I am a Very Patriotic Asante of Royal Stock/Pedigree, who always seeks to uplift and uphold Asanteman in all situations, so long as all and sundry in Asante abide by the long-ago established Laws, Customs, Traditions, and Usages of Asante. Now, this Sagrenti War.

Is there a need at all to celebrate it/commemorate it on such a Grand Scale? No, not at all. Let us examine the necessity for such a Grand Commemoration vis-a-vis the Stipulates/Guidelines of Asante Law and Custom. This is a war, and I hate to say this but have to stick to the Truth and be absolutely honest, which, yes, this Sagrenti War was a war with the British who employed their own forces and other Gold Coasters, plus troops from Northern Nigeria/Sierra Leone, etc, all under the command of Sir Garnet Wolseley.

This war did not go well for Asante. Owing to certain disagreements among the Asante Chiefs, and also not to leave out the Cowardice of Nana Kofi Karikari, the then Asantehene who fled from his Kumasi instead of defending it when he learned of the approach of the British forces, Asante was utterly defeated and the Kumase Palace then at Adum, looted and destroyed by Explosives. Other houses in Kumasi were burnt down.

A considerable amount of Gold Ornaments and other treasures were obtained by the British, with most of them being auctioned at the Cape Coast Castle, they being bought by the rich Fante and other Gold Coast traders, chiefs, and families. The rest of the booty was carted off to England.

This war was a disaster for Asante, on perhaps a similar scale to the defeat at Akatamanso/Dodowa we suffered in 1826/7. By and in Asante Custom and Laws, as indeed, is observed by other nations on this earth, such national disasters, such a defeat in war is not something that is ostentatiously commemorated. Asante Law, Custom, and Traditions severely frown on such a commemoration. This is a war in which we lost many an Asante life and nearly collapsed Asante. As such, we do not celebrate such an occasion or a commemoration ostentatiously with a Grand Durbar and so forth.

Show me, which nation celebrates its defeat in war on such a grand ostentatious scale? Does the Great Britain do that? Does France do that? Does the USA do that? Does Germany, Japan, etc do that? Answer:--Absolutely No.

Such occasions rather call for a Mournful Solemnity, a commemoration on a severely restricted minor scale, which ought to be a gathering in black cloth-Kuntunkuni, in the various Palaces and family houses of Asante. Even on such occasions we do not drum or blow horns. We sit quietly, sing dirges and mournful tunes, and dance mournfully if need be. We may recount this celebration, with a narration of it to the gathering. There is no feeding or drinking. In the early morning, we offer prayers to the departed ancestors.

That is how it ought to be commemorated. A minor mournful affair. A day of introspection, in which we exercise self-criticism and deliberate on what went wrong, our failures, and how we can correct them and prevent them from recurring in the present and future.

All Chiefs and various functionaries in Asante, with their families, ought to sit in their Palaces and family houses of their respective towns and commemorate this day on a minor mournful scale.

That is how it ought to be and should be. In this day and era of austerity, when Komfo Anokye Hospital is crying for funds and we are endeavouring to raise funds from Asantes to salvage it, is it a Prudent Use of Asante Finances, to celebrate this war, a war in which Asante was utterly defeated on such a grand scale as planned and of which we have been informed of it?

We have 2 other Grand Scale Celebrations in Asante, in 2024 (The Asantehene's 25th anniversary) and the Asante Odwira festival in 2025, all of which will be such a drain on Asante's financial resources.

Is it not then Prudent (Wise), to instead limit our financial expenditure, by avoiding such an Unnecessary Waste of Resources? The money that will be used for this planned wasteful and ostentatious celebration/commemoration of the Sagrenti War, which celebration, violates Asante Law, Customs, and Traditions, should instead be devoted to salvaging Okomfo Anokye Hospital and other beneficial charitable causes.