Fight over Teshie throne stagnating development – Nii Kotei Dzani

The Greater Accra Regional representative to the Council of State, Dr. Nii Kotei Dzani, has called on the traditional leaders and kingmakers in the Teshie traditional area in Accra to dig into the archives to be able to fetch out the true traditional heir to the traditional throne.

According to him, the continued fight for the throne is not helping the people of Teshie and that it was time the kingmakers and elders sat down to find a lasting solution to the chieftaincy matter.

Dr. Dzani, who is also the president of Group Ideal, made the call last Friday during an awards ceremony to honour distinguished citizens from Teshie.

The maiden awards, dubbed, “Akro Excellence Awards 2017,” sought to honour citizens from Teshie, who, in one way or the other, contributed substantially to the wellbeing of Teshie and also uplifted its image.

The event was used to honour other personalities who contributed to the development of the area over the years, especially companies and industries.

Speaking at the awards night, Dr. Dazni called on the people of Teshie to disband all grievances and live in peace and unity with one another to bring development to the area.

He noted that the protracted disunity among the people of Teshie had led to the denial of their fair share of the national cake over the years, saying, “let those who think they have the equal right to the throne come forward and let’s discuss the matter.”

Teshie, he said, has been denied the necessary development from the government, because of disunity and that it was time for the people to change their attitude and not allow politicians to influence them destroy their origin.

“If we do not change our attitude as Ga-Dangbes, we will continue to be cheated. When I sit in Council of state and see how the state resources are being distributed and allocated, we are being denied everything. Look at Airport Company and Tema Harbour, no Ga-Dangbe is on the boards. We need to be united and fight for our rights else our children’s children will become slaves,” he stated.

He thus charged the people of Teshie to go into the archives and search to know who deserves the right to the traditional throne of Teshie, saying, “the people of Teshie and Ga Mashie deserved better.”

Dr. Dzani commended the Teshie Mantse, Gbersoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III, for respecting his view not to put his posters on the awards programme, as earlier advertised.

He said, before the event, he, Dr. Dzani, as a member of the Council of State for the region and son of the area, received several petitions on grounds that Nii Akomfra could not hold himself as Mantse for Teshie, since there are disputes surrounding his enstoolment.

He said, through his advice, Nii Akomfra accepted and pulled down the posters, an act, which, in his view, signified the distinguishing mark of a listening leader, and urged that the people let peace and unity prevail to bring development.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ishmael Ashietey, bemoaned the high cases of chieftaincy disputes in the region and charged the regional house of chiefs to take steps to resolve most of them.

He also expressed worry about the unabated land litigation cases from the region, saying such matters retard development, and urged the people of Teshie and all the traditional leaders in the region to find a lasting solution to land issues.

Mr. Ashietey, however, commended the Teshie traditional authority for the foresight on the awards ceremony and expressed the hope that it would be continued to help inspire citizens from the area to contribute to the development of the area.

Some distinguished personalities, including Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills, former first lady; Professor Emmanuel Martey, former Moderator of Presbyterian Church of Ghana; Richard Kingston, former Black Stars goalkeeper, as well as teachers, students and industries representatives were awarded.

Tetteh Quashie, a native who brought cocoa into the country and Adesa Bagagy, a native, were given postmortem awards of ‘Doyen of Ghana Cocoa’ and ‘Martyrs of Liberty’ respectively.