Take family members into consideration - Oblie Armah

Accra, Aug. 3, GNA - Property owners within the central Business District of Accra have been advised to take the plight of family members into consideration when negotiating the development of their estate for commercial purposes. This advice was given by Mr. Oblie Armah, Managing Director of Flexcon MB Limited, at the commissioning of Aayalolo House, a commercial and residential complex in Accra on Saturday.

Recounting the history of the house and the Aayalolo suburb of Accra at the ceremony, Mr. Armah said a century ago, the late Ataa Quarshie of the Gbese Arde Aquah We, with his wife and two daughters moved to settle in the mangroves of the Korle Lagoon. He was made the guardian of the lagoon and all the lands within its environ by the Korle Wulomo, Nii Molai and all those who needed land to develop had to contact him. No one would go fishing in the lagoon without his permission while he also ferried people across the lagoon for a fee whenever it overflowed its banks.

People who passed by his small cottage wondered why he would move his family to such a place haunted by wolves, hyenas and jackals and asked him why he would move to such a desolate place and Ataa Quarshie's answer was Aayalolo, which literally meant, "We are still on the move" or "We are still going". With time many people joined him to build a small village, which was called Aayalolo.

Gradually the commercial development of the Central Business District started to creep into the area and families were thrown into the streets to make room for new structures for commercial purposes with over seventy percent of families displaced. Mr. Armah said attempts to drive the Aayalolo House in the same direction were resisted by the grand children of the original settler with the formation of the Quaye Quarshie Armah Descendants Association.

In March 2003, Nii Oblie Armah was mandated to negotiate with a credible developer to develop the Aayalolo House into a commercial and residential complex taking into consideration the interest of members of the family. He commended the developer of the commercial wing of the complex, Mr. Paul Prempeh, for his patience, honesty and understanding in the negotiations leading to the development of the Aayalolo commercial and residential complex. Among those present at the ceremony were the MP for Odododiodioo, Mr. Jonathan Tackie Komme, family members and some commercial operators in the vicinity.