Monday, 19th September, 2022 (1)

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DAILY ANALYST Monday, 19th September, 2022
“Queen Elizabeth
was an embodiment
of virtue”- Bawumia
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The life and times of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II
provide great lessons in selfless public service and
leadership worthy of emulation in the modern era,
the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has
stated.
Speaking at a ‘Thanksgiving Service For The Life of Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’, jointly organized by the Anglican
Communion, Ghana and the British High Commission
Dr. Bawumia, who represented President Akufo-Addo at
the event, recalled Ghana’s “historic” relations with the
Commonwealth and the Queen, before and even after Ghana
gained her independence in 1957.
“As a member of the Commonwealth, Ghana has had
an historic relationship with the UK, and by extension Her
Majesty the Queen. The passing of Her Majesty the Queen
has been received here with heavy hearts, prompting His
Excellency the President to direct that all official flags in
Ghana fly at half-mast for seven days.
“The highpoints of Ghana’s relationship with her majesty
were in the years 1961 and 1999 with her official visits. Indeed,
in her 1961 visit, a special high-life tune was composed in her
honour called Welcome Your Majesty.
“Her famous dance with Ghana’s first President and
influential Pan-Africanist, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah at a farewell
ball in Accra in 1961, was described by scholars as both
symbolic and significant to the Commonwealth.”
While acknowledging that the late monarch’s passing
came as a shock to the world, DrBawumia emphasized that
her 96-year-old long life and 70 years of reign as Queen of
the United Kingdom and the Realms and as head of the
Commonwealth are worth celebrating.
“Her Majesty the Queen showed remarkable leadership
in an era marked by strong anticolonial and independence
waves in the African continent (1950s and 60s). It is, therefore,
not surprising that under her reign the Commonwealth saw
such a huge transformation.
“In these roles (Queen of the United Kingdom and the
Realms and as head of the Commonwealth) Her Majesty had
a yeoman’s task of overseeing the transition of Great Britain
from the tensions of the post-World War II era, especially
the Cold War, playing an instrumental role in granting
independence to former British colonies, one of which is our
beloved Ghana, and contributing immensely to the relative
peace the world has enjoyed since the end of the second world
war.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as we celebrate a great woman
who was an embodiment of virtue, courage and affection, it
is my prayer that God will accept her gentle soul to a peaceful
rest.
“Once again, on behalf of H.E. the President, Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and all Ghanaians, I wish His Majesty
King Charles III, the Royal Family, the people of the United
Kingdom and the entire Commonwealth my deepest
condolences.”
In a short sermon, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese
of Accra, Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel S.M Torto, urged Ghanaians to
embrace a life of service, noting that the late monarch’s
dedication to serving others had had a major impact on the
UK, the Commonwealth, and the rest of the world.
“Let us learn to serve. We must be of service to our nation.
Do not wait for someone to begin before you join. Be of service
to yourself, your family, and the nation at large.”
Heavy security hits
Odwira Festival
The celebration of the
Odwira festival by the
people of Akuapem Akropong
in the Eastern
Region, this year, was
rocked by the heavy presence of
armed military and police personnel,
DAILY Analyst can report.
Indeed, many of the residents
of Akuapem Akropong and patrons
of this year’s Odwira were
panic-stricken at the sight of the
very armed-to-the-teeth security
officers.
That development saw some
of the young people describe this
year’s Odwira festival as a “War
Festival” and not Odwira festival
which symbolises peace and unity
of the people.
On Monday, September 12,
2022, which marked the beginning
of the celebration, some of
the armed military and police
personnel accompanied the
Akuapem Banmuhene, Nana
Afari Bampo, to the sacred forest
(Powmu) where kings and queen
mothers have been buried.
That was not all; the heavily
armed soldiers and policemen
also accompanied the royals to
the sacred forest and in the procession,
a development that has
been labelled as a bad omen that
had destroyed the whole essence
of the purification rituals.
The presence of the armed
military and police depicted
the insecurity in Akropong due
to the protracted chieftaincy
dispute which the citizens blame
on the political influence of the
Akufo-Addo administration.
Many of the people who spoke
to DAILY Analyst narrated how
the people of Akropong celebrated
the Odwira in peace and joy in
the past with very minimal security
presence to check thieves
who normally took advantage of
the festival to commit crimes.
According to them, Akropong
had never experienced such a
situation during the celebration
of Odwira festival.
“We have never experienced
armed police accompanying our
royals to the sacred forest to usher
in the Odwira festival.
…This is a bad omen which
will be accompanied by curses,”
one elderly member of the royal
family warned.
They, therefore, called on
the government to bring lasting
peace to Akropong by remaining
neutral in the chieftaincy issue
and to stop the open support for
Kwadwo Kesse as the Okuapemhene.
They also demanded justice
for Eric Kwadwo Boafo who was
shot at the palace of Okuapemhemaa
on the 6th of August, 2022,
when she was observing the 40th
day of her Abusuapanyin.
Contrary to the normal
celebration where the Akropong
people lined up by the roadside to
hail the procession that returned
from the sacred forest with the
Odwira, in the situation this year,
the majority of the people of Akropong
became passive onlookers
when the Akuapem Banmuhene
who was under heavily armed police
guard led a procession from
the sacred forest.
An old lady who said she had
observed the Odwira festival for
the past fifty (50) years lamented
that she had never experienced
Odwira where armed policemen
who are not royals entered the
sacred forest and joined the
Odwira procession from the
sacred forest.
According to some opinion
leaders, this year’s Odwira lacked
the spiritual, social, and most
importantly the sense of unity of
the people.
Given the statement of the
Akuapem Traditional Council
that there will not be a durbar
of chiefs and that no chief will
mount a palanquin because of
the chieftaincy conflict, this
year’s Odwira was devoid of the
colour and pageantry associated
with Odwira festivals.
The statement by a frustrated
indigene summed up the armed
military/police presence in a
graphic way that, “even Ukraine
will not have this level of armed
military and police presence.”
The people of Akuapem Akropong,
which happens to be the
seat of the paramountcy of the
Akuapem people, have been celebrating
Odwira, which is a festival
for purification and the unity
of the people for many years.
The history of the Odwira fes-
tival credits the 19th Okuapemhene,
Nana Addo Dankwa I, who
ruled from 1811 to 1835 as the
Chief who initiated the Odwira
festival.
As the name of the festival
depicts, Odwira is a festival for
the spiritual purification and
cleansing of the Akuapem people
so that they can live in peace and
unity in the coming traditional
year.
Historically, the Odwira
festival was first celebrated in
October 1826, to mark the victory
of the people of Akuapem of the
Ashanti Army in the Katamanso
war in 1826. And since then, the
people of Akuapem have been
celebrating Odwira to date. The
festival attracts people and tourists
from all over the world.
And it has become a symbol
of unity and joy for the Okuapeman,
especially the people of
Akuapem-Akropong which is the
seat of paramountcy.
The celebration of the
one-week festival starts on the
Monday of Odwira Week with the
clearing of the path leading to
the ancestral burial grounds by
men of the royal families for the
ancestors to travel home safely to
join in the celebration.
This ceremony, which ushers
in the Odwira festival, is a highly
revered ceremony performed to
mark the beginning of the whole
Odwira festival. As part of the
ceremony to usher in the Odwira
festival, men from the royal
families return to the sacred
forest to fetch the sacred symbol
in the form of a prepared sacred
mixture, and present it to the
paramount chief to symbolise the
permission of the ancestors to
celebrate Odwira.
However, the enstoolment
of the current Okuapemhene
known in private life as Kwadwo
Kesse has been marked by violent
conflicts and litigation, and the
Akufo-Addo-led government has
been blamed for supporting the
enstoolment of Kwadwo Kesse
and its associated violence.
This violence that preceded
this year’s Odwira has marred
the beauty and purpose of the
Odwira festival.