DORMAA HONOURS OSAGYEFO AMOATIA OFORI PANIN (GRAPHIC NSEMPA, SPREAD)

By Akwasi Ampratwum- Mensah, Dormaa Ahenkro

THE Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, travelled all the way from the comfort of his Ofori Panin Fie at Kyebi in the Eastern Region to pay a historic royal visit to his traditional brother and friend, the Dormaahene Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, at his Abampreduase Palace in Dormaa Ahenkro, where a splendid durbar by the chiefs and people of the Dormaa Traditional Area was organised in his honour.
Arrival
As early as 7.00a.m. the people had started making their way to the Palace of the Dormaahene to a wait the arrival of the Okyehene, the crusader against the wanton destruction of the country’s forest resources and the general degradation of the environment, accompanied by a huge entourage of divisional and other sub-chiefs as well as his better half, Obaapa Ofori Atta.
Indeed, it was a delight to watch the milling crowd at Abrampreduase, where as usual there was an incessant drumming of Fontomfrom and Kete, dance to tunes of the Baabianeha Agofomma from Ntrobaa as well as the music provided by the live performance of the Dormaa FM Band.
All this while, a contingent of chiefs and members of organised groups, notably, hairdressers, beauticians and dressmakers, had positioned themselves at the outskirts of Dormaa to receive the Okyehene and finally usher him into the township and to the palace proper.
Retinue
The palace was electrified when the Dormaahene and his mother, the queen of the traditional area, Nana Akosua Fimah II, and the other chiefs descended from the top floor of the palace in a retinue to take their seats to wait for their august guest, who after some long minutes of anxious and restless waiting, finally landed with his left and right hand men of honour at the palace to a rousing and tumultuous welcome.
After a lengthy exchange of greetings, the meeting was started with prayers and the pouring of libation and later an introduction of the chiefs from the two traditional divides.
Welcoming the Okyehene, Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu recalled the journey of the people of Dormaa from Akwamufie in the year 1640, through Akyem, where they settled peacefully with their hosts, until they finally migrated to their present traditional area and noted that the hospitality accorded the Dormaa people by the Akyems, would forever be remembered.
Achievements
The Dormaahene then recounted the achievements of Osagyefo Amoatia during his short period of ascending the Okyeman stool, including his fight against the destruction of the country’s forest resources and his crusade against HIV/AIDS, adding that the Okyehene had so far lived an unblemished life and encouraged him to continue with those good works.
For his part Osagyefo Amoatia urged the people to stand solidly behind the Dormaa Paramount Chief and continue with the love they had persistently shown to him in order to make his reign a successful one.
He pointed out that riding in palanquins and the enjoyment of other luxuries by paramount chiefs did not make one a prominent traditional ruler but rather it is the tangible legacy that the chief would bequeath to posterity which determined the calibre of such a chief.
For instance, he pointed out that a successful chief was the one who would ensure that children in his traditional area were well educated, since education was crucial in the development of any nation.
Osagyefo Amoatia, pointed out that “as chiefs we should not restrict our activities to cover only our respective traditional areas of jurisdiction but rather we should consider ourselves as serving the people of the whole country since we are one people with a common destiny.
Crusade
He said it was in that vein that he had mounted a crusade against the indiscriminate felling of trees, resulting in the wanton destruction of the country’s forest cover as well as the general environmental degradation.
According to the Okyehene those who wanted to fell trees should first register their companies with the Forestry Commission, adding that the felling of a single tree was very significant since that could lead to the gradual destruction of the vegetative cover and to the disadvantage of posterity.
“We should think seriously about our children and show concern about their future and in fact, parents, especially fathers who do not take good care of their children’s welfare, should be sanctioned when they are identified,” Osagyefo Amoatia suggested and added that poverty should not be an excuse to deny the children of their education.
Touching on the December general elections, Osagyefo Amoatia, appealed to the people to ensure that the current peaceful atmosphere in the country should be maintained, since politics should not be a recipe for violence or war, as it had happened elsewhere in Africa in particular and the world at large.