10/08/2026
Akuapem Odwira at 200: A Call for True Unity, Customary Integrity, and Reconciliation
A Public Statement by Nana Bekoe Dankwa
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The ongoing bicentennial celebration of the Akuapem Odwira festival “200 Years of Odwira: Our , Our ”presents a historic opportunity for reflection. However, the current ex*****on of this landmark anniversary risks doing the exact opposite: our rich and our future.
An event of this magnitude ought to foster unity, promote inclusiveness, resolve long standing disputes, and showcase our culture and traditions for sustainable development. Regrettably, recent announcements, launches, tours, and enactments surrounding Odwira at 200 have instead sown seeds of disunity, exclusion, and historical distortion.
A monumental celebration must reflect our true history, values, and identity as Akuapems. Instead, actions driven by claims of supremacy, division, and self interest threaten to undermine the very foundation laid by our ancestors.
1.Misrepresentation and Missteps in Customary Governance:
A clear example of this problematic approach is the recent Odwira 200th Anniversary tour to Mile 50, Osabene, Kentenkren, and Nyerede. These suburbs fall directly under the traditional jurisdiction of the Adwesohene and Mponoahene, Nana Tete Pimpong II. Yet, the tour was executed without the mandatory customary consultations with his stool.
This sidelining of key traditional authority represents a serious breach of protocol. It is particularly concerning that the Benkumhene of Akuapem and Larteh Aheneasehene, Nana Asiedu Okoo Ababio III, selected these territories within Adweso’s jurisdiction without proper engagement. Furthermore, while the paramount chief, Okuapehene Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III, was well aware of the pending petitions and complaints submitted by the Adwesohene regarding these boundaries, he nevertheless proceeded to visit these areas without addressing the underlying disputes.
Such actions do not merely breach custom, they deepen fractures within Okuapeman and strain relations with our neighbors.
2.Bordering Communities and Allodial Rights:
The conduct of these celebrations has also sparked avoidable tension with neighboring ethnic groups including the Ga, Krobo, and New Juaben communities who reside on Akuapem lands allotted to them historically for settlement and farming etc.
Regarding our Ga neighbors in particular, historical and legal context must not be forgotten. On July 23, 1982, the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) under Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings enacted the Greater Accra Region Law (PNDCL 26), officially carving Greater Accra out of the Eastern Region. While this statutory shift reconfigured administrative boundaries to streamline capital governance, statutory law does not extinguish customary ownership. Traditional allodial titles remain with the historical stools and families that discovered, settled, or conquered the land. An administrative boundary change does not erase valid Akuapem customary land rights.
3.Internal Crises Threatening Okuapeman’s Progress:
To make the theme of _"Honoring Our Heritage, Securing Our Future"_ meaningful, the Akuapem Traditional Council, led by Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III, must urgently address the deep-seated disputes currently crippling our traditional state:
1. : The announcement by Awukugua-Akuapem of its withdrawal from the historic Abotakyi Accord and its call for an independent state within Akuapem.
2. of the : The continued absence of the Okuapehemaa, Nana Afua Obuo Nketia II, from core traditional activities due to unresolved chieftaincy disputes.
3. : Ongoing friction between divisional chiefs and town chiefs across the Benkum, Adonten, and Nifa/Okere divisions.
These widespread conflicts from the paramountcy down to the sub-divisional levels have stalled socio-economic development and opened the door for external forces to undermine our territory.
THE : A Charge to Nananom and Okuapeman
Moving forward, the leadership of the Akuapem Traditional Area must adopt total transparency, respect established customary hierarchies, and ensure genuine inclusivity. The Traditional Council must refrain from arbitrary adjustments to history or protocol that leave generational discord in their wake. Self-aggrandizement, land grabs, and unilateral declarations of supremacy have no place in customary governance.
Honor, recognition, and roles must be accorded to those to whom they are rightfully due under tradition. Truthfulness about our past and present is the only foundation upon which we can build a secure future.
To fellow Nananom, Okuapeman Adehye, friends of Okuapeman, and all key stakeholders: TO SET OUR IS . Let us stand united to protect our shared heritage and restore the dignity for which the Akuapem state has historically been renowned.
:
Nana Bekoe Dankwa
Founder, Okuapeman Global
Tufuhene of Adweso–Akuapem
Contact / Secretariat:
Email: [email protected]
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