Npobi Has Spoken, MANHYIA Has Listened

The royal coronation of every queen or kingship depends on the pride and passion of its kingmakers. And that is what the kingmakers of Asanteman and Npobi have done.

Npobi a town in the district of Manponteng in the Ashanti Region of Ghana has enstooled their latest chief in the personality of Nana Owusu Sarpong-I, a United Kingdom based man.

They have spoken in the direction of Nana Owusu Sarpong as to where their allegiance lies.

The enstoolment could be seen as a landmark symbolism of development, unity, business, and other pivotal engagement that will go some long way to fostering the necessary cooperation that Npobi needs, in terms of their necessities, as far as the importance of Npobi is at stake.

This occasion is arguably essential and laudable in the sense that, the newly enstooled chief, a former teacher, and educationist, has somehow got what it could take to push and pull Npobi on to a different infrastructural pathway given his local and foreign connections.

Upon his coronation, Nana Owusu Sarpong-I, expressed his gratitude to the kingdom of Ashanti and its kingmakers, most especially and importantly Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

His respect and gratitude also went to the queen mother and the entire people of Npobi, not leaving out its surrounding communities, towns and villages within the catchment areas.

Being part of history as one of the chiefs of Npobi and pledging his commitment to fostering and working for the development of Npobi-land, Nana Owusu Sarpong-I said: "It's well and arguably an honour to be crowned as the chief of Npobi.”

Revealing the challenges that come with being a chief or a king, in his experience he noted “Thank you very much, the experience is amazing because when you are crowned on to the throne lots of things change about you.

“Like where you can go, what you can do and loads of things that you used to do that you cannot do anymore. But socially and morally, I think it’s all in the right direction.”

“You could have been going out with rowdy people before, but now as a responsible person who has got a whole village or town relying on you and looking up to you as their role model, you do not need to go to where if you don’t cause the trouble someone will.”

“When it comes to this point as well, there are few challenges from people even in your own family, so you need to be careful especially what you eat and what you drink.

“So, all these things restrict your movement as a chief or a king from one place to the other.

“Other challenges could be the mindset of the people, regarding how they used to live. Because they would like to live in their own comfort. But when you come as the head of the whole community, you need to make analysis.

“See what is important for the community, see what is wrong to correct, and I think that is where the biggest challenge is.

“Because no one likes to move away from their comfort zone. But one with the knowledge, wisdom and experience from afar. Like adapting the positives of a foreign experience will help in solving some of these challenges.

“And I know, with the changes that are coming to the community, there would be loads of oppositions but that is where and when one needs to be a man and stand on one’s grounds not for the sake of today’s people, but for the future generations to come.”

Would it not be a herculean task for one to be juggling two jobs, to mean living in Ghana as a chief of Npobi and living in the UK, to which Nana answered: “I would say it’s herculean based on what needs to be done here.

“But based on what I have been doing abroad, it’s only normal. The reason for this is that, in Akan, there is an adage that says ‘If you have many farms, you still need to nurture them all.

“So, if I have many things to do both in Npobi and the UK, I will still have to attend to them all. One needs to weigh in all these factors before accepting the kingship or chieftaincy.

“Bearing in mind all these, I can still do it whole-heartedly and that’s the reason I am here to serve.”

As to how Nana Owusu Sarpong got aligned and enlisted to the throne, he explained that “Well, this is inheritance. Because in our tradition, we have families who have the traditional and royal right to become chiefs.

“My mother fortunately, has being the queen mother of the town for the past forty-eight years. And there had been other chiefs before me. The kingship is in our family and it’s my turn to be crowned as one.

“In my case, I should have been crowned some long time ago, but due to my age then. So now that I am a grown and responsible man, it’s only natural, I assume my prerogative royal duties by ascension, and that’s where we are today.”

The crown could enhance the cultural, economic, social and educational standings of Npobi given the links that Nana Sarpong has got with some top businessmen in both Ghana and abroad.

BY WILFRED CLARKE.