In the village of Asempa lived a boy called Daddy Mensah. He was born to Maame Adwoa and Papa Kwesi Dadzi who were poor but well respected in the village. They were admired by all because they were a caring family.
Touched by the poor economic situation of Papa Kwesi's family and the respect they had for all, it happened that the inhabitants of Asempa volunteered to provide all the basic needs of Daddy Mensah when he was a young boy.
They took care of what he would eat, wear, as well as his education.
Daddy Mensah's parents did not fail to discharge their parental responsibility. They taught their son to be obedient, polite and, above all, to be nice towards all, regardless of their status or wealth.
The good conduct of Mensah, as he was affectionately called, caught the eyes of the chief of their village, Nana Sompa, who offered to take care of him. Nana Sompa did not have any child so when Mensah moved to stay with him at his palace, he personally took charge of his upbringing.
Mensah continued to be of good behaviour towards everyone at the palace. He was courteous, humble and did not carry himself around because the chief had adopted him as his son.
As such, he was admired not by the chief only but all in the palace. Both young and old spoke well of him.
Nana Sompa became so attached to Mensah that he taught him a lot about good leadership and the customs and traditions of the people of Asempa.
He showed him a lot of things in the palace that even some of the elderly people who had been in the palace for a long time did not know. Normally the chief shared those moments with him during his leisure time.
Mensah soon grew into a fine young man. It was at that period that the chief fell seriously ill. They tried all types of medicines but he did not survive.
However,before his death, as custom demanded, he was supposed to nominate someone to succeed him. Because he did not have a child, he broke tradition and named Mensah, a non royal, as his successor.
Under normal circumstance, that should have been unacceptable and would have generated confusion among the king makers of the land but because they knew how humble and well behaved Mensah was, they accepted the chief's nomination.
They took him through the customary proceedings and he was outdoored as the chief of Asempa.
Having what he had learnt from the late chief at the back of his mind, after his enstoolment as chief Mensah co-operated very well with his elders in the running of the affairs of the village. He consulted them and sought their opinion on everything.
Soon, under his leadership, the village of Asempa saw a lot of developments, such as the provision of schools, hospitals, etc. He administered the village just as the old chief had taught him to.
He earned the respect of the people and the village was at peace throughout his reign.
So, as young people, we must try to be obedient and humble ourselves so that we learn a lot from our elders, just as Daddy Mensah did.
Edna Allotey,
St Argo Int. School,
P.O. Box 55,
Kasoa, C/R.
GLOSSARY
• Volunteer— To offer to do something without being forced to do it or without getting paid for it.
• Leisure— Time that is spent doing what you enjoy when you are not working or studying.
• Nominate— To formally suggest that somebody should be chosen for an important role, prize, position, etc.
• Courteous— Polite, especially in a way that shows respect.
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