Asantehene is not God

Arguably, the Asantehene is the most respected King in Ghana. And Otumfuo Osei Tutu II by his deeds as the 16th occupant of the golden stool has undoubtedly done a lot to add to the respect people have for the golden stool. As a result, people ascribed the title 'King Solomon' to him.

However, his recent outburst at Manhyia palace has caused many to throw a barrage of insults at him and questioned the whole institution of chieftaincy in modern Ghana. I guess the inherent premise of the argument is that if Otumfuo, the most respected King, has done this then we cannot trust any other.

I personally believe Otumfuo went a bit over board in his remarks. That notwithstanding, I consider the insults from some journalists such as Ato Kwamina Dadzie and Kwasi Pratt as unacceptable must be condemned by any individual who believes in equal respect for all persons.

First of all, we must all note the important fact that a wise man does not equate to an infallible man. Only God is infallible. Unfortunately, some people mistakenly equated Otumfuo's deeds of wisdom to infallibility. But the truth is that he is a human being just like any person so he can also make mistakes. We must remember he has been the King of the Ashanti Kingdom for more than 10 years with positive deeds which are recognised not only in Ghana but also internationally. Why then can't we spare him of these insults not because he is Asantehene per se but as a fellow human being?

Do you think the King Solomon in the bible never made any mistakes? How wrong you are if you think so! Or who would you say has been the greatest president and/or leader Ghana and Africa have ever had? The obvious answer is Kwame Nkrumah. Did he make any mistakes at all? The answer is yes! One of the results of his mistakes is the Techiman-Tuobodom feud we are witnessing today. He used politics to divide chieftaincy in order to rule.

A wise man makes mistakes but he does not repeat them. The points I therefore wish to make are that: (a) Otumfuo is wise but fallible because he is not God and (b) those who think that chieftaincy has no place in modern Ghana must revise their notes because it will live with us 'forever and ever'. This is because the substitute for chieftaincy – western democracy as it is being practised in Ghana today – has done more harm than the chieftaincy. I will demonstrate this clearly in my next article: 'chieftaincy versus politics which should replace the other'.

Stay tuned!!!
Long live Otumfuo!
Long live Chieftaincy!
Long live Ghana!
Kwabena Boateng
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