Government Snubs Jamestown Mantse

Nii Kojo Ababio V

Members of government or their representatives, were visibly absent from the colourful 90th birthday celebration of the Jamestown Mantse, Oblempong Nii Kojo Ababio V.

A source close to the planning committee of the celebration, which event took place at the open space in front of the Chief's palace overlooking the historical James Fort, told DAILY GUIDE that “we invited the President, Vice President, Minister of Chieftaincy Affairs, MP for the Ododiodioo, of which Jamestown is a part, and other prominent members of government, but none obliged us the invitation.”

“Perhaps, he too has been blacklisted and does not deserve the honour of a government official,” he added.

Those who observed the snub could not help wondering why the chieftaincy institution has been so dogged with outright politics, with the NDC government, in particular, taking active part in the anomaly.

The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Tawiah, survived two attempts at dethroning him by persons alleged to be drawing support from officialdom.

The Mills administration announced that it would not invite the King to official functions because according to them, he is not gazzetted.

The government position was rubbished by observers, given, according to them, the existence of many chiefs without such documentation but still holding themselves as traditional rulers.

Even during the celebration, the MC took exception to the incessant attempts at rocking the boat of chieftaincy, through flimsy methods.

The Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Peter Blay, was however present even though he left before the event got to its climax, and was the closest the function got to being blessed with government participation.

The Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, of which the Jamestown chief is a member, was represented by one of its kind who paid glowing tribute to Oblempong Nii Kojo Ababio V's contribution to the development of the chieftaincy institution in the region.

The General did not leave without dropping two parcels of unspecified items. Present at the event were former Vice President Aliu Mahama, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Chairman, the Gbese Mantse and the membership of the Jamestown Traditional Council.

Alhaji Aliu Mahama delivered an envelope containing an unspecified amount of money and a parcel, staying throughout the programme.

The Zongo community was represented by Chief M.B. Brimah VII, who said the Islamic prayer at the function.

In his speech during the function, the 90-year-old chief deplored the worrying spate of landguardism in the Greater Accra Region, which he noted is giving the Ga State a bad name.

He charged those engaged in the nefarious activity to stop it as he asked rhetorically whether any of those engaged in the acts own any land at all.

Negative activities in the Ga State, he said, only offers materials for the media to relish, activities which he advised should be abhorred.

He emphasized the need for all to abide by the Biblical admonition that “honour thy father and mother so that ye may have long life”, to perhaps give an insight into the secret of his longevity.

Known in private life as Ezekiel Quarmina Allotey Cofie, fondly called Dentist Cofie, he was born on 12th June 1920 and studied Dental Surgery at Edinburgh University, returning afterwards to practice across the Gold Coast.

He put his accomplishment thus “I planted dentistry on the map of the Gold Coast, now Ghana.”

About his reign, which he ascended in 1978, he said “these past 32 years have been characterized by the ups and downs of life, but it's been worth it.”

About the inability to satisfy everybody, he said “it's a matter of tolerance and understanding.”

 An old boy of Achimota School, the old man never drinks alcohol or anything with caffeine, and even avoids dyeing his hair.

At both Achimota and Edinburgh University, he played soccer and was a champion sprinter at Achimota College, representing his university at the World Student Games Sporting Competition and winning a bronze in 1947 in Paris, France.

One of his children is a legal practitioner in the UK, another, a Senior Communications Analyst in the US.

Jamestown was a critical part of British Accra in the colonial era as it hosted the harbour and both Ussher and James Fort, including the Lighthouse; no wonder the emblem of traditional authority is the colonial time cannon.

By A.R. Gomda