Dr. Asebu Amenfi

The Chopper Ride to Juabeng told it all
Juabeng, buried deep in the Ashanti hinterland, has a chequered history. According to oral and written history, it was Juabenghene Adarkwa Yiadom, 1650-1715, who triggered the war between the Ashantis and Denkiyiras that led to the capture of the dreaded Ntim Gyakari and freed the Ashantis from the clutches of Denkyira hegemony.

The Denkyiras had asked for gold ornaments, youngmen and women from each Ashanti state to serve as courtiers at the Palace of Ntim Gyakari. The pain of the request was that wives of all Ashanti paramount chiefs were to be delivered to Ntim Gyakari at his palace as part of the deal.

You guessed right. It was the demand for his wife that angered Adarkwa Yiadom, to demand from other traditional rulers in Ashanti , a declaration of war against the old enemy, instead of complying with the demands.

History has it that it was Yiadom Adarkwa himself who led the Ashanti army and it was he who captured and beheaded Ntim Gyakari.

That is not all Juabeng has offered to national history. Juabeng is about the only state in traditional history that has two different settlements in two regions. Dissidents from Juabeng led by Nana Kwasi Boateng sojourned at Kyebi in Akim Abuakwa and led to the founding of the New Juabeng State with Koforidua as its capital. That the small settlement has developed into a municipality that produces all the  beauties that have come to be known in local parlance as 'Koforidua flowers, ' tell a lot about how the pioneers employed their energies and vitality.

At my age and disposition, following the activities of these flowers has never been a natural inclination. But stories of men of all  persuations  taking the tortuous route on the Akwapim hills, to the Obuotabiri settlement,  speaks volumes  about the power and influence of these flowers.

As you read this piece, two brothers rule the two settlements. Daasebre Otuo Serebour and Daasebre Oti Boateng  are traditional rulers of the two states with a common ancestry.

In addition to making history, Juabeng has also produced the most prolific recorder of history ever known to this nation. It was the hometown of the late Prof. Albert Adu Boahen, Ghana's most renowned historian who ever lived.  It is only natural that his mortal remains rest peacefully in the land that fostered his life.

With its record of making and recording history, a helicopter hovering on the town should not have raised a finger. But this was no ordinary helicopter. The identities of the passengers on board and the timing of the visit,  were the main reasons why farmers abandoned the day's activities and gathered to savour the unfolding drama.

In Ashanti custom and tradition, burying the dead is one serious business. The belief is that the dead had joined the ancestors and if the body is denied a fitting burial, the ancestors could exact reprisals from the living, which is why funerals have developed to become serious business in Aka n societies, particularly among  the Ashantis.

The death of Akwasi Agyeman, a 40 year old lotto receiver at the interchange where the Olusegun Obasanjo Street meets the Independence Avenue in the national capital and where the bust of the opposition leader at independence who rose to become the leader of this nation for 27 turbulent months and which  remind the onlooker of the activities of the military in the nation's history, hit the ancient town like a hurricane. Many mourners could not be consoled, especially when it emerged that Agyeman had been knocked cold by a speeding vehicle with a young man, barely in his twenties at the driving wheel

As both Men and women were wailing,  the helicopter began encircling the ancient town apparently looking a for a place flat enough to receive the aircraft and its important personalities on board. When the chopper finally came to a rest, tongues began wagging.  How the Bole Deputy, who is threatening to outdo his boss at the old Slave Castle, came to lead the delegation of people totally strange to the customs and beliefs of the mourners,  gave  credence to the rumour surrounding Agyeman's death.

When you have one foot already in the grave, recalling events of old is not one of man's greatest asset, which is why this narration may not follow any sequence. Even then, the drama as it unfolded and which might have evaded the right description in police official records, could not be lost in the memory of the tired old brain.

There is no denying the fact that the young man whose vehicle dispatched Agyeman to his early grave, was returning in a hurry after a night out at the pub. The jury is still out on whether or not the driver in the wee hours of the morning,  was conceived out of activities involving the Bole Deputy himself or a close relative.

What is not in doubt is that a state helicopter was employed to ferry the Deputy and a delegation including the young man who caused the damage to the burial grounds of the nation's most renowned historian to offer their condolences and to appease the family of Agyeman with considerable amount of money, drinks and other items of importance to the poor bereaved family members.

Take it from the old man with one foot already in the grave that Acquaye Paul and his men and women in those uniforms (certainly not those distributed in schools under trees to a few recipients and broadcast as if the whole nation had taken delivery of those items) may never have the official report on the death and how it occurred in their books.

When state helicopter is used to convey the culprit to the funeral grounds, the power of the Deputy must be at play.

The link with Oga is what drives Fiifi, the local terror

At Enyan Denkyira and its environment, the people are still wondering.  The sudden transformation is not the main problem. The link with the Castle is what is raising all the hairs. Before Agya Atta occupied that edifice at Osu in Accra, the man parading the corridors of power with the pride of a peacock, was a mild-mannered personality.  He was not known to be rich either.

Now, locals reckon Fiifi, not Egya Atta himself, has more of the notes in both pocket and the bank than any known personality in the locality.  He is also believed to be very powerful. The arrival of the notes, people reckon, has brought in its wake power and influence that are confounding both admirers and critics.

The last time there was a little dispute over a signpost in the local senior high school, Fiifi went bananas. The Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association, a reverend minister with several years calling, bore the brunt of his anger. Rev. Michael  who has been putting together the prayers and God guidance for his congregation at the United Church of God, bore the full brunt of the anger of the man believed to trace his powers to the old slave Castle.

There have been a number of Crenstils who have played their parts for the forward march of this nation and their communities without advertising this brand of haughty behavior. Remember Franklin the footballer?

He was stalwart in defence for the Black Stars. In those days, the naming of players for any international match was preceded by a press conference by the man whose name has been rejected by the bearded Mayor and the Ga lobby in the party. They insist that the name defiles Ga customs and practices and thus inappropriate for the edifice for sporting heroics at Osu.

'The usual stubborn defence of Oblitey and Crentsil will be on parade,' Ohene Djan would spell it out knowing that when the two were united at the rearguard, the national team had a solid backbone. This Crenstil though, is not bringing much joy to the nation. Reports of flaunting his new found wealth appears to go with intimidation and outright bulying which is why tongues are wagging.

It is not only wide in Denkyira, where Agya Atta is said to claim ancestry in addition to the link with the Asafo drummers at the rocky and sandy beach popularized by Awaawaa Atuu resort.

The rumour mill is busily drawing a link between the sudden fortune with its cock-sure attitude and the supposed blood link with the occupant of that edifice at Osu.