Akyem Awisa Marks Odwira

The chiefs and people of Akyem Awisa in the Birim South District of the Eastern Region celebrate the 2016 Afahye (festival) with a grand durbar today, August 27, 2016 at Abontenkesiem.

The festival, themed, “Education and tradition for development,” is meant to showcase the significance of education and tradition as far as community development is concerned.

The festival was launched in March 2016, by the Awisahene, Nana Kwarteng Karikari III, and has a series of activities to deepen the essence of the theme to community building and development.

The special guest speaker is the Essikado Omanhene of the Central Region, Nana Kobina Nketsia V.

It is expected that Nana Nketsia will use his expertise as one of the finest traditional rulers and an experienced academician in Ghana, to dissect the critical roles that tradition and education play in enhancing development.

This year’s Afahye celebration will also mark 100 years of education at Awisa since Nana Kwabena Karikari I opened his doors to Christianity and gave plots of land to the Basel Missionary for the building of the first primary school in 1916. Nine years later, his successor, Nana Atta Dankwa Karikari II, supported the missionaries to build a boarding middle school to absolve the products from the primary school.

In 1950 the chief fought for girls to be admitted into the sole male middle school and in 1952 Nana gave out a piece of land for the Methodist church to build a primary school.

This festival therefore, recounts how tradition, alongside education, has made Awisa the hub of professionals for the Ghanaian society and the world at large.

Awisa can boast of having produced prominent people like J.E.Y. Bosompem who was deputy clerk of the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly; District Commissioner (DC) Kwame Kwakye (first African DC in post-independent Ghana) and Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, a former minister of finance.

Awisa is also boastful of their Krontihene, Profs K.A. Danso, Opoku Amankwa and Kwame Karikari. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Dr Adjei Maafo and three of the only seven female Colonels in the Ghana Armed Forces as at last month – Col Sally Mensah, Col Yelbert and Col Amantana – are others.

The uniqueness of this year’s festival has to do with the many activities that have been lined up, including spelling bee, debate, MTN health walk, cross country, Bob Santo Nite and others, meant to deepen the values of tradition and education to drive development.