Though historians, commentators, and scholars have regarded Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, as one of Africa's greatest politicians, the Wor-Lumor of Osu, Nuumo Noi Sekanku Kpenuku II, believes Dr. Nkrumah crippled the Osu people from becoming popular with his authority.

According to the chief priest of Osu, Dr. Nkrumah coercively deceived the then elders of the Osu Nadu/Klottey Clan into allowing him to build a fence around their pride, the Osu Shrine.

"When some people are being crippled by strength, their sovereign rights are taken away from them. They attack your culture, they attack your education, and they attack your language.

So the first thing Kwame Nkrumah did to cripple the Osu people from becoming popular or strong was to capture our shrine.

So he coercively, coercively deceived our elders and told them he just wanted to make that place look nice," he said.

Speaking exclusively to GhanaWeb's People & Places team about the history of the Osu Nadu/Klottey Clan, Wor-Lumor reiterated that the aftermath of Nkrumah's action and decision has affected their religious practices since the Osu people now have to seek permission from the government before visiting the shrine.

"Then he built a fence around that shrine. So we need to seek permission from the government before we go there because it's a security zone," he told GhanaWeb.

Nuumo Noi Sekanku Kpenuku II highlighted the purpose of the shrine for his clan, adding that it is the only sacred place where the Wor-Lumor can communicate between God and man.

"That is the nucleus of the Osu people. That is our religious knob. Without the shrine, we wouldn't be here. That is where we believe our Wor-Lumor can communicate between God and man. It is our cathedral," he told GhanaWeb.

He added that the Osu Shrine was built before the Castle, which is why their elders did not allow the castle to come near it.

The shrine, which sits in the Osu Castle, formerly known as Fort Christiansborg, was the seat of government of Ghana until former President John Agyekum Kufuor moved the seat of government to the Jubilee House on January 6, 2009.

The Castle has become one of Ghana's most visited tourist sites in recent years.

Watch the full interview below:



OGB