Opinions of Sunday, 20 April 2008

Columnist: Fosu, John

Kumawuhemaa is on Her Last Limping Leg

It is to be noted that nobody can hire me to write about issues involving certain personalities and Kumawuman as deemed fit, regardless of the impression or the false conclusions likely to be induced from the tone of my language based on my expressed persuasions. The Kumawuhemaa, Nana Serwaah Amponsah, disclosed to the Asantehene, the panel composed of the Council of Elders, and the audience that had sat to listen to her view on the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute on 11 March 2008 that the "Ananingya" and the "Odumase royal families have hired the services of someone to disgrace her on the Internet. Who was she alluding to as the columnist writing dispraisingly about her? It was nobody other than your usual writer who was sitting right under her stuffed nose, finding it difficult to sniff me out, because she had as usual snorted the "white powder". It must be told everyone with the queen inclusive, that I derive satisfaction from exposing and dealing with the evils in our Ghanaian society in general, and Kumawuman in particular. My reward lays in seeing the poor find a ray of hope and at least a speck of joy in their hearts consequent upon getting to know that there is someone out there dedicated to their course, who understands their sufferings and is prepared to die for them. I don't deal in money offers. No-one can either pay for my service or incite me if I decide to, or not to, expose corrupt, greedy and parochially-minded selfish persons or a group of persons. I don't ally myself with callous people who see the poor and the needy as curses to society who need to be robbed of any little human rights the laws of the land may offer them. Such is the sole view of the Kumawuhemaa who sees the poor Kumawuman people as fools unworthy of anything comfortable. Until she changes her perceptions about people, she will always be in for a shock of her life from not only me, but many more others.

There are over two hundred clinically confirmed cases of people from Kumawuman urinating blood, the symptom and illness of water borne disease emanating from drinking chemically- untreated water from the disease-infested streams. While holidaying in Ghana with intermittent visits to Kumawu, rumours of the usual outbreak of cholera and typhoid fever in the area were rife. Can this explain away the numerous unnatural premature young deaths Kumawuman citizens succumb to? Why then should I be accused of being in the employ of someone to undermine the other if I, by common sense decide to scold the incompetent traditional leaders and the public office holders in whose hands the welfare of the inhabitants has been entrusted but is being abused? Are those alleging my allegiance to the "Ananingya" course as having been paid normal at all? Do they breathe the same air as rational human beings do? I doubt it or else, they wouldn't come up with such unfounded allegations when they are castigated for being cold, undeserving, corrupt and incompetent beyond description. How does one expect me to write in praise of a thief, the enemy of the public? It is only the Kumawuhemaa and her eyesore cohorts who would recommend as justified if I were to do that.

Kumawuhemaa has fucked up with the traditional history of Kumawu big time to the disfavour of the "supposed" Ankaase royals who were co-opted into the Kumawu royalty at the insistence of the then Asantehene Osei Yaw Akoto in collaboration with some people who wanted to legitimise his offspring born into the Kumawu Palace home but not into the royal family, from a union with a eye-catching lady whose origin has been discussed previously. It is then up to the Ankaase royals to take her to task rather than aspiring to hijack the Kumawu paramount chief's seat for another more years. The Kumawuman people concluding from the combined disastrous reign of Barima Asumadu Sakyi II and the queen are never keen to see them back on the throne for any foreseeable future. They are now history despite any tentative effort put up by the queen, her collaborators and the "Ankaase" royal aspirants to the throne. All the attempts by the sitting Asantehene to sway the balance in favour of the queen will come to naught. Kumawuman people as I did interview, are eager to proceed on the war path and possibly lynch the queen in an "Alata" style of treating a person shouted out for thief. Does such a situation when arrived at sit well with anyone? No. Then this is a warning to all the stakeholders in the case if they actually want to see peace reign supreme in Kumawu and its environs. It is now power to the people. They are sick and tired of being short-changed every now and then by the corrupt leaders pillaging the Kumawu traditional area.

The queen who now doubles as a fetish worshipper and a church-goer wanders about bragging as though she has all the might in the world and the unique prerogative to impose her choice of candidate on Kumawu. What a shameless braggart? While on holiday, I had to assuage the fears of many whenever they announced to me the queen had planned to enthrone one Dr. Sarfo as the new paramount chief of Kumawu. When she is hallucinating after snorting "controlled" drugs topped up with a cocktail of alcoholic drinks, she confides deceivingly in her few demented sub-chiefs of whom are the Krontihene, Sanaahene, Samaahene, Gyasehene and her lover Mr. Amoah, that she would sooner be installing the new chief. This woman who has by foolishness and the inability to exercise her brains wisely, has lost all her traditional rights to nominate, elect and enthrone anyone whomsoever. She had done so by the stupid narration of Kumawu royal history of which she was/is deficient. It serves her right! Not even her former boyfriend, the Asantehene, can help her out. She is caught with her pants down in the annals of Kumawu paramountcy history. She still weeps when indoors, regretting her silly stance on the issue of who becomes the next Kumawu paramount chief. If she was the one who caused the untimely death of Barima Asumadu Sakyi II as being alleged at Kumawu, to capture the paramount chief's seat as first intended, then bad luck to her. She went about saying she would be like the Asante Effiduasehemaa, be the chief and the queen at the same time wearing a man's traditional slipper on the right foot and a lady's one on the left, similarly as does her role-model, the Effiduase queen, was her son not accepted for the post. Her dream has not and will not materialize as long as the progressives are around to reverse the course of events for the better.

I can confirm, concluding from my close interview and interactions with people from Kumawu and its environs that the next paramount chief will surely be from the Ananingya royal family. This is also the God's foregone conclusion. The queen can shout her voice hoarse, she can sleep with as many men as she likes in a bid to influence them to assist in her fight to get her choice of candidate enthroned, she will do it to no avail. Getting her favourite enthroned will be over the dead body of John Fosu. I will take my fight to her very door steps if she dares me. I am going to write a dossier on her if she wants me to. I hold more damaging information about her now than never before. What is her "Sparrow" Project and how is it financed? This is just to set her mind wobbling for the meantime. She is a goner, despite how hard Asantehene will endeavour. Any attempt to rob the Kumawuman citizens of their newly found hope will rain brimstone on the colluding culprits.

The latest for your attention is, these undeserving sub-chiefs and the queen find it obligatory for people to be up on their feet when asked, and at the narration of their mission to their homes or the purpose of one's visit to them. What a Ghanaian traditional typicality? The corrupt Krontihene who is robbed of his liberty but under the spell of the queen thinks he is now the acting Kumawuhene and so deserves to be respected as such. This is absolutely uncalled for. To these self-deceiving chiefs, be it known to them that "respect is earned but not commanded". Do the right thing and the respect for you will follow automatically. For standing up as obliged by you, but with one's hands in their pocket is the greatest insult you can ever receive from a "burger". It is like raising the middle finger to you in what is "shove it up your ass" sign. Do you get the message? Should the Asantehene dare be taken over by libidinal sentiment or persuasions for the queen, to decide in her favour, it will be a massacre for him under my dissecting pen. "To be forewarned is to be forearmed"

Kofi Dadzie, keep up the good fight. Victory is within reach so never get exasperated. You are my man. Feature page

John Fosu, USA

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.