The 20 years anniversary of the enstoolment of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu ll, has been launched at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Tuesday.
Beginning on March 27 to May 10, this year, the anniversary is to commemorate Otumfuo Osei Tutu’s occupancy of the golden stool since 1999, after the demise of his uncle, Otumfuo Opoku Ware II.
He ascended the Golden Stool in 1999 as the 16th Asantehene in direct succession to Opemsuo Osei Tutu, the founder of Asanteman, the Kingdom of Asante.
Experts said the twenty years on the Golden Stool by the Otumfuo has brought significant changes to the face of chieftaincy in Ghana.
One of these successes has been the Asantehene’s leadership in ensuring peace in Dagbon as he led two other eminent chiefs to chalk the
feat.
The chain of programmes to commemorate the anniversary would commence with public performances by traditional priests and priestesses, photo and food exhibitions, commissioning of the Kejetia market, sod cutting for the construction of the Phase ll of the Central Market, the Asantehene’s birthday celebration on May 6.
Others included a golf tournament, Christian and Muslim thanksgiving services at the Saint Cyprian’s Church and the Kumasi Central Mosque, respectively, the Vice Chancellor Week celebration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a grand durbar among other activities.
Addressing a gathering of chiefs and elders, Otumfuo Osei Tutu indicated that, the celebration was not only for fun fair but it should be an opportunity for him as well as his chiefs to assess their performances in the Ashanti Region for the past 20 years.
He said it was the opportunity for all traditional leaders to assess their achievements and their contributions in the lives of their people in terms of education, job creation, infrastructural development and others.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu challenged all traditional leaders to be agentS of change in order to bring reverence to chieftaincy in Asanteman .
He further advised queen mothers to also play their ceremonial roles as expected of them.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
