Rejoinder: Accra is Ghana and Ghana is Accra – Paramount Chief of Ga Mashie
These comments by the paramount chief of Ga mashie are only repressive and very tribalistic and should be ignored by well-meaning Ghanaians.
I have read with utmost sadness some utterances made by the paramount chief of Ga mashie, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, in the Greater Accra and reported by the media on Tuesday March 14,2023
In the said story, the paramount chief is quoted to have said that his people are election makers and could not be toyed with. He furthered stated that his people will decide election 2024 because Accra is the pivot of election. Lastly, he said that Accra is Ghana and Ghana is Accra.
These statements by the paramount chief of Ga mashie are very misleading, irresponsible, unfortunate, and reckless. I am however not surprised because this very chief has never made any intellectual discourse that can help in the development of our country.
He started by asking for the renaming of Greater Accra Region into Ga-Adangme Region, then asked that only Ga language should be taught by schools in Accra and now, he is saying Accra is Ghana and Ghana is Accra.
These comments by the paramount chief of Ga mashie are only repressive and very tribalistic and should be ignored by well-meaning Ghanaians.
The thinking that Accra is Ghana and Ghana is Accra has been the main problem since 1957.Greater Accra is a small geographical landscape in Ghana and the Ga people represent a population of 7% as against the 44% of the Akans as per the 2021 population and housing census. Greater Accra region is not the largest region or city in Ghana but its one of the smallest regions in the country.
Infact, the largest regions are the Northern and Ashanti Regions respectively. Accra has been developed not by Ga people but by the contribution of all Ghanaians coupled with the fact, our political elites have still been stuck to the colonial mentality of centralizing all developments and projects in Accra. The fact that Accra is the capital does not mean the other regions do not deserve development. This old development model must change.
Currently, the dynamics of urbanization have completely change Greater Accra region and the region has been overwhelmed by the presence of Akan, Ewe and northern people. These dynamics do not make any Ghanaian a stranger in Accra and does not make Accra better than any other region.
Again, Ga mashie, the community where, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru is a paramount chief is a low-income community with a population of about 80,000 per the 2021 housing and population census.
So respectfully, Accra is not Ghana and Ghana is not Accra and the people of Ga mashie, the community where the chief has jurisdiction has no capacity to decide any election in this country.
It must also be stated that, it appears the paramount chief of Ga mashie has allocated to himself the authority to be speaking on behalf and for all Gas in Greater Accra region. Again, this is very misleading, inappropriate and very wrong. King Tsuru is the paramount chief of Ga mashie and does not represent or own the whole of Greater Accra region. Regulation 8 of the membership of the Regional House of Chiefs Instrument,2020 L.I2409, states the following paramount chiefs as members of the Greater Accra House of Chiefs: Ga, Osudoku, Shai, Ningo, Prampram, Kpone, Ada, La, Ngleshie Alata, Nungua, Osu, Tema and Teshie. The paramount chief of Ga mashie is not bigger and higher than any of the other paramount chiefs in Greater Accra.
Indeed, he is just like the paramount chief of Osu (Osu Mantse), Nungua (Nungua Mantse) Teshie (Teshie Mantse) and Tema (Tema Mantse). Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru, the paramount chief of Ga mashie, has no such powers or authority to be speaking for and on behalf of all Ga People.
But I am not surprised at the posture and the utterances of the paramount chief of Ga mashie because of the seemingly unnecessary competition and tribal supremacy among some paramount chiefs recently in the country. Every paramount chief in Ghana now wants to be called a King with it associate title, HIS MAJESTY. Some of these chiefs have resorted to using aggression, intimidation, tribal commentaries, unnecessary press conferences in their villages and towns and those with political connections are using relatives in Government to gain national relevance. These aggressive postures by these chiefs tend to imbibe the tenets of envy, hatred, and jealousy among the tribesmen of these chiefs with the resultant effects of insults and anger on other tribes.
Enough is enough of these tribalistic comments. Whiles I urge all well-meaning Ghanaians to contribute towards developing this country, we should collectively banish such tribalistic comments to the dustbin of non-importance.
Kelvin Yeboah
Accra
[email protected]
