The Asafoatse of Weija who doubles as the Ngleshie Lafaa Mantse under the Ngleshie Alata Traditional Council, Nii Ayi Okufuobour I is advocating for a clear chieftaincy succession plan by kingmakers of the Ga state as a way of preventing needless disputes.
According to the Asafoatse, greed is a major contributory factor to the various disputes in the Ga state.
“Money has taken over chieftaincy issues in the Ga state, and this is a worrying trend. But what I know is that before you become chief in the Ga state you must come from one of the gates, but that is not what we are seeing. Money has taken over everything,” Nii Ayi Okufuobour I told Citi News at a ceremony to commemorate this year’s Homowo celebration.
Speaking to Citi News during the commissioning of the new Weija palace, the Lafa Mantse indicated that the only way to ensure sanity is for kingmakers to follow a laid down succession plan.
“The only way to ensure sanity in the Ga state is for kingmakers to follow a laid down succession plan and not to allow themselves to be used by unscrupulous persons who use money to annex chieftaincy titles,” the Lafa Mantse said.
The Ngleshie Lafaa Mantse again urged the Ga state to use the Homowo festival to reflect on the way forward.
The Queenmother of Ngleshie Lafa Naa Dedei Ansah I urged African Americans in the diaspora to embrace their culture.
According to her the year of return event is a good platform for traditional leaders to market the various cultures in Ghana, adding that it will generate more financial returns.
“We have a good culture as Ghanaians and Africans, and we need to take advantage of this by marketing our culture. The year of return is a good platform, and we must take advantage of it. The western culture has a big influence, but we must be proud of our culture as Africans,” Naa Dedei Ansah said.