Nana Akuoko Sarpong, 40 years on the Stool
On December 15, 1975, Nana Akuoko Sarpong, then simply known as Kwame Akuoko Sarpong, was at an Accra High Court from his Cape Coast base to partner B. J. Rocha and Brodie Mends, to defend Mr J. H. Mensah and Alhaji I. C. Quaye, in a sedition case brought against them by the then ruling National Redemption Council (NRC) led by the late General Kutu Achempong.
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After the verdict, which went against the defendants, then Lawyer Kwame Akuoko Sarpong returned to his base in Cape Coast.
In the early hours of the following day, Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong received a telephone call from Agogo. It was terribly bad news. Nana Kwaku Duah, the Agogohene and uncle to Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong, had passed on that morning of December 16, 1975.
Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong had no option but to prepare to leave immediately for Agogo. Nana Kwaku Duah was his direct uncle and he had been taking care of him, financially and otherwise. He knew his funeral would be his responsibility.
He returned to Accra that day to withdraw some money from the bank and from there proceeded to Agogo. His intention was to go and leave some money with the family to start preparations for the funeral. As he left Accra for Agogo, Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong did not know he was going to get a date with destiny.
What never crossed Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong’s mind was that his people were going to make him the next chief of Agogo. He was a royal quite alright, but he saw himself as a citizen whose dream was to use the resources at his disposal to better the lot of his people and improve the status of Agogo.
Through his efforts and contributions he was made the chairman of the Agogo Improvement Society, whose major objective was to spearhead the accelerated education of the youth in the Agogo Traditional Area. As a result, he became a founder member of the Agogo State Secondary School.
When Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong arrived in Agogo he went round to console family members and to assure them of his support for the funeral.
However, the elders and kingmakers had other ideas. No single member of the royal family had done so much for the state and for the family like the young lawyer had done. As far as the elders were concerned, there was no point in enstooling anybody for that person to be dependent on Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong. They thought he was more than qualified to lead the people of Agogo into the future, taking into consideration his attainments and resourcefulness.
Called to serve
For the first time it dawned on Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong there was no escape route for him. He had to bow to the wishes of his people and accept the mantle of leadership. However, he had to enter into a gentleman’s agreement with his people. His ambition was to do politics in future and to move to the national level to serve his country. His interest in politics dated back to 1968 when he was elected General Secretary of the Republican Party led by Mr P.K.K Quaidoo, a former Nkrumah Minister.
The elders accepted Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong’s conditions and promised to support him to realise his political ambition. After this, he submitted himself to the traditional authorities to prepare him for formal installation.
By December 22, 1975 the late chief, Nana Kwaku Duah had been laid to rest. The following day the process of installation began. Lawyer Akuoko Sarpong became Nana Akuoko Sarpong, the Omanhene of Agogo Traditional Area, aged 38.
On January 16, 1976, Nana swore the oath of allegiance before Otumfuo Opoku Ware, the Asantehene, at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. At the ceremony, Otumfuo told the people of Agogo, “Now you have got a chief you deserve, a well-educated and brilliant lawyer. Hold him tight.”
Forty years have passed since Nana Akuoko Sarpong ascended the throne of his ancestors. A lot of water has also passed under the bridge since December 23, 1975. He has been able to combine politics with tradition and at the end of it all, Agogo has been the greatest beneficiary of everything Nana has achieved as a public figure.
During these past 40 years Nana has served his people as the Member of Parliament for Asante – Akyem North Constituency during the Third Republic when he was also opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs.
As a politician, he would be best remembered as Secretary of the Health and as Secretary of the Interior in the Provisional National Defence (PNDC) Administration under J. J. Rawlings when he played a pivotal role in the transition to civilian rule in 1992 before taking over the portfolio of Chieftaincy and Culture.
As acting Secretary for Foreign Affairs, he scored a diplomatic victory in restoring bilateral relations between Ghana and the USA in what is known as the Soussoudis Affairs in the late 1980s.
Forty years of service
Two Wednesdays ago the was exactly 40 years to the day when Nana was enstooled as Omanhene of Agogo Traditional Area; a simple but impressive ceremony was organised at the Omanhene’s Palace to mark the occasion.
Nana decided to have a low-key 40th anniversary celebration by communing with only his people, made up of members of the traditional council, a few dignitaries and some close friends.
After 40 years on the stool, Nana believed it was time for him to sit around his elders and together thank the Almighty for making them to arrive safely at their common destination at this epochal time. Not even neighbouring chiefs were invited. It was an in-house celebration.
It was interesting to hear the testimony of the DCE for the area, Mr Paul Avaru. He said he was a schoolboy in Agogo when Nana was enstooled 40 years ago.
According to the DCE, he has seen Agogo transformed from a village to a modern city with two university campuses, a dual carriageway and all the amenities that make a modern city, including water, electricity, a modern library and an ICT centre from where Agogo can remain in constant touch with the rest of the world 24 hours daily.
I was also touched by the testimony of Nana Ofori Sasraku, Somuhene and Bretuohene of Agogo, whose father was Nana Kyei Mensah, a former chief of Agogo. He brought fraternal greetings from Agogo sons and daughters living abroad and donated a substantial amount of money contributed by chiefs and elders.
Impacting generations
It was interesting to see a delegation of the descendants of four previous rulers of Agogo come forward to commend Nana for what he has done for Agogoman. There was also a delegation of grandchildren of Nana who brought GH¢50.00 for Nana to buy eggs to celebrate the occasion.
At the end of it all, Nana thanked his people for all the support they have given him during the past 40 years. He left them with one word – patience. Nana urged them to always be patient in all that they do, adding that there was no need to be in a hurry in life.
He told them it took him 11 years to complete the palace where the ceremony was taking place and that without patience he would have given up.
Nana also urged his people to take good care of the environment and be interested in planting trees around, to avoid any degradation.
As I left Agogo later in the evening to return to Kumasi, with the Head of the Yoruba Community in Kumasi and the Head of the Yoruba Community in Konongo, whom Nana promised a seat in his Traditional Council, and who with their elders followed me to go and pay homage to Nana, I saw satisfaction in the faces of many of the citizens, majority of whom have known no other chief apart from Nana Akuoko Sarpong.
I also remembered what Nana Akuoko Sarpong always told me that throughout his political and traditional life he never harboured any bitterness against anybody. He has always believed in resolving misunderstandings without antagonising anybody.
“If I have succeeded in bringing the people of Agogo together in peace and unity it is because I have never tried to lord it over anybody,” he used to tell anybody who cared to listen. “When comes such another?” they seemed to ask.
Nana, long may you reign!!!
Happy New Year to all my readers!