Opinion

The Oracle: Historical Reminiscences: Great Empires of Yore (Pt 11)

Published

2 years ago

June 4, 2021

Eric

By Chief Mike Ozekhome

ASHANTI EMPIRE

INTRODUCTION

The Ashanti Empire (Twi: Asanteman) was an Akan empire and kingdom from 1670 to 1957, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from Ashanti to include the Brong-Ahafo Region, Central Region, Eastern Region, Greater Accra Region and Western Region of present-day Ghana. Due to the empire’s military prowess, wealth, architecture, sophisticated hierarchy and culture, the Ashanti Kingdom has been extensively studied and has more historiographies by European, primarily British, authors than any other indigenous culture of Sub-Saharan Africa.

ORIGIN

Starting in the late 17^th century, the Ashanti king, Osei Tutu (1695 – 1717) and his Adviser, Okomfo Anokye, established the Ashanti Kingdom, with the Golden Stool of Asante as a sole unifying symbol. Osei Tutu oversaw a massive Ashanti territorial expansion, building up the army by introducing new organization and turning a disciplined royal and paramilitary army into an effective fighting machine. In 1701, the Ashanti army conquered Denkyira, giving the Ashanti access to the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean coastal trade with Europeans, notably the Dutch.

Today, the Ashanti Kingdom survives as a constitutionally protected, sub-national proto-state and traditional state in union with the Republic of Ghana. The current king of the Ashanti Kingdom is Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Asantehene. The Ashanti Kingdom is the home to Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana’s only natural lake. The state’s current economic revenue is derived mainly from trading in gold bars, cocoa, kola nuts and agriculture; Forest has also always been cleared to plant cassava, maize and yams.

MEANING OF ASHANTE

The name “Asante” means “because of war”. The word derives from the Twi words meaning “war” and nti meaning “because of”. This name comes from the Asante’s origin as a kingdom created to fight the Denkyira kingdom.

The variant name “Ashanti” comes from British reports while transcribing “Asante” as the British heard it pronounced “as-hanti”. The hyphenation was subsequently dropped and the name Ashanti remained, with various spellings including Ashantee, common into the early 20th century.

CONTRACT WITH EUROPEANS

Between the 10th and 12th centuries AD the ethnic Akan people migrated into the forest belt of Southern Ghana and established several Akan states:

Before the Ashanti Kingdom had contact with Europeans, it had a flourishing trade with other African states due to the Ashanti gold wealth. Trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century AD. When the gold mines in the Sahel started to play out, the Ashanti Kingdom rose to prominence as the major player in the gold trade. At the height of the Ashanti Kingdom, the Ashanti people became wealthy through the trading of gold mined from their territory.

POLITICAL ORGANISATION OF THE ASHANTES

Ashanti’s political organization was originally centred on clans headed by a paramount chief or Amanhene. One particular clan, the Oyoko, had settled in the Ashanti’s sub-tropical forest region, establishing a centre at Kumasi. The Ashanti became tributaries of another Akan state, Denkyira but in the mid-17th century the Oyoko under Chief Oti Akenten started consolidating the Ashanti clans into a loose confederation against the Denkyira. Golden Stool (Sika dwa) in the Ashanti Kingdom, 1935.

THE GOLDEN STOOL

The introduction of the Golden Stool (Sika dwa) was a means of centralization under Osei Tutu. According to legend, a meeting of all the clan heads of each of the Ashanti settlements was called just prior to declaring independence from Denkyira. In this meeting the Golden Stool was commanded down from the heavens by Okomfo Anokye, chief-priest or sage Advisor to Asantehene Osei Tutu 1.

In the 1670s, the head of the Oyoko clan, Osei Kofi Tutu I, began another rapid consolidation of Akan peoples via diplomacy and warfare. King Osei Kofu, Tutu I and his Chief Advisor, Okomfo Kwame Frimpong Anokye, led a coalition of influential Ashanti city-states against their mutual oppressor, the Denkyira, who held the Ashanti Kingdom in its thrall. The Ashanti Kingdom utterly defeated them at the Battle of Feyiase, proclaiming its independence in 1701. Subsequently, through hard line force of arms and savoir-faire diplomacy, the duo induced the leaders of the other Ashanti city-states to declare allegiance and adherence to Kumasi, the Ashanti capital. From the beginning, King Osei Tutu and priest Anokye, followed an expansionist and an imperialistic provincial foreign policy. According to folklore, Okomfo Anokye is believed to have visited Agona-Akrofonso.

Realizing the strengths of a loose confederation of Akan states, Osei Tutu strengthened centralization of the surrounding Akan groups and expanded the powers of the judiciary system within the centralized government. This loose confederation of small city-states grew into a kingdom and eventually an empire looking to expand its borders. Newly conquered areas had the option of joining the empire or becoming tributary states. Osei Tutu’s successor extended the borders, embracing much of Ghana’s territory.

The Asante Ewer was made in England during the reign of Richard II (1377–1399) and was discovered in 1896 in the Asante kingdom. The front of the jug bears the royal arms of England and each of the facets of the lid contains a lion and a stag. These symbols date the jug to the last nine years of Richard’s reign, when he adopted the badge of the white hart. Two more English bronze jugs from the same period were found at Kumasi, the Asante capital, at the time as this example. Perhaps all there were a set from the household of Richard II. How they came to the west coast of Africa remains a mystery, but there was extensive trade between West Africa and Western Europe across the Sahara Desert in the middle Ages. Now, this could be found in the British Museum, London.

European contact with the Asante on the Gulf of Guinea coast region of Africa began in the 15th century. This led to trade in gold, ivory, slaves, and other goods with the Portuguese, which gave rise to kingdoms such as the Ashanti. On May 15, 1817, the Englishman, Thomas Bowdich, entered Kumasi. He remained there for several months. He was impressed; and on his return to England, wrote a book, “Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee”. His praise of the kingdom was disbelieved as it contradicted prevailing prejudices that demeaned the people. Joseph Dupuis, the first British Consul in Kumasi, arrived on March 23, 1820. Both Bowdich and Dupuis secured a treaty with the Asantehene. But, the Governor, Hope Smith, did not meet Ashanti’s expectations.

THE ASHANTI EMPIRE AND SLAVERY

Slavery was historically a tradition in the Ashanti Empire, with slaves typically taken as captives from enemies in warfare. The welfare of their slaves varied from being able to acquire wealth and intermarry with the master’s family to being sacrificed in funeral ceremonies. The Ashanti believed that slaves would follow their masters into the afterlife. Slaves could sometimes own other slaves, and could also request a new master if the slave believed he or she was being severely mistreated.

The modern-day Ashanti claim that slaves were seldom abused, and that a person who abused a slave was held in high contempt by society. They defend the “humanity” of Ashanti slavery by noting that those slaves were allowed to marry, and that their children were born free. If a master found a female slave desirable, he might marry her. He preferred such an arrangement to that of a free woman in a conventional marriage, because marriage to an enslaved woman allowed the children to inherit some of the father’s property and status.

This favored arrangement occurred primarily because of what some men considered their conflict with the matrilineal system. Under this kinship system, children were considered born into the mother’s clan and took their status from her family. Generally, her eldest brother served as mentor to her children, particularly for the boys. She was protected by her family. Some Ashanti men felt more comfortable taking a slave girl or pawn wife in marriage, as she would have no abusua (older male grandfather, father, uncle or brother) to intercede on her behalf when the couple argued. With an enslaved wife, the master and husband had total control of their children, as she had no kin in the community.

THE BRITISH’S ANNEXATION OF ASHANTI

In December, 1895, the British left Cape Coast with an expeditionary force. It arrived in Kumasi in January 1896, under the command of Robert Baden-Powell. The Asantehene (king) directed the Ashanti not to resist, as he feared a genocide. Shortly thereafter, Governor William Maxwell arrived in Kumasi as well.

Britain annexed the territories of the Ashanti and the Fanti. Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh was deposed and arrested, and he and other Ashanti leaders were sent into exile in the Seychelles. The Asante Union was dissolved. The British formally declared the state of the Ashanti Kingdom and the coastal regions to be the Gold Coast colony. A British Resident was permanently placed in the city of Kumasi, and soon after a British fort was built there.

THE RESISTANCE AND THE “WAR OF THE GOLDEN STOOL”

As a final measure of resistance, the remaining Asante court not exiled to the Seychelles mounted an offensive against the British Residents at the Kumasi Fort. The resistance was led by Asante Queen Yaa Asantewaa, Queen-Mother of Ejisu. From March 28 to late September, 1900, the Asante and British were engaged in what would become known as the “War of the Golden Stool”. In the end, the British were victorious; they exiled Asantewaa and other Asante leaders to the Seychelles to join Asante King Prempeh I.

In January 1902, Britain finally designated the Ashanti Kingdom as a protectorate. The Ashanti Kingdom was restored to self-rule on 31^st January, 1935. Asante King Prempeh II was restored in 1957, and the Ashanti Kingdom entered a state union with Ghana at independence from the United Kingdom.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” (Harry S Truman).

Opinion

Fani-Kayode: The Man and His Belly

Published

1 day ago

April 1, 2023

Eric

By Danjuma Garba

We are disturbed by the recent inciting comments by a former Aviation Minister and Director of News Media, All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Femi Fani-Kayode.

Recently, the media has been awash with reports of Fani-Kayode’s inciting rhetoric targeted at causing ethnic disharmony and widespread violence across the nation. We can no longer continue to ignore his excesses as they pose a grave danger to our democracy, unity and security.

Recall that his ethnic profiling and inciting statements fuelled unprecedented violence against non-Yoruba voters in Lagos State at the just-concluded governorship poll. We find totally unacceptable, his recent threat to make the country ungovernable should Bola Ahmed Tinubu not be sworn in. This is a threat against national peace and security and should not be ignored by all relevant security agencies.

Already, his rancorous and misguided outbursts had attracted the attention of the international community. A British envoy addressed him and pointed out the dangers of his inciting statements. However, instead of retracting his statements, he went wild against the envoy with derogatory remarks and tirades unbefitting of a supposed statesman.

Femi Fani-Kayode is infamous in Nigeria for his opportunistic political misadventures. He is a rabble-rouser whose only political value is the noise he makes and the ripples of disaffection it causes.

He has never contested, won or lost an election. His is to parasitically attach himself to the winning side and look for any available financial opportunity to sustain his extravagant and drug-ridden lifestyle.

He is a craven man who rides behind the trails of valiant men to glean the spoils of war. And while waiting for the spoils, he can go to the extremes of verbal assaults, name-calling and denigration of opponents.

His method of political engagement is crude, savage, hostile and barbaric. He does not spare vices however indecorous in his quest to appear loyal to his paymasters. He is a known groveler who does the “dirty jobs” for his paymasters in return for “food”. Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s description of him as a foodie who does the bidding of anyone who gives him “food” is very apt. He is a man with zero integrity and decorum.

As a result of his unprincipled approach to life in general, and to politics in particular, he has no allegiance to any political party or ideology. He has loyalty only to his stomach. And when he is done eating, he scatters the table and spites the host. His eloquence is fuelled by the sight of food rather than being inspired by a cause, reason or logic. He is a political pariah who, like a hawk, flies about looking for only what to eat.

Femi Fani-Kayode is such a despicable figure that is awful and abhorrent in private life and unfit for public offices.

No wonder, he has been married four times, and all four women left him. No one can cope with Femi’s childish, belligerent, narcissistic and immoral behaviour. His mouth is full of bile proceeding from the dark enclaves of his bankrupt and untutored soul.

One wonders what a man who has failed in virtually everything, is doing in the corridors of power. For being unable to lead his private life, he is totally unfit to lead others. He is a confirmed public and private failure.

The incompetent junkie once blamed

witches for the plane crashes that happened under his watch as the aviation minister.

But how did Femi Fani-Kayode come about? Available records show that he was born to Chief Remilekun Adekunbo Fani-Kayode. Femi trained as a lawyer, a supposed educated man.

In age, Femi is supposed to be a man in his sixties being born on 16 October, 1960, but in character and conduct, he is a delinquent adolescent always running in and out of trouble with his unbridled tongue.

With his unstable and volatile character, one doubts if his education goes beyond his ability to read and write. Education is beyond mere literacy; it refines character, shapes perceptions, enhances tolerance and imparts civility.

The sum total of these is what is called civilization. But Fani-Kayode lacks the basic ingredients of true education. His uncouth manners speak more of a pretentious barbarian at the gate of civilization than of a truly educated and civilized person. His ethnic bigotry smacks of a pre-historic man in a band of hunters and fruit gatherers. His level of clannishness and intolerance is totally antithetical to civilization.

What an educated head ruled by a bankrupt mind and moribund soul! He refused to allow his intellectual engagements to tamper with his ethnic crudity and absurdity.

He represents the fading generation of African elites who continue to hold on to sentiments that are intolerant of others and inimical to a free, fair and inclusive society. They are the worst hindrance to inter-ethnic harmony and national unity in Africa.

Femi pathetically carries underneath his flamboyant attire, a deeply troubled, stark naked, abysmally wretched and utterly miserable soul. Such a pity!

It is against all sensibility that such an unhinged and irresponsible fellow should be elevated to the point of having political visibility in a civilized and democratic society. In saner climes, moral imbeciles like him are quarantined as societal outcasts and persona non grata.

Though his ill-fated foray into politics began quite early, whatever patronage he has enjoyed came on the heels of his family’s name and influence rather than on the strength of his personal merit or capacity. He lacks in totality, the character and conduct of an adult, let alone the attributes of a statesman.

We, therefore, call on the ruling party to amend their initial mistake of appointing Femi Fani-Kayode into their campaign council by distancing themselves from his inciting and bigoted comments.

He is such a political liability and should not be considered for any political appointment in both the nearest and distant future. Already, he is trying to cause a diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United Kingdom with his recent tantrum against the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, who tried to address his excesses.

We would be forced to believe that Femi Fani-Kayode is doing the biddings of the ruling party to destroy Nigeria if drastic punitive actions are not taken against him.

Finally, we call on the Inspector General of Police, and the Directorate of State Security (DSS) to arrest within 48hours, Femi Fani-Kayode for posing a grave threat to national security with his ceaseless inciting statements and ethnic profiling. This is to serve as a deterrent to other tribal bigots, and overzealous politicians.

Opinion

Open Letter to Bayo Onanuga by Richard Akinnola

Published

1 day ago

April 1, 2023

Eric

My dear Bayo,

I hope you are now happy and satisfied, that the National Broadcasting Commission(NBC) has sanctioned CHANNELS with a N5 million fine, following your petition over the Datti Ahmed’s interview on CHANNELS.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Dr Olu Onagoruwa ( both of blessed memories) were the best of friends for several years but that friendship was truncated when the latter decided to join the Abacha junta as the Attorney-General, churning out despicable Decrees. Their relationship ended and Gani publicly upbraided his erstwhile friend.

You and l have been friends for several years, fought many battles together against the military, particularly against their onslaught on the free press. I therefore feel terribly pained that l have to publicly upbraid you for your recent public statements, particularly your petition against CHANNELS tv, to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). Et tu, Bayo? I’m still trying to wrap my heads round your sudden 360 degrees against all you fought for under the military. You are yet to be in government and you have started exhibiting intolerance against the independent media, the same thing you fought for all your years, like Dr Onagoruwa did. I’m sure your principal, who has been a lover of free press, would be embarrassed by your position.

I watched the interview under reference and l must say, you are VERY UNFAIR to Seun Okinbaloye, the anchor man who repeatedly cautioned Datti Ahmed for making some seemingly inciting comments, to the anger and discomfiture of Datti Ahmed. So, in all conscience, what then is the basis of your petition to the NBC? Can you compare that to your recent incendiary post against an ethnic group? Why are you making enemies for your principal, instead of friends, in a country so polarized? While your principal is preaching unity and healing, you are busy trying to make more enemies for him. Yesterday, it was ARISE, today, it is CHANNELS. Is that a foretaste of what to experience in the incoming government? So, we should be fixated on NTA and TVC, isn’t that what you are trying to tell proverbially? To say that I’m totally embarrassed by your silly conduct, would be stating it mildly.

For eight years, despite all vitriolic attacks on the president, Femi Adesina, as Special Adviser, Media to the president, did not petition against any medium but you wey never enter, don dey censor the media. What a shame! I can expect the disaster that awaits us if you become the presidential spokesperson. Do l subscribe to unfettered press freedom? No. I believe every freedom comes with responsibility. However, when you create a perception that the incoming government would be intolerant of the free press, we need to sound the alarm bell.

My dear Bayo, it is often said that until a man tastes power or has access to money, you can’t judge his character. That may not be totally true because one of our mutual friends, Tunji Bello, has tasted both but has been his normal self that l have known for over three decades. His decent character has not changed, in and out of government. So, could it be that your real character is just unfolding? Just because you are now at the periphery of power, you are ready to obliterate all the values and principles you held all these years. What a shame!

TAKE NOTICE that we would fight this your planned “insurrection” against the independent media the way we, including you, fought Abacha’s dictatorship against the media.

RICHARD AKINNOLA

Postscriptum: Before l wrote this open letter, l had informed some of our mutual friends, so that they won’t feel embarrassed.

Opinion

Voice of Emancipation: Who Will Pay Buhari’s Debt?

Published

1 day ago

April 1, 2023

Eric

By Kayode Emola

In less than two months, President Mohammadu Buhari will relinquish the exalted position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He will however, not take with him the huge debt he bestowed on the country, and that would be left for both the incoming and future governments or their successor when Nigeria eventually breaks up to pay. The question remains as to who will pay this huge debt as there are over 130 million Nigerians living below the poverty line today.

Just this week, the Chinese government rejected Buhari’s further request for an additional loan of ₦10.1trn ($22bn), from the China-Exim Bank which was earlier approved by the morally bankrupt Nigeria National Assembly. The said loan was intended to fund the modernisation of the Kano – Kaduna segment of the Nigerian Railway. The obvious question to ask is, how much has that Railway line generated in the past 3 years to justify that humongous loan facilities for an outgoing government.

This is not minding the fact that Buhari is leaving the Nigerian people with ₦46.25trn ($101.87bn) external debt and a financially depressed nation. With the cost of living biting hard and many strong financial institutions around the world feeling the pinch, I believe it is time to take stock. We recall that Buhari came to power on a mandate of hope, however, if there is anything to go by in the last 8-years, it is anything but hope, in fact, I believe Nigerians should be very afraid of the direction the country is going.

A lot of the self-determination activists who are not well grounded in freedom struggle believe our quest for freedom stemmed from the extrajudicial killing by the armed Fulani militia. That is not the basis of our decision to leave an unproductive country like Nigeria. Many of our people are facing far more untimely death on a daily basis because of bad governance in Nigeria and this cannot continue without a permanent solution which is a total withdrawal from the Nigeria framework. The people in power are creating more havoc on ordinary Nigerians than all the armed terrorist groups put together.

This is a compelling reason why we must be more vocal and succinct in our message delivery to the ordinary man on the street, who is not well-versed or have reliable information. With our teeming population and abundant natural resources, Nigeria should be among the 5 biggest economies in the world. The recent developmental strides in Dubai and Qatar are supposed to be child’s play compared to Nigeria’s achievement in the last 62 years of independence. Our economy is however led by reckless government officials, who have riddled with loans that cannot be repaid if we continue on this trajectory.

To my fellow Yoruba countrymen who are happy that a Yoruba man is going to be President of Nigeria, a country with a fraudulent constitution, and hoping for a miracle. I will say, think again; as I pity our stupidity for lack of wisdom. We will come to bite our fingers in the nearest future if we don’t double our efforts right now to get out of Nigeria. If we remain trapped in this contraption called Nigeria for whatever reason, either by our own making or otherwise, then our children and future generations may never forgive our docility.

We cannot continue to live in a country where we the Yoruba contribute the largest share of its revenue, yet has nothing to show for it, order than parade political jobbers as an achievement. If that is not stupidity, then I will like to know what happened to free basic education and healthcare started over 70 years in Yorubaland by Chief Awolowo. Yet, many of our children are now out of school because their parents can’t afford exorbitant school fees in private facilities. Why are we allowing many innocent lives to die because of poor health facilities and a lack of adequate social amenities?

The lists of vices go on and on, which I wouldn’t want to dwell on. I will only want to drive home one fact, the only solution is the complete exit from the Nigerian structure. If anyone is thinking we can remain in Nigeria and develop our region, it is like eating your cake and hoping to have it again at the end of the day.

The time for ‘uhuru’ (freedom) is now and we must do everything within our power to get it. I see many power tussles going on in the self-determination struggle itself, and this is not a healthy environment to thrive. We need to consolidate our efforts, not by forcing people into submission but by dialogue, without which we cannot get a consensus. Without that, we will continue to toil endlessly with nothing to show for it.

I implore all the acclaimed self-determination groups to as a matter of urgency come together and chart a way forward for the Yoruba struggle. Without that, many people will be doing excellent work in their closest but may not be enough to reach the end goal which is a free independent Yoruba nation.

I hope talented people will be given the opportunity to thrive so that the necessary tools needed to accelerate our struggle are put to good use. The Yoruba nation is within reach, but it risks being jeopardised by many charlatans who know nothing about the struggle for an independent nation. We can continue to dance around, but if we don’t hit the nail on the head, we may remain on this mountain for a long time to come. My prayer is that we get it right on time so that we can save the millions of our trapped population in poverty with no hope of salvation.