The Ga Mashie Conundrum

Some persons are bent on destroying the Ga chieftaincy institution but they must be stopped in their tracks. Should they persist in pursuing this dangerous agenda the resultant stress could impact negatively on the chieftaincy institution and hence our heritage preserved for us over the ages by our forebears.

History is replete with the positive exploits of our chiefs, legendary personalities, who in spite of the superiority of the firepower of the invading European forces stood their grounds and fought to the hilt: while many fell gallantly, others were exiled to foreign lands such as Seychelles Islands.

It is unacceptable therefore for us to show the level of apathy we are exhibiting today as the Ga Mashie chieftaincy establishment is stretched beyond its seams by reactionary forces; some of them with no familial links to the royalty.

It is equally disturbing to watch on as the heritage of Ga Mashie is reduced to a laughing stock in the comity of traditional establishments in the country.

Things have gone so bad that should there be a call for an assemblage of the various chieftains in the country, there could be confusion when it comes to a representation of Ga Mashie.

Soon after the enstoolment of Kelvin as Ga Mantse recently, we editorialized on the subject exhilarated that a closure has been brought to bear on the troubles of Ga. Some dismissed our optimism as sheer wish. They obviously saw what we did not: unfolding developments eventually proved them right.

A few days ago when another person claiming to have been enstooled as Ga Mantse popped, up we gnashed our teeth and exclaimed ‘oh no, not again’. Be it as it may, the confusion which those behind the manouvre spawned provided more ingredients for engineers of doom for Ga.

In the face of the troubled Ga State, we stand by the side of the aggrieved and good people of this great ethnic grouping who are obsessed with the reversal of this sorry state of affairs and are putting all efforts towards the achievement of this goal.

When shall we witness the Ga Mantse sitting in state to receive foreign dignitaries when they come visiting us in the country? One day the question would be posed by a visiting head of state ‘is there no chief in the nation’s capital?’

When Ghana’s President deposed a Ga Mantse and replaced same with his favourite, he had perhaps unknowingly sowed a dangerous seed which would many years after the deed create a conundrum for not only the Gas but, by extension, subsequent governments. We are at the disturbing crossroads.

When the modalities for the enstoolment of a Ga Mantse are fraught with aberrations to the extent that wrong stool fathers are picked, the person these persons choose as the King would be faulty. That is the source of the Ga conundrum. Fortunately, there are court judgments to follow and independent authorities to consult in tackling this problem.

The Chieftaincy Ministry has a critical role to play in this matter and should therefore not waste time in ensuring that the right thing is done. There should be a closure to this problem once and for all.