A decision by the Awoamefia of Anlo, Torgbi Sri III and some chiefs in the Volta Region to attend this year’s Akwasidae festival in Kumasi has incurred the wrath of some youths in the region.
Torgbi Sri III is expected to led a 150 member delegation to Manhyia to celebrate Akwasidea in honor of the ancestors and king of the Ashanti Kingdom, but the Anlo Youth Council, an umbrella body of the youth groups of Anlo says the decision by the Awoamefia, to attend the festival is ill-timed.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the group disclosed that the intended move by the Torgbi Sri III to attend the traditional festivity would not be in the best interest of his subjects, especially at a time where his people are battling with the real motives of the governing New Patriotic Party to dividing the Volta Region.
Although the youth group indicated their reverence for the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Asanteman, they believe that the Awoamefia involvement in Akwasidae will weaken the resolve of the people of Volta to vehemently oppose the carving of a new region out of the Volta region.
“We also relish the opportunity of the Akwasidae, an extraordinary pomp and pageantry from this peaceful shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Regrettably, we cannot attend and urge of our Chiefs, including the Awoamefia, Torgbi Sri III and his family and friends not to attend. The Referendum to destroy the unity and peace of the Volta Region is slated for December 27, 2018 and that fateful date alone. Whatever the outcome, there will be many Akwasidae festivals to be celebrated in the future,” the group said.
The Anlo youth group further accused the government for supporting a certain minority group hence the proposed division of the Volta Region which is inimical to the sustainability of the Anlo Anlo in particular, the Ewe and the Volta Region, and urged the Awoamefia, Torgbi Sri III to lend his full support to the unanimous decision arrived by the Congress of Chief of Anlo to oppose the division of the Volta Region by rescinding his invitation to Akwasidae.
“Our region, the Volta Region is earmarked for division by the government because of a certain minority group which government is supporting to the hilt. We do not see this development as mere coincidence but a well thought out plan with objectives not consistent with the sustainability of the Anlo in particular, the Ewe and the Volta Region as a whole,” it noted.
By Benjamin Nana Appiah/adrdaily.com
