Open Letter to Brankpa Ayikoi Otoo, President Ga-Dangme Council
Good evening to you. I have received your immediate response to Akufo-Addo’s lie about the ethnic origins of Tetteh Quarshie. Good you did that but it is not enough.
I probably wouldn’t have written this letter if you had signed off your letter simply as J. Ayikoi Otoo, but you added President of the Ga-Dangme Council, that is, you wrote on behalf of the Ga-Dangme people. It appears that the Council has taken the view that Akufo-Addo’s lie was an attack on the whole Ga-Dangme nation.
Let me stress here that, I do not call any human being Honorable outside the floor of Parliament, that is the normal practice in Westminster, so calling you by your name is no sign of disrespect. I live in Australia and I know how Westminster works. I prefer Brankpa (my senior brother).
Your letter was not strong enough. You did not condemn the statement of Akufo-Addo. You did not ask him to withdraw it. You did not ask him to apologize. And you did not tell him what you and the GDC would do if the aforementioned happeneth not.
I do not know whether Akufo-Addo has written to you, but if he has not, I want you to resign from the NPP and call on all Ga-Dangmemɛi to resign from the party if they truly believe that Akufo-Addo deliberately said what he said. I believe 100% he said so deliberately. He did not start it. His grandpa Danquah way back in 1928, de-ethnicized Tetteh Quarshie, Akosua Perbi in 2017, delegitimized the greatest Ghanaian ever, and now Akufo-Addo has re-ethnicized the father of our economy, the true visionary Tetteh Quarshie.
Let me tell you something.
For a very “minor” error by Busia, Attoh Quarshie your mentor resigned from the Progress Party and formed his own party United Nationalist Party aka Abaabasɛɛ just 3 months to the 1969 elections which everyone knew Afrifa was going to give to Busia. In fact, Afrifa himself said, “I put Busia into office.”
The Asantehene sent two powerful Asante politicians: Victor Owusu and RR Amponsah to Attoh Quarshie your mentor to try and convince him to rescind his decision. Nuumo Attoh respectively declined the intervention of the Otumfuo. Why did Otumfuo send a delegation to an illiterate man in Accra?
In 1956 when Kumasi was on a brink of “civil war” between Akoto’s NLM and Nkrumah’s CPP, it was only Attoh and his Tokyo Joe boys from Bukom who went to Kumasi in train to fight for NLM. It was man-to-man, hand-to-hand combat, and Attoh guys won The refrain “yɛ de Nkrafuo aba ooh” refers to that episode. Nobody went to support Ashanti NLM, not Akyem, not Anlo, not Dagomba, not Wala only Ga, courtesy indefatigable Attoh Quarshie.
Because of Attoh Nkrumah brought the Avoidance of Discrimination Act 1957 to ban parties with ethnic or religious affiliation. Every moron knew that Ga Shifimo Kpee led by Attoh Quarshie was the reason. The young man had taken over Accra. Please, read Tawia Adamafio’s book, “By Nkrumah’s side.” Fear gripped Nkrumah to the extent that he sent great George Padmore to England to convince Tawia to come home to neutralize Attoh.
Nkrumah went one notch up with the Preventive Detention Act 1958. The first 43 detainees were Attoh and 42 members of his Ga Shifimo Kpee. These young guys were in detention for 8years without charge nor trial.
The Otumfuo rightly judged that Attoh had suffered more than any opposition member under the reign of Nkrumah, so it would be totally inappropriate for him to leave the “squad” now that power was coming to them.
Attoh Quarshie refused the pleadings of the biggest traditional authority in Ghana and resigned with only 3montjs to go to the elections He contested all the 9 seats in Greater Accra and won 2. He resigned on principle knowing very well the material gains he was forfeiting. Where are the Attoh Quarshies of today? Brankpa show the way; lead the flock; set the example.
Akufo-Addo does not respect anybody. He does not care about any letter. In fact, it is clear he does not care even about his own legacy, so writing a weak letter to him will not achieve anything as it has predictably not achieved any of the goals you had in mind when you wrote that letter.
The only thing that Akufo-Addo may respond to is political pain. But even if he does not respond to that, you have to do the right thing by your conscience if truly you have been outraged and scandalized by the extraordinary lie of Akufo-Addo.
Brankpa Ayikoi resign from NPP now and let the sea burn.
Tswa omanye aba.
Nii Amu Darko
President, OJA
8th March 2024
