BOOK ON OKLEMEKUKU AZZU MATE KOLE LAUNCHED

• Braille version for the visually impaired also available

A hundred and forty two (142) paged book on the life and legacies of late Oklemekuku Azzu Mate Kole II, the fourth Konor (Paramount Chief) of Manya Krobo was, on Thursday, launched to set in motion a four-day programme lined up to mark the silver jubilee celebration of his demise.

The colourful and culturally rich event, graced by traditional rulers including Nene Sakite II, Konor of Manya Krobo who also chaired the programme, was part of a memorial lecture held at the GNAT (Teachers’) Hall, Accra on the theme, “25 years of the end of a remarkable life and the end of an era - lessons, inspirations and the challenges of a state”.

Titled “Oklemekuku Azzu Mate Kole, a great king and statesman”, the book which also has a braille version to serve the visually impaired segment of the public, was written by Dr. Peter Kwabena Obeng-Asamoa, the Executive Director of the Ghana Blinds’ Union.

Dr. Peter Obeng-Asamoa, Exec. Director, Ghana Blind's Union

In an interviews, Dr. Obeng-Asamoa, who is a grandson of the late king said “I realised there was so much about this man that was unknown, including his impressive contributions to the development of Ghana and of his native people of Manya Krobo”. “Because of my experience as a visually challenged person, I also wanted to demonstrate that God could use anyone to do anything - disability can’t be the end of one’s life”, he stated.

Mr. James Otieku of the University of Ghana who reviewed the book and gave highlights at the launch said, “The writer demonstrated great literary acumen. He traced the history of the Krobos; the role played by key people in the growth of the Manya Krobo state, the transition from a theocratic rule to monarchy and the importance of chieftaincy as an institution in the socio-economic development of the people. He also gave a detailed account of the early years of the man, Oklemekuku - his exploits growing up and the legacies he left his people and the country Ghana. “I therefore recommend this book to the citizenry, specifically to leadership and governance students”, he added.

Launching the book, Mr. Eric Yankah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of YANKAH Links, lauded the writer for making provision for the visually challenged, whom he described as a core segment of the public but who are often not taken care of in literary works like this. “This is a loud call on all authors to consider this key section of the population in their works”, he emphasized.

The Minister for Tourism and Creative Arts, Hon. Dzifa Ablah Gomashie, in a statement read on her behalf by Ms. Olivia Opoku, Director of Research and Statistics of the ministry, eulogise Nene Azzu Mate Kole and said “Nene epitomized his culture and took chieftaincy to its peak. I am excited at the fact that there is now a detailed documentation on his life and work which will not only help develop our culture but transmit it too”, she said.

Other dignitaries who graced the event were the La Mantse, Nii Kpobi Tettey Tsuru III; Dr. K. B. Asante, a retired diplomat; Rev. Samuel Atter Odjelua, Director of Ecumenical and Social Relations of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana; Nana Aplam II, Queen of Manya Krobo; Okpatakpla (Nene) Sasraku IV, divisional chief of Manya, Nene Asare Tekpor of Akwenor, Manya Krobo, among others. 

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NENE AZZU MATE KOLE WAS A GREAT KING AND STATESMAN - PROF. SAM ADDO

Prof. Sam. Tetteh Addo, University of Ghana

Professor Samuel Tetteh Addo, of the Department of Geography and Resource Development of the University of Ghana has described the late Oklemekuku (Nene) Azzu Mate Kole II, immediate past Konor (Paramount Chief) of Manya Krobo as a great King and Statesman worth celebrating.

He said, “the height attained by late Oklemekuku in his days as well as his contributions in the development of his native Manya Krobo and the nation Ghana – which were duly recognized with awards such as the Kings’ Medal for Chiefs (KMC) in 1942; Order of the British Empire (1948); the Order of the Volta (OV) in 1969; Doctor of Law LLD, University of Ghana in 1975, among others- were phenomenal and ought to be an inspiration to the youth and leaders of today”.

Prof. Addo who is a retired educationist and presently a part-time lecturer at the graduate level of the Department said this on Thursday in Accra during his lecture to mark the Silver Jubilee anniversary of the passing of Oklemekuku who ruled between 1939 and 1990. The lecture, chaired by Nene Sakite II, Konor of Manya Krobo was on the topic, “Oklemekuku Azzu Mate Kole: A great king and a statesman”.

He attributed Oklemekuku’s commitment, courage and confidence to the training he acquired from great institutions like the Achimota College where “he imbibed a well-blended mix of the best of Ghanaian culture and relevant aspects of western civilization, as well as the discipline of mind acquired from the Gold Coast Police Force where he has been serving at the rank of an Assistant Superintendent of Police before his enthronement”.

He noted that Oklemekuku, on ascending the throne, quickly reorganised the administrative machinery of the Manya Krobo State and established the stool treasury with an efficient revenue collection system which saw revenue rising threefold in three years. This provided him with the initial capital to carry out his development agenda in the fields of education, agriculture, water and sanitation, road works and transport.

Out of this revenue, the state ran its own transport service and awarded scholarships to students. He also garnered massive communal labour through his concept of self-help to extend feeder roads that linked the farmlands to the two principal food market centres of Asesewa and Sekesua, resulting in a significant increase in farm size, tonnage of food crops assembled in the market centres as well as the revenue that was generated from the market tolls. Additionally, Nene enlisted the Field Engineers of the Ghana Army to construct bridges across the Akrum river at Abuachau and Mlegedu at the cost of 9,500 Euros and this was paid from the state treasury.

In the area of education, Nene initiated the establishment of the Manya Krobo Senior High School to replace the Presbyterian Boys School (PRESEC) which was relocated in 1968 from Odumase-Krobo to its current location at Legon, Accra.  With the aid of notable personalities like late R. P Djabanor, he set up the Akro State Schools, two of which have blossomed into the current Asesewa Senior High School in the Upper Manya Krobo District and the Akro Senior High School in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality. The rest of the schools, dotted across the Manya Krobo state, were absorbed by government as state schools, Prof. noted.

He said Nene’s interest in promoting formal education, partly influenced by his membership of the Central Advisory Committee on Education (1946-1951), saw him releasing land for the establishment of the Mount Mary Training College and also for the University of Ghana’s Agricultural Research station at Kpong.

Another notable handiwork of Nene was the holding of the biggest provincial Agricultural show at Laasi, Odumase-Krobo in 1947- attended by the governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Allen Burns, among others- which was a direct reflection of the improvement in the socio-economic activities of his people. 

On the national stage, Nene displayed his statesmanship by serving in the Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1954. He was also a member of the Gold Coast delegation to the Lancaster House, London in 1948 which made a case for self-rule and was also a member of other such Boards and Committees including the Management Board of the West African Cocoa Research Institute and the West African Institute of Science and Industry, (1942-1945).

The Konor, Prof. Addo noted, also chaired a Committee set up by the Joint Provincial Council of Chiefs to examine issues affecting the cocoa industry and came out with the Mate Kole report which led to the passage of the Cocoa Marketing Board Ordinance in 1947 and paved the way for the establishment of the current Cocoa Marketing Board. Between 1949 and 1973, he served on all the constitution drafting and approving bodies; he was on the Council of the University of Ghana between 1958 and 1960 and served as the Board Chairman of his alma mater, Achimota on three different occasions

Apart from his lead role in the establishment of the Akosombo dam (Volta River Project) and an earlier one which gave birth to the Kpong Water Works which saw the flow of treated water to his people in 1954, Nene became the Deputy Chairman of the Chieftaincy Secretariat in 1966 and Deputy Speaker of the Blay Constituent Assembly in 1969 which discussed the National Constitution of the Second Republic. It was from this position that he advocated for the establishment of the National House of Chief as the mouth piece of the traditional rulers.

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KROBOS CELEBRATE SILVER JUBILEE OF THE PASSING OF OKLEMEKIKU AZZU MATE-KOLE II

Late Oklemekuku Azzu Mate Kole, immediate past Konor of Manya Krobo (1939-1990)

The chiefs and people of Krobo will, this week, be joined by those from the Dangme speaking areas and the entire nation to revive and relive memories of the late Oklemekuku Azzu Mate Kole, the immediate past Konor (Paramount Chief) of the area, to mark twenty five (25) years of his passing.

The three day programme, including a memorial lecture and book launch under the chairmanship of Nene Sakite II, Konor of Manya Krobo is to provide a platform for a reflection on the life and achievements of his predecessor, the legendary Krobo King whose fifty (50) year of glorious reign ended in March 1990 following his demise.

The celebration which is hinged on the theme, “25 years of the end of a remarkable life and the end of an era- lessons, inspirations and challenges of a state”, will take off with a memorial/public lecture to be delivered by Professor Samuel Tetteh Addo of the University of Ghana who is also a son of the land and a close associate of the late King. The lecture is on the topic, “Oklemekuku Azzu Mate Kole; A Great King and Statesman”, and is slated for Thursday November 19, 2015 at the GNAT (Teachers’) hall in Accra at 2:30 pm.

As part of activities for the day, a 144 paged memoir which comes to augment existing literature on the late King titled, “The Eagle of Manya Krobo” by Dr. Peter K. Obeng-Asamoa, Executive Director of the Ghana Blinds Union, will also be launched by Hon. Dzifa Gomashie, Deputy Minister for Tourism and Creative Arts.

On Friday November 20, 2015, the Odumase-Korbo township will go live with colourful traditional activities including a cultural/literary evening at the forecourt of the Konor’s palace at Odumase, featuring performances (drumming and dancing) from different cultural troupes/ensembles that would showcase traditional music and dance, including klama, gbekor, agbai and oglojo. Other activities in the lineup include testimonials, sketches, choral music and poetry recital.

The celebration climaxes on Sunday November 22, 2015 with a thanksgiving service at the Zimmermann Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Odumase-Krobo.

In an interview, Dr. Obeng-Asamoah said “Oklemekuku stood out as a King and statesman in his time and left huge legacies both for his native Krobo and the nation at large which should not go properly documented- that exactly is what I have done in this new book which will serve as a reference material on that legend and visionary leader”.

The man Oklemekuku Azzu Mate Kole

Young Mate Kole

Born in January 1910, Oklemekuku (Nene) Azzu Mate Kole who was privately known as Frederick Lawer Mate Kole was the fourth Paramount Chief (Konor) of Manya Krobo, succeeding his late father Sir Emmanuel Mate-Kole who ruled between 1892 and 1939.

The late Oklemekuku was enstooled Konor of Manya Krobo on June 22, 1939 at a relatively young age of 29 years while serving as an officer of the Gold Coast Police Force, stationed at Mampong Akwapim.

Front and left view of the Palace where Oklemekuku lived which still stands in the centre of the Manya Krobo State

At the time of his capture and subsequent enthronement, Nene was already relishing a promising career in the service, spotting an impressive rank of an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), having graduated from the Police College at a record rank of a Corporal three years before his “capture”- a rare phenomenon in his days.

Footprints in the Manya Krobo state

The political and cultural head of his people that he was, (and as was the set up in the colonial era), young and progress-minded Nene Azzu Mate Kole, armed with formal education, foresight and administrative acumen, rallied his people to speed up the socio-economic development of the area through self-help which culminated in the re-organisation of the state administrative machinery and the establishment of a stool treasury that soon reflected in a sharp rise in revenue for the work at hand. It was through this that the state was able to run its own transport services and dug over 25 wells at vantage locations to save what would have been a difficult situation during an acute water shortage in 1947.

As the overlord of Manya Krobo which was to become a notable agricultural centre, Nene would not watch access roads terminate at the sprawling market centers like Asesewa, Sekesua and Ehiamekyene but ensured the construction of bridges on the major rivers and link roads to the farming and production centres such as Sisiamang, Akateng, Osonson, Sutapong, Akotue, Abuachau etc., networking the entire areas in a fashion that was soon to put Manya on the rail to speedy development and to the status as a major food basket for the nation.

As if to further showcase the immediate result of these communal and self-supporting activities, Nene and his people together with the District Commissioner of Akuse, Mr. James Moxon organized an Agricultural Show at Odumase-Krobo in 1947 which proved to be the largest and most successful provincial show of the time, attracting not only the Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Allan Burns, but merchants, manufacturers as well as indigenous and foreign farmers of repute.  

Through his instrumentality, and as a way of atualising the recommendations of the Government’s Central Advisory Committee on Education of which he was a member, what became known as the Akro State Schools were established, the first of which was sited at Odumase and followed with fifteen others, spread across the Krobo villages.

Contribution to national development

Throughout his life, he contributed not only to the development of his native people but to national development, serving as a member of the Legislative Council (later Parliament) under the provisions in the Electoral College which gave representation to the Provincial Council of Chiefs until 1954.

He stood distinguished in his era, earning him membership of various important national committees including the Blackhall Committee on Native Courts; the West African Institute of Science and Industry (1942-1945); Council of the University College of Ghana (1958-1960); the Wartime Economic Committee of the Gold Coast and also as a member of the management board of the West African Cocoa Research Institute. Others include, President of the Eastern Provincial Council of Chiefs (1947); Chairman, National Advisory Committee (1968); Deputy Speaker, Constituent Assembly, (1969); and Member, Coussey Committee on Constitutional Reforms.

Another of his great services to the nation was his close association with the concept, planning and execution of the Volta Dam at Akosombo popularly referred to as the Volta River Project. So significant was his contribution in driving the project to fruition, that he was appointed as the first chief to the first Board of Trustees of the Volta River Authority under the chairmanship of the late Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. He served on the board for ten (10) years.

Nene is also on record to have played a leading role in the establishment of the Ghana Cocoa Board as one of his varied contributions to national development which culminated in his many awards and recognitions such as the Kings’ Medal for Chiefs (KMC) in 1942; Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1948; Order of the Volta (OV) in 1969 which was crowned by the award of degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) by the University of Ghana.

Nene died on March 15, 1990 shortly after celebrating the Golden Jubilee of his enstoolment (1939-1989), during which the Manya Krobo state conferred on him the highest traditional title of the land Oklemekuku, literally meaning “a great leader and an ancient fellow”.

The Manya Krobo Palace as taken from behind

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