Tufuhene of Kwamankese

An employee of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ms Veronica Hope Jones was recently installed Tufuhene of the Kwamankese Tradi¬tional Area with the stool name Nana Adu Panyin Nkuma II.
Nana Nkuma II, 51, comes from the Anona/ Aduana Royal family of Ayeldu in the Abura-Ase¬bu-Kwamankese district of the Central Region.

She is a Customer Ser¬vice Relations Executive at the ECG at Takoradi in the Western Region.
Her installation to the royal diadem, comes as one of the rare feats in the chieftaincy domain in Ghana, which is male-dom¬inated.
In an interview with The Spectator, Nana Nkuma II, who models as Yaa As¬antewaa, the great Ejisu queen as her mentor, spoke about her appoint¬ment into the high public office, her vision, especial¬ly peace and unity, devel¬opment and advocacy for the youth.
Below are excerpts of the interview:
The Spectator: Congrat¬ulations, Nana, on your installation. What factors do you think were consid-ered for your selection?
Nana Nkuma II: Thank you very much. The se¬lection of a chief and the processes leading to the installation may be due to death, abdication or if it is a new creation. In my case, my uncle died, he was the Tufuhene of the Kwamankese Traditional Area. The family needed to fill the vacuum, and I was chosen.
TS: What do you think was the motivation of the Nsona family for selecting you?
Nana: Well, to the best of my knowledge, I am very brave and firm like Yaa Asantewaa.
TS: Right. You’re talking about firmness and brav¬ery. How would these qualities help you to drive your leadership?
Nana: The role of the Tufuhene is to lead the Asafo companies and other chiefs of Asafo companies of the town. Tufuhene also leads the Asafo com¬panies during the annual turnouts, supervises the training of warriors with the consent and guidance of the Krontihene and enforces strategies during enstoolment and other ceremonial occasions.
Also, the Tufuhene’s duty is to organise the Asafo companies to enliven the ceremonies such as fes¬tivals and national func¬tions.
Again, the Tufuhene resolves disputes among Asafo companies with the support of their leaders. He also sees to the organi¬sation of communal labour and other rescue opera¬tions, such as the search in the forest for lost persons or drowning person at sea with the help of Asafo¬hene, who is also a mem¬ber of Bentsir Number One Asafo Company.
He also fishes out wrong or evil doers in the king¬dom for punishment and can also make recommen¬dations for any person who is contributing significantly to the development of the kingdom. It’s also import¬ant to note that, although, there are no tribal wars, chiefs have now reverted to translating their for¬mer military prowess into development projects and into the realisation of the general well-being of the people.
TS: Briefly, state the kind of leadership you would provide for Kwamankese.
Nana: In terms of securi¬ty and organisation within the community, we call it community development or labour. Unlike the past, tribal wars no more exist so first of all, my role is to unite the people and organise them for com¬munal labour to undertake projects.
Presently, we don’t have any chieftaincy disputes at Ayeldu, so there’s unity amongst us. What I intend to do is to tackle teenage pregnancy among the girls. I will organise a pro¬gramme including mentor¬ships, engage and talk to them about the prospects of completing basic educa¬tion, and even continuing to Senior High School and beyond.
They need to expand their horizon beyond Ayel¬du. Young ladies at Ayeldu must complete their basic education. We’ll also add trading, hair dressing and sewing with support from some leaders and Non-Governmental Organi¬sations.
Another challenge is that, our youth are on the internet engaging in all sort of things; that un-dermines their future. My vision is to empower them to complete basic educa¬tion. Development is not all about office work. They can acquire technical and vocational education to advance their careers.
TS: What are your final words about chieftaincy?
Nana: I am the first woman to become a chief in Kwamankese and it’s a privilege and honour. Very few of us are chiefs in Ghana. We need strong, dynamic leadership, unity and peace to drive the Kwamankese agenda.
I would contact the chief of Essipun, a town near Sekondi who is also a woman and learn to gain some experience. Yes, Yaa Asantewaa is my model.
When women are in the midst of men, it’s easy to get them on board. Together with the Oman-hene, we will tackle the challenges of electricity which has come about because we have only one transformer.
With a reliable power system, we will attract investments, for exam¬ple and boost the local agro-processing industry.
And so with the help of God, my family, stake¬holders and all together, we will make Kwamankese great and strong.
TS: Nana, God bless you.
Nana: Thank you.