Discerning Ashanti youths are mercilessly taking on their traditional chiefs

The serious fight by the youths to stop the wanton destruction of the Ashanti region's fertile/arable lands, forests, and water bodies, has begun, headed by Akwasi Addai, alias Odike, the founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP).

Our Asanteman traditional leaders are noted for being overly corrupt, short-sighted, insatiably greedy, and haters of the truth. They are unimaginably excessively lovers of power, affluence, womanizing, and seekers of quick buck through acts of illegalities. If it were not so, the alleged overlord of Asanteman, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, would not have shamefully irresponsibly meddled in the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute as though, he has absolute power over Kumawu and all the other major divisions within Asanteman. He did so with the intent to exploit Kumawuman's natural resources to the hilt, raping her naked in broad daylight.

If it were not so, he would not have claimed publicly before a great audience at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology at their 70th anniversary that all Ashanti land belongs to him, and him only, with any chief occupying a portion doing so as a caretaker to the land on his behalf. He would not have said there are no family, stool, and government lands in the Ashanti region if our other Ashanti region chiefs were not as equally shallow in knowledge about the land ownership history of Ashanti region.

The chiefs thinking they are either the owners or caretakers of the land hence had better team up with their overlord in pursuance of quick wealth, although illegally, like father like son, allegedly resorted to surface and alluvial mining (galamsey), irresponsible sales of lands under their jurisdiction and corrupt interferences in issues on intent to steal from others.

Some discerning Asanteman subjects have raised a red flag. They will not sit on their backside any longer, nonchalantly twirling their fingers while their chiefs heartlessly continue to condone and connive with both foreigners and natives to wreak havoc on the lands and rivers in the region to eventually cost the present and generations yet unborn their survival and sustainability in Ghana.

Odike opened his mouth to share his critical views on the near-chronic involvements of our chiefs in the devastating galamsey activities uncontrollably taking place on Ashanti soil. And boom, who is he to say, “Zongohene data”, to wit, “the Zongo chief has farted”? He who asserts that the Zongo chief has farted will be in big trouble.

No wonder that the Asante chiefs seeing their ego bruised by the honest expression of views by Odike are going after him to exact his pound of flesh. They can go after him, and do whatever they like with him but the youth will resist them to ensure they don’t kill him, and also, they don’t continue to preside over the destruction of the ecosystem of the Ashanti region.

Odike is never afraid, and can never be intimidated by rogue chiefs.

Now, many Ashantis are wising up. They will not continue to venerate traditional chiefs who as callous and “sikadicious” as they are, are spoiling our lands, forests, and rivers.