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Asεsεgua and the pillars of a free republic

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Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, as the Chief Architect of the 1st Republic, established the Asεsεgua (Stool) /Office of the President as an efficient instrument for use by the senior-most citizen in his/her agenda of building the Republic and elevating the quality of life for Ghanaian households to a standard of perfection. His legacy continues to transcend the conscience of nation builders and serves as a reminder that statesmanship is a noble and worthwhile pursuit where it is possible to realise one’s higher-self by virtue of servitude to humanity.

The birth of a Free Republic was a symbolic manifestation of Ghanaian advancement, as the Third Parliament, exalted to an eminent degree of autonomy, was now governed by the Asεsεgua upon the departure of the erstwhile colonial Governor-General, the Earl of Listowell. This had been as a result of a plebiscite held in April 1960. An emblem of Ghanaian Sovereignty, the Asεsεgua represents a connexion between the sacrifice of our forbearers and the citizenry. Through the observation of traditional etiquette, the esoteric rite of the President’s installation expresses reverence for the Supreme Being and acknowledges dependence on our ancestors, without whose divine intercession, our political misfortunes would have prolonged.

As the grip of poverty can only be loosened and eventually eradicated by quality public administration, the Senior-most public servant, propelled to the Asεsεgua by the hand of the Citizenry, appoints and advances fellow citizens/stool-carriers to participation in the same noble profession to enhance the welfare of the Republic. On the 2 July 1960, the 1st Parliament of the Republic assembled to elect a Speaker and Deputy Speaker by Presidential proclamation. Later that day, Osagyefo assumed the office of Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces. On 4 July, however, in a classic demonstration of aesthetic African pomp and pageantry, Osagyefo was welcomed by traditional Talking drums and a 21-gun salute by the Ghana Reconnaissance Squadron, after which he inspected the Third Battalion of the Ghana Regiment. He was escorted to the House by eight linguists drawn from the various provinces, a State Sword Bearer and the Mace Bearer. Horns sounded from the Juaben State Nhatera before he assumed the Asεsεgua. As the sun set on Accra, Osagyefo set ablaze the flame of African freedom and proclaimed the Republic of Ghana.

The Asεsεgua regulates the President’s prescribed modes of action, amidst a multiplicity of options, by the laws that govern Asase Yaa (Earth) and the omnipresence of Nyigbla or Twereduampon (Supreme Being), which reminds the operating elements of the Stool that account will be given for service to fellow citizens through this transitory sojourn of life. As the axis of political relations, it must remain the principal unifying element of all the Provinces that constitute the Republic. The might of the Afesa-nta (State Sword) should purposefully foster a cultural, political and economic interdependence amongst the various Provinces, through equity in the distribution of resources across the Republic — each Province serving as a unique Pillar of the Free Republic.

Source: Vincent Letsa Kobla Djokoto