![]() ![]() Events from the First Republic had come to haunt him. Gbedemah was denied the seat that would have made him leader of the Parliamentary opposition by people who invoked Article 71 of the 1969 Constitution against him. Busia’s party won a resounding victory (with great support from the Ashanti Region). Gbedemah’s political base was the old CPP structures which had been effectively destroyed together with Nkrumah’s legacy. He said the loss had nothing to do with Asante or any ethnic considerations. The Otumfuo pointed out that Gbedemah lost because the political odds were heavily stuck against him at a time of widespread anti-Nkrumah sentiment. During the Second Republic, the Otumfuo’s own elder brother, Barima John Francis Kwabena, made a bold and controversial attempt to bridge that gap by sticking his head out from the brood and becoming the national chairman of the National Alliance of Liberals, a party led by K. The personal element in that part of the speech was a master stroke that directly addressed the political differences among the tribes of our country – one of the weakest spots in our still fumbling experiment with western democracy. He cited aspects of our modern history to back his assertions. ![]() It is undeniable that our people have become associated with differences in political choices to an extent that has injected some unwarranted mistrust and compromised the brotherly harmony conceived by our forefathers.” “I am not unmindful of the fact that the complexities and vagaries of modern politics have cast an often uncomfortable shadow over our relations. The Asantehene stated that the perceived differences between Asante and Anlo were not the result of any inherent animosities between them but the doings of modern day politicians. Some accounts say the very first Asantehene to do so was one of the Karikaris. ![]() The Otumfuo said he was the first occupant of the Golden Stool to set foot on Anlo soil in the modern era. The alliance between the Anlo State and Asanteman goes back to 1869 – a time of tribal wars and slave raids when allies were needed. The 12-minute speech was chock-full with the history of our people dating back to the pre-colonial times. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II did not spend time gloating over the achievements of his long reign. It was short and very relevant to the occasion. ![]()
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