I�m Not In Perfect Health - Nana Akuoko Sarpong

THE PARAMOUNT chief of the Agogo traditional area in the Ashanti region has asked his subjects to leave him alone because he is not in a perfect health condition. Nana Akouko Sarpong said he has been very ill in recent times and so has been unable to travel from his base in Accra to Agogo to perform the necessary traditional rites. �I�m not in a perfect health condition now so I humbly ask my people to leave me alone,� the Council of State member said in an interview. Angry youth in Agogo, on Wednesday, stormed the palace of the paramount chief demanding his immediate destoolment as the traditional head of the area for his poor handling of the Fulani herdsmen issue. The infuriated youth accused Nana Akuoko Sarpong of sabotaging efforts geared towards the eviction of the Fulani herdsmen from the area. Unhappy about the situation, the displeased youth, who were joined by some elders in the town, did not only demonstrate against the paramount chief but also petitioned the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to destool the traditional head. According to them, the continuous stay of Nana Akuoko Sarpong would derail their efforts at driving the Fulani herdsmen from the area. Speaking to Yaw Adu Boakye aka �Omanhene�, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) guru denied assertions that he had a special interest in the occupation of the Fulani herdsmen in the area. He said if he had an interest in the issue, he would not have dragged the cattle owners to court for violating the terms of their stay in the area. The paramount chief noted that the court would surely pass an order, and give the green light for the total expulsion of the Fulani herdsmen in the area, thereby asking the people in the area to take heart. �The last time we went to court, the lawyers for the cattle owners did not turn up but the court said in the next adjourned date which is 21st of this month, it will make an order to drive them away from the area,� Nana Akuoko Sarpong clarified. He rubbished the demonstration held in his palace by the youth in the town demanding his immediate destoolment, stressing that paramount chiefs were not destooled in that manner. Nana Akuoko Sarpong said the Asantehene was not that na�ve to just listen to the allegations leveled against him by the youth and then take a decision to destool him. �Do you know that the Asantehene is affectionately known as King Solomon, do you think that King Solomon with his accumulated knowledge will just listen to a one-sided allegation and then act on it,� the paramount chief asked rhetorically. He indicated that Otumfuo would not only ignore the petition sent him but would also enquire from the senders whether they have made known the issues they were complaining about to him (Nana Akuoko Sarpong). The paramount chief pointed out that he ought to have been contacted first, and if he was unable to satisfy the concerns of the people, then the issue could have gone to the Asantehene. He stressed that the action of his opponents would amount to nothing; he called on the people to resort to amicable settlement of the issue rather than to going the hard way. He promised to sit down with the people and let them know the intricacies of the issue at stake when he returns to Agogo after successfully going through his medical care. Nana Akuoko Sarpong however, denied reports that he owned cattle in the area, noting that he did not even have a single sheep and that he was interested in the growing of trees.