THE LIVES TAKEN BY DR. KWAME NKRUMAH IN BAWKU
WHATEVER GOOD YOU DO OR WHATEVER EVIL YOU DO LEAVES AFTER YOU, THE LIVES LOST IN BAWKU ARE ON YOU.
TODAY IN HISTORY 24TH FEBRUARY, 1966
Today in history, 24th February, 1966, Ghana's first President H.E Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown by the military under National Liberation Council. This was after the President went on a mission to Hannoi in Vietnam.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is the genesis of almost all the Chieftaincy disputes across the country today and the sole originator of the needless conflict in Bawku. Before the coming of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Mamprusi and Kusaasi were living in harmony and life in Bawku was calm and peaceful.
It all started during the Pre Independence struggle. This was a time when Chiefs were actively involved in politics. In 1954, the pioneer Northern politicians including; Kabachiwura J.A Braimah of Gonja, Tolon-Naa Yakubu Talli of Dagbon, Kpea-Naa Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia of Mamprugu, Chief S.D Dombo, Adam Amandi, Imoro Salifu, et al formed the Northern People's Party (NPP).
Kpea-Naa Mumuni Bawumia was made an interim Chairman of the NPP and later on Vice Chairman with Chief S.D Dombo as the Chairman. Kpea-Naa Mumuni Bawumia was also the Secretary to the Nayiri, Naa Sheriga Abdulai father of the reigning Nayiri i.e Naa Bohagu Abdulai Mahami Sheriga.
The Nayiri Naa Sheriga Abdulai was made a patron of the NPP. The Nayiri’s support for the NPP and refusal to support Nkrumah's CPP infuriated Kwame Nkrumah. All attempts by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to make the Nayiri support his CPP proved futile. The Nayiri said he can't betray his own sons to support Kwame Nkrumah's CPP.
This was an era when politics was unlike today's politics. In those days, it was the Chiefs that in their wisdom, decided the party they wanted their subjects to vote. Before the election, the King will call all his Chiefs and tell them the party he wants them to vote for. The Chiefs will inturn relay same to all their subjects, and no one dare votes otherwise. This explains why Kwame Nkrumah was bent on getting the Nayiri on his side.
The then Bawku-Naaba was Bawku-Naa Saa (Wuni Bugri), the 12th Bawku-Naaba. Considering the vast nature of the Bawku Traditional area and the fact that the Bawku-Naaba was in support of his father the Nayiri’s choice, Kwame Nkrumah devised a mechanism to woe supporters of the CPP within the Bawku traditional area and that marked the genesis of the Bawku conflict. After the demise of Bawku-Naa Saa in 1956, the Nayiri Naa Sheriga Abdulai enskined Bawku-Naa Salma Yirimeya as the 13th Bawku-Naa in 1957.
The Azoka family who are not kusaasis but are of Yaanga extraction were peacefully living with the Yirimeya family after arriving in Bawku in the early 1940s. Kwame Nkrumah in his quest to woe party supporters made Abugrago Azoka, father of Abugrago Aninchema the CPP party Chairman of Bawku and this didn't go down well with the Bawku-Naaba since the norm was that it is the Chief that decides the party for his subjects. This brought some kind of friction between the Azoka family and the Bawku-Naaba. The Azoka family with the support of some few insubordinate Kusaasis started purporting Abugrago Azoka as a Bawku-Naaba. A terrain that started like a joke got worse because it gained government endorsement simply because the person involved was the Chairman of the party in power. Nkrumah had played his card and went for none other than the ungrateful Azoka. Azoka immediately forgot the benovelence of Naa Yirimea who took him in when he arrived in Bawku and was willing to stab Bawku-Naba Yirimea in the back.
The friction between the Bawku-Naa Salma Yirimeya the 13th Bawku-Naaba and Abugrago Azoka got intense and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in his quest to legitimise his illegality set up the Opoku Afari Committee to look into the issue. The committee was chaired by S. D Opoku-Afari, an ardent CPP supporter planted to legitimize Nkrumah’s illegality. This overtly partisan investigator was used to slander and destroy the Nayiri and Mamprugu. Other members of the committee were Nana Yaw Agyemang, the Dormaahene and Lure Kanton III, the Tumu Koro, both members of the CPP. The contributions of the Dormaahene and Tumu Koro were a great disservice to African tradition. Instead of protecting the integrity of the very African heritage which brought them to prominence, they responded to their stomachs, kept their tails between their thighs and succumbed to the wishes of an anti traditional African Tyrant.
Prior to the 1956 elections, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was on record to have said on several rally grounds that, "Chiefs will run and leave their sandals" and this was evidenced as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah went on a deskinment/destoolment spree by deskining/destooling Chiefs across the country who never supported the CPP. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah even attempted deskining no other person than the Nayiri himself but for the divine intervention of Kpea-Naa Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, then secretary to the Nayiri who had crossed carpet to the CPP.
Bawku-Naa Salma Yirimeya the 13th Bawku-Naaba was subsequently exiled by the Dr. Kwame Nkrumah CPP government till his demise in exile in 1962.
Chieftaincy, a symbol of African civilisation which successfully withstood the affront of colonialism and WHITE IMPERIALISM were being destroyed by Chiefs under the pressure of a BLACK IMPERIALIST. Thanks to the NLC, the status of the revered Chieftaincy institution was restored. All the Chiefs that were deskined/destooled by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah across the country were restored to their original position.
In the Mamprugu kingdom, the Chiefs that were deskined by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah were;
1. Chief of Bawku
2. Chief of Nangodi
3. Chief of Pusiga
4. Chief of Zebila
5. Chief of Tempani
6. Chief of Tanga
7. Chief of Gagbiri
8. Chief of Binduri
9. Chief of Kugri
10. Chief of Zongoyiri
11. Chief of Sinebaga
12. Chief of Binaba
13. Chief of Worikambo
14. Chief of Teshie
15. Chief of Kulungugu
16. Chief of Bugri
17. Chief of Kusanaba
All the aforementioned Chiefs were deskined by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and planted with political Chiefs on the false assertion that they have deskined Mamprusis and enskined Kusaasis. Meanwhile some of the deskined Chiefs were Kusaasi and this was clear proof of a political agenda at play and had nothing whatsoever to do with Mamprusi verse Kusaasi.
Where ever Dr. Kwame Nkrumah may be today, he will still be served his own share of the atrocities and the loss of innocent lives at Bawku as a result of the needless conflict he created due to his parochial interest. The Azoka family came and met Bawku Chieftaincy and by then Bawku already had 12 Chiefs starting from the mid 17th century. They came at a time Mamprusis and Kusaasis were living peacefully.
We are by this calling on all true and well meaning Kusaasi to embrace peace and realise that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah used our fathers and forefathers for his parochial interest and we are now paying a debt we have absolutely no idea how it was incurred.
Thank you.
Attached is the National Liberation Council Decree (NLCD112)
If you were wondering why some people were jubilating over the overthrow of Nkrumah, this were part of the reasons.
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