THE Nzemamaanle Council in the Western Region has instituted an award of excellence to honour its indigenes who have contributed immensely and performed creditably towards the development of Nzemaland.
Four prominent persons of Nzema received the maiden awards at this year’s Kundum festival of the chiefs and people of the Lower Axim Traditional Area at Axim.
The recipients were the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt General Peter Augustine Blay, who received the Grand Order of Apolonia, Professor Kaku Shagari Nokoe, formerly of the University of Development Studies, who was awarded the Grand Order of Ankobra, Mr Noble Beyera Mensah, resident in Kumasi, received the Order of Apolonia, while Rev. Father Frank Nyan of the Word Alive Mission received the Order of Ankobra.
They also received a gold medal each and a citation.
The President of the Nzemamaanle Council, Awulae Annor Adjaye, who conferred the awards on the recipients, explained that the awards were to serve as a monumental model for the present and future generations of Nzema people.
He said the award would be conferred on Nzema people who performed creditably, every two years, to encourage them to contribute to the human resource development, as well as the general development of Nzemaland.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, said the government was committed to unity, reconciliation, peace and development.
He, therefore, appealed to the chiefs and people of Nzemaland to ensure that there was common understanding and unity among the people in the traditional area in order to bring about the needed development.
“Chieftaincy and land litigation are a sure recipe for stunted development,” he said, adding “All too often, some traditional rulers and king makers embroil entire areas in litigation to the detriment of all concerned”.
Mr Aidoo stated that the only fruit of prolonged chieftaincy and land litigation were poverty, misery and destruction.
He said, “The celebration of festivals is an occasion for reunion, stocktaking, self-examination, reconciliation and peace making”.
Mr Aidoo said one of the government’s development objectives was to devise and implement a dynamic cultural development programme that recognised social cohesion.
The regional minister said for that reason, the culture of Ghanaians should be mainstreamed in the nation’s social and economic development agenda.
The Omanhen of the Lower Axim Traditional Area and President of the Western Region House of Chiefs, Awulae Attibrukusu, urged the seven paramount chiefs in the Nzema area to join hands to think about the development of their human resource base.
He was not happy about the deplorable nature of the Axim town roads, and also complained about the lack of modern equipment at the Axim Government Hospital.
Lt. General Blay on behalf of the award winners commended the chiefs and people of Nzemaland for institutionalising the unique awards to honour their people.
He called for unity, peace and progress since litigation retarded progress, while peace brought progress and development.
Lt. General Blay said the awards should spur the youth of the area on to take their education seriously so that they could compete favourably in the job market.
He urged the festival planning committee not to limit the festival to only dancing, but also develop a comprehensive development plan that would facilitate the rapid socio-economic development of Nzemaland.
The Minister Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr Alexander Ahissan, commended the chiefs and people of Nzema for ensuring peace and unity in the area.
He stressed that peaceful environment was a contributory factor to the rapid development of every community.
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