Otumfuo is 25 years on Golden Stool Today
Today marks exactly 25 years of the coronation of Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
However, the Silver Jubilee anniversary will be marked on Akwasidaekese on June 12 at Dwabrem, Manhyia Palace.
Fireworks
To herald the day, there were spectacular fireworks in Kumasi last night. Otumfuo witnessed the fireworks.
The installation process
The process of his coronation started in March 1999, when the Kumasi Traditional Council accepted the nomination of the then 49-year-old Barimah Kwaku Duah by his mother and Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, to succeed the late Otumfuo Opoku Ware II who died on February 25, 1999.
The Asanteman Council, which comprises of paramount chiefs that owe allegiance to the Golden Stool, also accepted the nomination allowing Barima Duah to go through various traditional and customary processes before the consecration was held.
On April 26, 1999, Barima Duah took the Busumuru sword and with his cloth dropped to his waist, swore the customary oath to the chiefs at Dwabrem of the Manhyia Palace . The event was witnessed by thousands of of Asantes and other well wishers.
It was at the occasion that he adopted the name Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Profile
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II born Nana Barima Kwaku Duah on May 6, 1950 is the 16th Asantehene, enstooled on 26 April 1999. By name, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is in direct succession to the 17th century co-founder of the Ashanti Empire, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I.
He was the third son and youngest of the five children (three sons and two daughters) of the late Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, former Asantehemaa.His father, Nana Kwame Boakye Dankwa was from Kantinkyere in Ashanti Region.
When he was about five years old, Otumfuo moved into the royal household of his uncle, Oheneba Mensah Bonsu, the Hiahene, enstooled in 1952, as early preparation for his future role.
He had his basic education in Kumasi and in 1964, went on to the Sefwi Wiawso Secondary School where he obtained his ‘O’ Level. He was under the care of the late Omanhene of Sefwi Wiawso, Nana Kwadwo Aduhene II who was a cousin of Otumfuo’s guardian uncle, Oheneba Mensah Bonsu, Hiahene. He also attended the Osei Kyeretwie Secondary School (OKESS). He studied accounting at the erstwhile Institute of Professional Studies, which is today known as University of Professional Studies, Accra.
He then enrolled at the London Meteropolitan University where he earned a degree in Human Resources Management and Public Administration. Between 1981 and 1985, he was a senior consultant at the Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company in Toronto,Canada.
He returned to London in 1985 and became the Personnel Manager at the Manpower Services Commission of the Brent Council. He then founded his own mortgage finance firm, Primoda Financial Services Limited, located on Kilburn High Road, North West London.He returned to his native Ghana in 1989 to start a transport business, the Transpomech International (Ghana) Limited.
Otumfuo has received a number of honorary doctorate degrees from universities in Ghana and abroad .
In 2020, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II received the prestigious ‘Pillar of Peace’ award of the Africa Premier Leadership Awards (APLA) to recognise him for the crucial role he played in restoring total peace to the Dagbon kingdom after seventeen years of fierce chieftaincy crisis. Also in 2021, the Otumfuo Commemorative Gold Coin was launched to recognize him for the significant role he played in restoring peace to the Dagbon.
