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NEW PARAMOUNT CHIEF FOR “ACCRA LONDON”
AT LAST
Samuel Dowuona
Accra, June 6, 2007, Ghanadot.com - After 21 years of the
destoolment of Nii Nortei Owuo II as Osu Mantse, the Gyaase
(Kingmakers) and elders of Osu Traditional Area,
specifically the Dowuona Family have finally given natives
of Osu both at home and abroad something to celebrate in the
Jubilee year of our dear nation. A NEW AND BEFITTING CHIEF!
Twenty-one years was a long wait, but considering the
stature, intellect, wisdom, humility, vision, integrity,
energy and drive of the newly enstooled chief, it has been
worth the waiting.
Known in private life as Mr. Michael Nii Okwei Dowuona-Owoo,
the 43-year old Banker and Computer Analyst with the SG-SSB
Ltd was enstooled under the stool name Nii Okwei Kinka
Dowuona VI.
The 6ft 4” tall accepted calls of “The Humble Giant” since
he shares the seat of government, Osu, popularly known as
Accra London, with the president, but in a traditional
capacity.
People who know Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI says he is a no
nonsense person, action oriented, an achiever, very
principled and a computer whiz kid, but he described himself
as a reserved, quiet, fair, truth loving, listening person
who loves dialogue and does everything in life with his
heart.
In spite of his intellect, rich skills and financial
management abilities, given his banking background and wide
travel experience, he humbly admits that in this business of
chieftaincy he is an infant and for that matter he is ready
to submit to the wealth of wisdom in the good counsel of his
elders and other senior colleague chiefs in the Ga state and
elsewhere.
“In the multitude of counselors there is safety” so says the
good book.
Nii Kinka Dowuona VI believes that his rise to the throne as
chief of Osu was orchestrated by God himself, in that almost
everybody except one person, at a point deserted him in his
quest to occupy his God-given place in Osu, but his dream of
being Chief of Osu since age 30 and the encouragement of
that one person kept his hopes of ascending to the throne
alive until it finally happened on May 4, 2007.
Before his ascension to the stool, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona
VI served Osu as member of the Kinkawe Asafo (warriors),
Secretary to the Gyaase (kingmakers) and also Secretary of
the Osu Traditional Council. In all of these capacities he
used his time, energy and financial resources to up lift the
image of Osu and also in pursuit of what rightfully belong
to the people of Osu.
In 2003 and in 2004, he single handedly organized the first
ever regatta at Osu during the Homowo festivals in both
years. He also organized the first and only Ms. Osu Beauty
Pageant and some friendly football matches in both of those
two years with sponsorship from Guinness Ghana Limited.
One significant aspect of the enstoolment of Nii Okwei Kinka
Dowuona VI is the name “Kinka” in his stool name. That name
is the root of name the “Kinkawe” (KINKA HOUSE), where the
two royal gates of Osu, namely Dowuona and Owuo gates and
the Dadebu shrine are based. Dadebu (metal hole) used to be
where the Asafo (warriors) hid their weapons from their
enemies.
Kinka is the name of the original oath swearing staff, which
the first ancestor of the Dowuona family, Nii Nortei Dowuona
brought together with the stool, called “Senn Kofi” from his
first battle and set them apart for the sole purpose of
performing enstoolment rites. It used to be the only staff
by which chiefs swore the oath of royalty during enstoolment
rites until other staffs came along from other battles.
It is instructive to know that the other royal gate at Osu,
which is the Owuo gate have another stool called “ Senn
Kwame”.
The process of enstoolment demands that the candidate
selected for the stool is blindfolded and sent into a dark
room in the Dowuona royal family house called Black House,
where the staffs of royalty are kept. He would then select a
staff at random without looking and the staff he selects
would be the one he swears the oath of royalty by during the
actual enstoolment rites at the Kpowulu (Big House), where
all Osu esntoolment rites are performed. The Paramount Chief
will then be names after the staff he selected.
The process is then completed at Gbatsunaa, the main Osu
Wulormo (Traditional Priest) shrine located in the Osu
Castle, the seat of political government, where the Wulormo
will symbolically handover the power to rule to the Chief.
It is instructive to note the in the whole of the Ga state,
the Wulormo (traditional priest) used to rule in the past
until chieftaincy was introduced.
For a long time now, no candidate has succeeded in selecting
the Kinka staff. But in the 50th year of Ghana’s
independence, when Ghana is at the threshold of the most
promising 50 years of its life, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI
did pick the Kinka staff and therefore brought back the
blessings of the first ancestor to Accra London, and by
extension to the whole nation as Osu is the seat of
government proper.
That the title “Kinka” has showed up again after 21 years of
chieftaincy inertia in Osu is a good omen and it gives the
elders and people of Osu great confidence that providence
and the ancestral spirits have descended on them with
manifold blessings in the years ahead.
He tells yours truly that though many people have influenced
his life in many positive ways, among them all he his role
models are King David in the Bible and Nii Nortei Kinka
Dowuona I, the first ancestor of the royal gates of Osu, a
man reputed for his courage, braveness and willingness to
die for his people.
What’s more; the enstoolment of Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI
comes in the wake of the annual Homowo festival of the Ga
state, which begins from this month with the corn planting
and harvesting. But for the people of Osu, the Homowo proper
is in August. One can only expect great and eventful Homowo
celebrations in Osu this year characterized by a regatta,
football matches, boxing, cycling races as well as cards and
draft competitions.
The Homowo festival, which has been quite low-key in Osu
lately, is poised this year to serve as a great platform for
the new chief to set his vision in motion; a visions that is
poised to be loaded with a holistic approach to the issue of
development with all citizens of Osu, at home and abroad and
of all ages and classes sufficiently captured therein.
Born as the fourth child to the late George Nii Noi
Dowuona-Owoo and the late Madam Grace Koshie Odarley
Wellington on November 7, 1963 at Adabraka in Accra, the 43
years “humble giant” had his basic education at Datus
Preparatory School between 1969 and 1976. He then continued
to Swedru Secondary School where he obtained his GCE “O”
Level in 1982.
After O level, he put his academic knowledge to work in a
number of personal business ventures until he finally landed
a job at the Social Security Bank, now SG-SSB Ltd, where he
worked as a Banker between 1987 and 1996 at the Ho,
Asankragwa and Tema branches.
Between 1996 and 1999 he was transferred to the Headquarters
in Accra as the Micro Banker in the Project Implementation
Office. Whiles there he took advantage of his presence in
Accra to obtain a Diploma in Computer Science at the
National Computer Centre (NCC – IPMC) in year 2000.
He worked in the Branch Transformation Department of the
bank from 1999 to 2003. Now he is a Senior Computer Analyst
and Banker with the same bank and has worked in the Flexcube
User Support Department from 2003 till date.
In his present capacity ate SG-SSB Ltd, he is the brain
behind all the IT software porgrammes that the bank runs. In
fact he has written a manual that guides staff in the
implementation of the software programs. His role at the
bank is so pivotal that in spite of his new role as
Paramount Chief of Osu, the bank does not want to let go of
him.
With his wealth of experience in banking he is confident
about injecting some proper financial management at the
level of the Osu Traditional Council to ensure that
resources are properly mobilized and applied for the
development of Osu.
Besides his work as a banker and computer analyst, Nii Kinka
Dowuona VI is also a commercial farmer. He owns a 10 acre
cocoa farm at Wassa Dunkwa in the Enchi District of the
Western Region.
He loves to watch movies, play with his computer and to
travel. In fact he has traveled the whole of Ghana from
Accra to Bawku and from Aflao to Elubo. He says of his
travel experience that “it has helped me to know how people
behave and to master how to manage different kinds of
people.”
Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI is a father of three, Grace Naa
Shormeh Dowuona-Owoo, George Nii Noi Dowuona-Owoo and
Richard Nii Narku Dowuona-Owoo and he is married to Mrs.
Henrieta Ama Bemah Dowuona-Owoo (Nee Osei-Tutu), a private
business woman.
Samuel Dowouna, June 6, 2007, Ghanadot
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