Gifty Anti gets hitched at ‘Royal Wedding’

It was a colourful ceremony up on the Akuapem range, by all standards. The venue, though many thought was Aburi Gardens, is an event place with a beautiful landscape overlooking the valley and shares a wall with Little Acre Hotel, which is a stone’s throw away from Hillbury Hotel.

The ambience and décor is one to die for. Colourful decorations of the tables adorned with glasses and silverware as well as rustic ornaments and other traditional gear that subtly communicated a kind of meeting up of tradition and modernity.

I have not even spoken about the fact that there were several throne-like chairs and a real throne reserved for the paramount chief of the Akwamu Traditional Area who would later grace the occasion with his royal presence and blessing.

So let me talk about it. Oyikekyire Ansah Kwao IV, chief of Adumasa, had informed his overlord Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III, the paramount chief of Akwamu Traditional Area, of his desire to marry Gifty Anti. When all preparations were done, the paramount chief sent his queenmother and other elders to go marry the woman for his sub chief.

Before the instant occasion to, if you will, wine and dine with the couple, there was the marriage ceremony itself which took place at East Legon. It was there that Gifty Anti was married to Nana Ansah Kwao and she was given the stool name Awo Dansoa.

Thus the paramount chief’s presence at the public ceremony at Aburi, with a massive retinue of royals, servants and other courtiers, was to ensure that the work for which he sent his elders had been done and also to bless the couple on their journey.

After performing his duty and blessings the newly wed, Odeneho shared pleasantries with some of the people present and then he and his colourful entourage asked leave of the couple and the gathering so we could continue with the music and dancing.

There was traditional music, there was a live band and there were some good musicians on hand. You have probably heard it all that Becca for example serenaded the couple with her new song Hwe and Nana Yaa, Superintendent Kofi Sarpong and OJ were all present to perform to Nana and Awo as well as their guests.

Oh, and the guests were carefully and selectively chosen to reflect all facets of society but we all know Gifty is, and has been, a media person for such a long time while Nana Ansah Kwao chose media when he arrived in Ghana a few years ago and so although there were politicians and many other professionals, the gathering was overrepresented by media people.

Among the huge number from the media were self-styled Chairman General and host of Kokorokoo on Peace FM, Kwami Sefa Kayi, CEO of EIB Network and host of the late afternoon show on Starr FM, Bola Ray, host of Jazz on Joy on Joy FM, Ken Addy, hosts of White Carpet and Red Carpet on Multi TV, Gladys Osei-Owiredu and Ibrahim respectively, news editor at Starr FM Mary-Ann Acolatse and her sister at GBC, host of Talking Point, Abdul Hayi Moomen of GBC, Amanda Jissih of Hitz FM, Manasseh Azure Awuni of Joy FM and many more.

I saw politicians like the elegantly looking Hackman Owusu-Agyemang in his brown political suit and Ursula Owusu, who along with a team of old girls from Mfanstiman Girls’ Secondary School assisted fellow old girl, Gifty Anti to sing their long-winding-never-ending school anthem. We had the patience to wait for them to end.

Since the announcement and the subsequent,  there have been so many comments about the two people and their event. It has been one of the most talked about issues on social media, perhaps besides Ofori Amponsah’s return to “secular music”.

Everybody has an opinion on the matter. It was as if to tell Nana Ansah Kwao who hosts a programme on Joy FM with the name That’s My Opinion  that he can have his opinion on radio and they will also have their opinion elsewhere.

Some of the comments are encouraging and congratulatory and yet, others are accusatory and critical of the couple and others who think that it is a big deal. Well, it is a free country and everyone has to have a voice on any matter.

For those who think there was too much noise about this wedding, they are right because that is their opinion. Those who think it is worth making noise about and celebrating too are right because that this their opinion. We all just have to respect one another’s opinion and not to think our opinion is superior to those of others, because it is not!

At the end of the day, the most important thing is that, Awo Dansoa has been married to Nana Ansah Kwao and they are off to their honeymoon and then live happily ever after as man and wife. Whatever the rest of us have said or will say will only be one thing: our opinion. It will not hold sway on the two or determine how they live their life going forward.

I believe that our only role in this is to be happy for and with the two and urge them on to go and enjoy their marriage. Beyond this, I am very convinced that we shall become unimportant in the whole caboodle of the just gone by “Royal Wedding”.

So, having added my voice to all that has been said over and again about the marriage that brought Accra to a standstill (not literally) and garnered a lot of tweet and posts and comments and retweets and everything else social media, let me scupper off before the editor starts screaming…again!