Mr Ishmael Ashitey (right), the Greater Accra Regional Minister, congratulating Djetse Abram Kabu Akuaku III (2nd left), President of the Ada Traditional Council, at the grand durbar of the 82nd Ada Asafotufiami Festival celebrations. With them is Mr Adzoteye Lawer Akrofi (2nd right), District Chief Executive (DCE), Ada West District. Picture: EMMANUEL ASAMOAH ADDAI

Ada celebrates Asafotufiami Festival

Charles Andoh Aug - 05 - 2019 , 11:32 4 minutes read

Big Ada in the Greater Accra Region came alive last Saturday when hundreds of people from far and near, including the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, joined the chiefs and the people of the area to mark this year’s Asafotufiami Festival.

Also in attendance were Ministers of State, Members of Parliament (MPs) and tourists.

The annual festival is used to commemorate the bravery of the ancestors and founding fathers who fought hard to establish Ada.

The Warriors’ Festival involves the firing of muskets by traditional groups. The week-long festival, which began on August 1, will end on August 8, 2019.

Partnership

This year’s festival was celebrated in collaboration with the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Accra Brewery, MTN, the Twellium Industrial Company and Kasapreko Company Limited.

Last Friday, the Graphic Sports, one of the brands of the GCGL organised a boxing night at Big Ada to unearth boxing talents in the area as part of activities marking the festival.

The initiative formed part of the paper’s boxing promotion agenda of taking the sport beyond its traditional base in Accra to other communities in the country, especially during major traditional festivals.

The agenda is being supported by the boxing enthusiast, Dr Daniel Macauley of the McDan Group, with endorsement by the boxing legend, Azumah Nelson, to help unearth talents across the country.

The categories for the bouts were cadet, juvenile (amateur) and professional.

The GCGL also donated assorted drinks and stationery to the Ada Traditional Council.

Advice

Mrs Akufo-Addo, who was the guest of honour, urged parents to take a keen interest in the education of their children.

She observed that some parents neglected the education of their children, especially the girls, a situation which she described as not being the best for the future of the country.

With secondary education now free, she said, parents had no excuse not to send their children to school.

“The President is improving both access to and the quality of education in Ghana. The free senior high school is one giant step towards achieving this.

“But our concern is that some parents are not doing their best to encourage their children to stay in school, especially the girl child. My plea is for all of us to help in achieving this,” she added.

Resources

Mrs Akufo-Addo mentioned salt, aquaculture, vegetables and tourism as some of the natural resources that abound in the area, but said there could only be the accelerated development of Ada if there was the needed human capital to harness those resources.

“This calls for strategic planning and investment. It also calls for well-educated citizens, citizens who understand local and global challenges and how to proffer solutions, the reason parents must play a key role in educating their children,” she emphasised.

On road infrastructure, Mrs Akufo-Addo assured the people that the government was working towards fixing roads in the area as part of a broader agenda of addressing challenges in the roads sector in the country.

She also called for a reduction in the use of plastics to protect the environment.

“Today, we are producing a lot of waste due to urbanisation and industrialisation and that is having a lot of impact on our lives. It is our responsibility to ensure that we protect the environment. I challenge the traditional council to initiate programmes to reduce waste and reclaim lands,” she added.

Mrs Akufo-Addo donated assorted items and GH₵10,000 to the traditional council towards the celebration of the festival.
She was also installed the Development Queen of Ada, with the stool name Naana Ode Opeor.

‘Take advantage of initiatives’

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Ismael Ashitey, called on the youth of the area to take advantage of the government’s flagship programmes, such as the One district, One factory and Planting for Food and Jobs, to improve their lot.

For his part, the Paramount Chief of the Ada Traditional Area, Djetse Abram Kabu Akuaku III, appealed to the government to speed up development in the area.