‘Hand over Castle to Osu Traditional Council’
The people of Osu have called on the government to hand over the Osu Castle to the Osu Traditional Council, following the relocation of the seat of government to the Flagstaff House.
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They contended that the Castle which had been the seat of government, should have been a tourist attraction and thus rake in revenue for the people of Osu.
Leading the call is the Paramount Chief of the Osu Traditional Council, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, who described the call as “very prudent”, particularly so as he asserted that there was not any significant tourist facility in Accra.
Nii Dowuona VI said the Osu Castle had a lot of history that could be exploited for revenue generation for the benefit of both the people of Osu and the country.
In any case, he said, the seat of government had been relocated to the Flagstaff House which is sited on a piece of land that also belonged to the people of Osu and so it would only be fair if the Castle was given to the people of Osu.
Besides, he said the Castle sat in the heart of the traditional system of the people of Osu as it contained a number of deities of the traditional area.
The main shrine of the people of Osu, he said was located in the Castle and that even though the traditional authorities were granted permission to perform rites whenever necessary, since it no longer served as the seat of government, the Castle must be given to the traditional area to be managed in partnership with the government.
Collaboration
Nii Dowuona VI, accordingly called for a collaboration between the Osu Traditional Council and the Ministry of Tourism and the initiation of processes for transforming the Osu Castle into a tourism facility.
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Naa Okailey Souza, a 67-year old resident of Osu-Alata, in support of the Paramount Chief’s call, said the Cape Coast Castle had for a long time been a tourist attraction from which the indigenes had derived much benefits.
She said the Osu people, to the contrary, had not derived any benefits from the Castle in terms of proceeds from tourism because it was used as the seat of government.
“So if now the seat of government has been relocated, the Castle should be kindly given to the traditional council so that we can make good use of it,” she said.
Lack of access to the Castle
Others who spoke to the Daily Graphic complained that the security regiment at the Castle makes it inaccessible to the ordinary people of Osu.
They said as a result, some adult natives, born and bred in the traditional area, had never seen the inside of the castle.
“It is time for us to benefit from our heritage,” a rather irritated 39-year-old Nii Osah retorted.
The Osu Castle, also known as Fort Christiansborg or simply the Castle, is located at Osu in Accra, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea.
Many international dignitaries have visited the Castle, including U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
Writer’s email: victor.kwawukume@graphic.com.gh