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Historian and lawyer Yaw Anokye Frimpong has touted the important role the Great Okomfo Anokye played in the establishment of the Asante Kingdom.
Speaking in an interview with GTV’s Kaufi Dey, the historian indicated that even though he doubts some of the miracles attributed to the great priest, Okomfo Anokye was a very intellectual man who helped his friend Osei Tutu cement his power as the leader of Ashantis.
He said that Okomfo Anokye’s ingenuity was what led to Kumasi becoming the capital town of the Ashanti Kingdom.
“History says that among all the wisest of all black people born to this earth, Okomfo Anokye should be counted among the foremost and we should acknowledge that. Not because he was a man of miracles or magic, that one is based on oral tradition and you cannot prove it, so we have to discount that.
“But we are talking about practical thinking. The first thing he did for the Ashanti people was this; he told them that if anybody would respect you, you would need a capital which would be accepted by all the people and be geographically located at a place that would be easier to defend and protect. So, he identified Kumawu and Kuamane (present-day Kumasi) and the result is what we see today,” he said.
He added that the second thing the great priest did was to make Osei Tutu the elder of the Ashanti by stopping the rotational leadership system that was in place.
“The second one was that he wanted his friend Osei Tutu to become the unquestionable lead… He told them (the Akan states) that on this particular Friday, everybody is supposed to come to Kumasi, the new capital and gods would reveal an unquestionable leader so that there would be no more rotation,” Anokye Frimpong said.
He said that Okomfo Anokye made all the leaders of the states bury their stools, which was the source of their power, and manufactured the golden Stool in Kumasi, making it the oldest stool and the chief in Kumasi the leader of the Ashantis.
He added that the golden stool became the soul of Ashantis and all the states were prepared to fight for it.
Watch the interview below (from 4:00)
