Paramount Chief of the Odau people of Akyem Etwereso, Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi Ayebiahwe
The Paramount Chief of the Odau people of Akyem Etwereso, Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi Ayebiahwe, has urged kingmakers in the various traditional areas of the country to select royals who are ambitious and development oriented as chiefs to advance the course of their communities.
According to him, the modern system provides diverse political and socio-economic challenges that require dynamic leadership to tackle. He stressed that being a royal alone is not enough for one to ascend to a throne in modern times if the chieftaincy institution is to continue to be respected and take its pride of place in society.
“People should not occupy chieftaincy positions just because they are royals; they must be royals who have good character and have made significant economic achievements. How can we make someone who cannot take care of himself a chief, how is he going to be able to bring development to his people when he cannot develop himself?”.
Daasebre Ayebiawhe made these remarks during the celebration of the 4th Akwasidae of the year which was marked with the entire Odau Traditional Council with colourful celebrations, traditions and culture at Akyem Etwereso.
Reacting to a proposal for the appointment of a chief for one of his towns, Daasebre Ayebiawhe said “Gone are the days when entire communities used to work and farm to sustain their chiefs. These days, the citizens expect more from their chiefs and it is incumbent on us to seek to influence resource allocation to develop our people.” he continued, “It is not enough to be a custodian of tradition. Chiefs must be agents of development. We must influence our citizens to invest in property and businesses in our hometowns and villages, we must influence our wealthy friends to invest in our communities. We must influence our national government to invest in our infrastructure, We must influence NGOs to invest and make a meaningful impact in our lives. We must influence international agencies to support the development of our people.
When we do these as Chiefs, then we are prioritizing the wellbeing of our people and therefore leading to the betterment of their lives.”.
Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi Ayebiawhe bemoaned the numerous disputes surrounding chieftaincy and vowed to work hard to bring those within his traditional area to peaceful settlements.
Daasebre Ayebiawhe capitalised on the Akwasidae celebration to introduce businessman, Nana Osei Afrifa, to his people as the nominated Twafohene of Akyem Odau Traditional area. Nana Osei Afrifa, an IT Specialist and businessman is the CEO of Afrifanom Limited, a Ghanaian IT Company that specialises in Software Development. He is the brain behind Ghana’s National Digital Address System. Nana Osei Afrifa is set to take his traditional oath of office as Twafohene on Monday 7th July 2025.
Daasebre Ofosu Kwabi Ayebiawhe was enstooled as the Paramount Chief of the Odau Traditional Area in 2021. The Odau Traditional area, which falls under the Benkum Division of Akyem Abuakwa, has 12 Palanquin Town Chiefs (Apakanfuo) and 46 Village Chiefs (Adikro).
It covers parts of the Asante Akim South District, Akyemansa District, Kwaebebrim District and West Akim District. Daasebre Ayebiawhe has since constructed a multi-storey palace complex at Akyem Etwereso, the traditional capital and is embarking steadily on other projects such as Kwaneakwa tourist site, a hospital and a Police Station.
He believes that the prosperity of his reign is in alignment with the well-being of his people.
KA