Paramount Chief & President of Avenor Traditional Area, Member of Volta Regional & National House of Chiefs, who’s redefining the relevance & obligations of modern traditional leadership with dynamism, pragmatism & more
The Ghanaian society, as part of the African society, has unwavering and impeccable cultural heritage, well-preserved generational pride and identity which is demonstrated and reflected in our value systems, beliefs and practices.
Customary cultural heritage
Customary practice and usage, including the chieftaincy institution, is one such cultural heritage which has survived the test of time and marked us out as Africans.
African ethnic and tribal groups have and practice two strong well-defined cultural inheritance practice of either matrilineal or patrilineal.
Chieftaincy
Chieftaincy is an important part of African cultural and customary practice and usage.
Avenor
The Avenors are part of the Ewe ethnic group of Ghana, Togo, Benin and elsewhere, and therefore, practice patrilineal inheritance.
The Avenor ancestry were decorated hunters and farmers.
Avenorpeme is the traditional capital and the paramountcy of the Avenors.
They were the original settlers and custodians of present day Akatsi South Municipality and Akatsi North District. The group has grown and expanded; as such, avenor settlements are found in Anloga District, Keta Municipality, Ketu North Municipality, Agotime –Ziope District, among other areas.
Togbe Dorglo Anumah VI
Togbe Dorglo Anumah VI was selected and enstooled as the Paramount Chief and President of the Avenor Traditional Council on 12th June, 2011. The traditional area comprises the entire Akatsi South Municipality and parts of the Akatsi North District.
Togbe Dorglo, since his enstoolment, has brought renewed hope, revival and fresh impetus to bear in chieftaincy in Avenor, Volta and beyond.
He is a member of both the Volta Regional House of Chiefs (VRHCs) and the National House of Chiefs (NHCs).
Profile
The Avenor Overlord, Togbe Dorglo Anumah VI, holds Master of Science degree (MSc) in International Cooperation, Finance and Development from the School of Financial, Cooperation and Development (SFIDE) of the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Coastal Development Authority, and a member of the Audit Committee of the Ho Teaching Hospital, Ho. He is the Life Patron of Akatsi All Stars FC – a division one football club.
Commendable legacies
His achievements on the stool over the past twelve years include the acquisition of Traditional Council Life Patron of Akatsi All Stars status for the Avenor Traditional Area. He was also instrumental in the elevation of the erstwhile Aktasi South District into Akatsi South Municipality.
He sponsored and ensured drilling of over fifty (50) boreholes in the Avenor Traditional Area in partnership with Stars FC, a division one Football Club (FC).
He also collaborated with The Sky Is My Limit, a Ghanaian-Canadian non-governmental organisation (NGO), to establish a palm plantation at Dzogadze with over two thousand palm trees, with a target to plant one million trees with the help of Reforestation and Water Bodies Protection Committee at the Avenor Traditional Council over a period of 5 years.
Togbe Dorglo, moreover, facilitated the establishment of Kekeli Corporative, a not-for-profit micro-lending scheme, which is giving soft loans to mainly female farmers and traders to assist the needy. He has also set aside four acres of land to construct a multi-purpose modern palace for Avenor Traditional Council, which project is progressing steadily.
Development Committee
Togbe Dorglo Anumah VI considers the inauguration of a 45-member Development Committee – with members of varying backgrounds – as strategic vehicle for accelerated socio-economic stature and transformation of Avenor Traditional Area.
The committee has prioritised and taken keen interest in education in Avenor and beyond.
Togbe Dorglo Anumah VI has keen interest in sports, education of the girl-child, credit facilities to the vulnerable in society, and women empowerment. He is a staunch advocate for the unification of the African continent.
Political-traditional collaboration
Leadership and development analysts and experts are impressed, and highly commend the level of collaboration and cooperation between the Avenor Traditional Council (ATC) and the Akatsi South Municipal Assembly (ASMA) under the leadership of Togbe Dorglo Anumah IV and Mr. Martin Kofitse Nyahe as Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) – two leaders whose immediate and core preoccupation is centred on accelerated and rapid socio-economic transformation of the area.
Let’s uphold our national identity – NCC
The National Commission on Culture (NCC) has called on all and sundry to make usage and patronage of cultural and traditional textiles, clothing and accessories – including fugu, batik-tie and dye, kente, oheneba, beads and others – an integral part of everyday life to promote our cultural identity as proud Ghanaians, especially as we celebrate Ghana Month this March, the month of our national independence anniversary, which has been designated as ‘Wear Ghana Festival’.
A statement to the press in Accra by the NCC and copied to the Business and Financial Times tourism desk reminded Ghanaians to be mindful of the trappings of globalisation in order to protect and preserve our Ghanaian identity and culture among the comity of countries in the world. The statement, which was signed by Madam Janet Edna Nyame, Executive Director – NCC, said: “As the world becomes increasingly globalised, it is more important now more than ever to celebrate and preserve our cultural traditions and uphold the integrity and memory of cultures, particularly the Ghanaian culture. One way to do this is by making conscious efforts in promoting our Ghanaian wear and their accessories. Socio-cultural and economic researchers and scholars have indicated that clothing and fashion are key elements of a people’s culture that reflect on the people’s history, customs, belief systems, knowledge systems, communication, and their general way of life as well as their natural resources. In recent times, special adornments that characterise important occasions, such as weddings, naming ceremonies, festivals and other religious ceremonies, are specifically made to communicate to audiences. From kente to fugu, to batik-tie and dye with unique accessories made from beads and other local materials, individuals wear attires to reflect moods, expressions and wishes”. The Executive Director, in the statement, additionally said: “For their necessity to survival and ethics of human relations, the clothing and fashion industry have become one of the leading contributors to economic growth of many countries across the globe. It is therefore critical that we pay attention to the needs of the clothing industry in Ghana. It must not be lost on us that one of the leading causes of the economic downturns we are facing as a country is excess importation of used clothing and other fabrics into the country. The question is, why are we not patronising our own?”.
Wear Ghana Festival
The National Commission on Culture (NCC), in 2017, instituted and designated March – the month of our independence – as Wear Ghana Festival. It uses the month to create advocacy and campaign for the patronage and promotion of made-in-Ghana goods, products, clothing, fashion and accessories and fabrics, indigenous alternative and herbal medicine, as this has a great potential to create jobs to strengthen and boost the Ghanaian economy since our domestic and indigenous resources are as capable and capacity as the foreign competitors.
The commission bemoaned increasing western influence on our way of dressing and our choices of design due to social media and television. The advent of “telenovelas on some of the television networks in the country is currently dictating the fashion taste of many Ghanaians, especially the young people, which has further increased the desire for foreign goods and materials”.
The commission, therefore, appealed and urged Ghanaians “as a people, to take conscious measures to deal with this problem, for it has dire consequences on our society”.
Wear Ghana 2023
According to NCC, the commission and its sixteen (16) regional centres of National Commission on Culture would use cooking competitions, food bazaars, debates, exhibitions, and others to celebrate Wear Ghana Festival 2023 across all corners of the country.
NCC appealed to all “to wear Ghana, eat Ghana, feel Ghana and experience Ghana; and this will help alleviate poverty, create wealth, and boost our economy toward national development”.
The commission is organising Wear Ghana 2023 under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and other collaborators.
(Middle) President Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, flanked by Mr. Korbla Agbeli Gbedemah (left) – Ghana’s first Minister of Finance, and another comrade at the Old Polo Grounds on the momentous 6th March, 1957 as brand ambassadors of Fugu from northern Ghana
The Writer is Tourism Historian, Brands & Branding, Communication & Marketing Consultant, Practitioner, Analyst, Advocate & Activist
Email: [email protected]
