Akufo-Addo Has No Right To Order Any Chief To Stand And Greet Him-Historians

A historian and private legal practitioner Yaw Anokye Frimpong has said no president in Ghana has the authority or right to instruct a chief to be on his feet before exchanging pleasantries with him.

According to the historian, neither the Constitution nor customary laws puts any burden on chiefs across the country, be it paramount or sub-chief or whatever level to honour a president by standing on their feet to greet.

Speaking on TV3’s New Day programme on Tuesday April 30, lawyer Anokye Frimpong said it get even more important when the chief is receiving the president in his palace, town.

He said in the event that the chief decides to accord the president additional respect and gets up from his seat to embrace or shake his hand, then that is the choice of that traditional leader and not a requirement.

Another historian and lecturer at the Department of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon, Kwaku Darko Ankrah in a separate interview on the same issue agreed with his senior colleague.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday news, the historian said chiefs have absolute power in their traditional areas and must be accorded the needed respect.

He said the same way these chiefs are expected to show utmost respect to the President when they visit him at the presidency, the same way the latter is required to behave when he visits chiefs as a guest.

“We are talking about deliration of authority of these two important power houses that is the president and the chief.

So what it is, is that the traditional authorities have their power in their traditional areas or jurisdictions that they rule. They constitute absolute power in that area so that if you are a guest and you are visiting a chief, you must also respect the traditional authority in the same way when he also comes to your place at the presidency, he must offer you that sort of respect”, he said.

The clarification by two stems from a recent video making the rounds where President Akufo-Addo and his bodyguard, were seen ordering some chiefs in the Oti Region during a funeral, to stand up before he shakes their hands.

At a point in the video, the president is seen pointing his index finger on his chest and directly it at the chief as if to say “are you going to sit down to shake me the president my hand”?

While doing that, the president’s bodyguard who is also a chief at Alajo in Accra was spotted using his left hand ordering the chiefs to rise before shaking hands with his boss.

The viral video which has sparked massive reactions on the internet comes on the heels of similar video in the past where the President was seen exercise less emotional intelligence towards a chief in the Greater Accra Region.

In that particular video incident last year, the President had expressed outrage after the chief failed to stand on his feet while the national anthem played at the commemorative tree planting exercise on the annual Green Ghana Day at University of Ghana.

Immediately after the anthem ended, President Akufo-Addo who appeared provoked angrily ordered the then regional minister Henry Quartey to tell the chief something which the now Interior Minister quickly left the podium to deliver.

After he left, the President could be seen furiously registering his disgust to the Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor.

Later, it came to light that the chief was unwell reason he opted to sit and that it was not a deliberate decision to disrespect the president or the national anthem.

In a related development, a similar video over the weekend emerged from the Savanah region during the one year anniversary of the Yagbonwura in Damongo which incidentally coincided with annual congress of Gonja Youth Association and the Guan Congress.

At that programme on Sunday April 28 attended by President Akufo-Addo, former President John Mahama, Minister and MP for Damongo Samuel Abu Jinapor, the president showed similar behavior that suggested that he wanted the overlord of the Gonjas to stand before greeting him.

Even though the president’s accusers have argued what is seen in the video was disrespectful to the traditional leader, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have debunked the allegation saying the president displayed no such behavior.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) deputy communications officer Malik Basintali who claims he was present when the incident occured said on TV3’s New Day programme on Tuesday that, in the past when visitors showed this level of disrespect, they slaughtered like goat.

He warned the next time the president tries that, he will not be allowed to go unquestioned.