Okere has such a rich history but unfortunately this genuine and lovely history has been buried because of the attempt to subdue Okere under the rule of other tribes.
It is an agenda which has kept the rich history of Okere hidden from its own people many of whom rely on history books written about Akuapem which distorts the true history of Okere.
Today, and God willing, we have great sons and daughters who are willing to dig deep to unravel the truth and expose the Great Okere to the world.
Find below a very authentic and proper history of Okere which makes it one of the greatest tribes in Ghana if not the greatest.
- FIRST SETTLERS OF GHANA.
Okere as part of the Guans are the first settlers of Ghana. This is a huge history to define Okere people in a manner that should command respect from every other tribe in Ghana.
Okere people as Guans are therefore the founders and fathers of the modern State of Ghana.
If Okere people are the first to come to Ghana then this should excite every Okere citizen to gain the necessary respect from every other tribe in Ghana.
On a jovial note if some tribe in Ghana is referred to as No.9 then Okere people are proudly the No.1.
Ultimately the people of Okere own Ghana and Ghana belongs to them.
So all those of you other tribes boasting out there remember “obiaa wo ne Master.”
- OKERE ESTABLISHED THE ASANTE KINGDOM.
This history is one of the powerful reasons why Okere is extremely Great.
Before I proceed, I want to place on record that this historical fact is not intended to undermine or overreach the Asante people or any other tribe but to place on record facts that are facts and cannot be denied in the face of the truth of it.
It is also not intended to pitch Okere people against Asante people or any other tribe but to rather project Okere for what it is the same way many other tribes have been using their history to project themselves.
History tells it that one Okomfo Anokye from Okere is the one who commanded the Golden Stool from the heavens for the Ashanti people.
The Asantes themselves will tell you that the Golden Stool embodies the spirit and soul of the Asante people.
Well, everyone takes pride in the achievement of his people. A father or mother may not have taken care of his child but soon as the child grows to become successful his parents and family all take pride in his exploits and achievements.
If any son of any tribe in any part of Ghana was the one through whom a powerful tribe has been created that tribe would take full responsibility for it.
After all it takes only a few people or just one person to make things happen.
Dr Kwame Nkrumah is only one person but because of what he did all Ghanaians take credit for his work and we are all proud of him.
Even other African countries take pride in Dr. Kwame Nkrumah just because they are from Africa.
So the people of Okere must always take full credit for the work of Okomfo Anokye and realize that it is the Okere people who established the Asante Kingdom. All the power the Asantehene wields is because of the Okere people.
If there was no Okere there would be no Okomfo Anokye and if there was no Okomfo Anokye there would be no Golden Stool.
Through the powerful son of Okere, today Asantehene and his people can boast anywhere in the world and be proud of it.
The same thing applies to the people of Okere. Their son made Asante what it is today and that makes Okere very powerful.
The Okere people created the Asante Kingdom and they have to trumpet this fact all around the world and be proud of that.
No tribe in Ghana can boast of such achievement. No tribe can say their son commanded a Golden Stool from the skies except Okere.
Despite all the power of the Asante people none of their citizens could command the golden stool.
The only tribe who’s son was able to do this is from Okere and that makes Okere the greatest.
I always say that if Okere was able to produce Okomfo Anokye then Okere has what it takes to produce another Great Son.
Your history is what defines you. If your history says that one of your ancestors commanded a stool from the skies to create a powerful tribe then your tribe is indeed very powerful.
Okere is indeed Great.
- SUBDUING THE GREAT AKWAMU PEOPLE.
History is skewed but the truth will always stand.
The people of Okere brought the reign of the powerful Akwamu State to an end in Ghana. No matter how powerful the Akwamu people were, it is the Okere people who brought them to their knees.
History shows that once upon a time the people of Okere were conquered and ruled by the powerful Akwamu State.
Stories abound of the many things the Akwamu State did during its reign over the Okere people on the mountains today popularly known as Akuapem.
Well, the name Akuapem is a nomenclature and it doesn’t really mean anything especially when it comes to the indigenous people of Okere who are natives of the land.
Akuapem only refers to the numerous groups of people on the ridge but in terms of history Okere people are the natives on the land with everyone else being a settler and as a lawyer I wonder how a settler can have the same status as a native of the land.
For those who don’t know, the people of Mamfe are Larteh people. I mean they are indigenous Larteh people but unfortunately today they are unable to speak their native Larteh language.
This is explained that during the reign of the Akwamu people they forced the Larteh people living at Mamfe to speak the twi language in order to be able to send them on errands especially to the coast to trade on behalf of the Akwamu people.
In modern times this would have been regarded as a war crime because it constitutes the decimation of the identify and heritage of the people of Larteh living in Mamfe.
Over a period of time the Larteh people of Mamfe lost their entire language and came to speak the twi language when they are Okere natives of Larteh.
At some point the people of Okere said enough is enough. They had been under bondage for a long time and needed their freedom from the Akwamu people.
As a result the people of Okere organized one of the greatest alliances when it comes to war in the Gold Coast.
The Okere people were so intelligent such that even under bondage they were able to maneuver their way to secretly negotiate an alliance with the Ga people living in today Accra, the whites who were living in the castles along the coast, with the Krobos and finally the Akyem people.
Basically the Okere formed the alliance with its boundary neighbors which includes the Ga people, the Krobos, the Akyem people and added the help of the whites for the war against the Akwamu people.
Okere shares boundary with these same boundary neighbors till today except that New Juaben which has a checkered history has found its way to settle in between the boundary of the Okere people and the Akyem people.
After the war, the Akwamu people were heavily defeated and run helter skelter to Asuogyaman where they are presently located.
After this war, Akwamu State became weak and couldn’t rise again.
So when you read history and you read about the great exploits of the Akwamu people always remember that “obiaa wo ne Master.”
Okere brought Akwamu to its knees never to rise again.
Stating historical facts as they are one can never be apologetic. Because after all the Akyems will tell you they beheaded an Asante King and they are never apologetic of that.
- THE VERNACULAR NAME FOR GOD IS “ONYAME” WHICH IS OKERE LANGUAGE.
“Onyame” is okere language which means “you are bigger than me.”
To make it a simple story, I would say that when the missionaries first arrived in the Gold Coast the mountains was a preferred place to settle because of the very chilly weather over there.
As part of the missionary work they needed the local name for God.
The then Abiriw Chief was the one they always went to because they couldn’t do anything with his people without his consent.
So they had to deal with him on numerous occasions and had to seek his help for a local name for God.
The name couldn’t come easy but they both knew who they were both referring to. So anytime they went to the Chief the chief would say you are here to talk about the one who is bigger than me to wit “ONYAME.”
Eventually ONYAME became the name the whites could use to describe God and sent this name everywhere they went to do missionary work in the Gold Coast.
So today anytime you say ONYAME you are speaking Okere language.
Okere has a rich history that is powerful than most of the tribes in Ghana but most people are walking around not knowing anything about Okere.
This is because most of the history books which talk about Akuapem intentionally leave out the true story of Okere as the writers and authors are not from Okere and hardly know their history.
CONCLUSION:
The above 4 key reasons for the greatness of Okere cannot be disputed .
It is a fact that Okere as part of the Guans are the first to arrive in Ghana before any other tribe.
It is also a fact that it is Okomfo Anokye who commanded the Golden Stool from the heavens and Okomfo Anokye is from Okere which everybody knows.
If the people of Ashanti can pride themselves with the miracle of Okomfo Anokye who is not their indigene I don’t see how the people of Okere where Okomfo Anokye comes from cannot pride themselves with the miracle of their son.
Indeed if you meet any Ashanti he would tell you the day the Golden Stool gets stolen or captured is the day Asanteman will fall from Grace to Grass.
If not for Christianity everyone would have hailed Okomfo Anokye as the messiah and just as people love Israel because of Jesus Christ everyone would have loved Okere because of Okomfo Anokye.
It is also a fact that Okere people defeated the Akwamu people and sent them where they are presently.
Lastly ONYAME is Okere language and anytime you praise God and say ONYAME you are speaking Okere language. When you worship, adore and pray to God you are speaking Okere language.
Even if you pour libation and mention ONYAME you are speaking Okere language.
Okere people are the “primus inter paries.”
Article by Lawyer Isaac Minta Larbi
Okere Unity and Development Advocate.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com
