This year’s Hogbetsotso Festival promises to be historic and remarkable as the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is expected to grace the popular occasion at Anloga in the Volta Region this Saturday.
The Daily Graphic reports a source close to the Manhyia Palace as having confirmed that the Asantehene will be the Special Guest at the festival.
It is also reported that the king will be accompanied by a large delegation of chiefs and courtiers from Asanteman.
Awoamefia of the Anlo State, Togbui Sri III, officially extended an invitation to Otumfuo Osei Tutu to attend this year’s Hogbetsotso festival.
In line with tradition, a delegation from the Anlo State led by Togbui Tenge Dzokoto was at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi earlier this year to officially invite Otumfuo to the festival.
The Hogbetsotso festival of the Anlos of the Volta Region is celebrated every year to commemorate the exodus of the Ewe people from the tyrannical rule of King Agorkorli in Togo.
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Otumfuo’s attendance at the Hogbetsotso will be in reciprocity of a similar gesture by Togbui Sri III as he was in Kumasi with a delegation of about 170 from his traditional area, to attend the last Akwasidae festival in 2018, which the Asantehene could not hide his joy about.
“Asantehene celebrated the last #Akwasidae for the year 2018 in grand style at Manhyia Palace with Togbui Sri III being the Special Guest of Honour,” the Manhyia Palace tweeted, as quoted by the Daily Graphic.
The Asantehene used the Akwasidae festival to emphasise the need for the Asantes and Anlos to guard their age-old relationship which traces back to their ancestors.
“My uncle, Otumfuo Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, had the extraordinary challenge of managing the full integration of Asante into what is now the united Republic of Ghana. He was always proud that statesman as he was, he was able to draw a great deal from the Awoamefia’s great uncle, Togbui Sri I, and from some of the eminent sons of the Anlo State.
“His (Otumfuo Osei Agyeman Prempeh’s) personal physician was Dr R.E.G. Amraoti, one of the finest physicians and scientists of his time; and his lawyer was the renowned B.E.A. Tamakloe, who was to become the lawyer of Asanteman during the very difficult years before independence,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu recounted.
He indicated that his love for the Asante-Anlo relationship is evident in the allocation of a suburb in Kumasi known as Anloga, and the allocation of some positions in the Asante Kingdom to Anlos.
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