Anger in Kumasi as city authorities erect the "wrong" statue of Asantehene

General News on Friday, May 3, 2019

Source: mynewsgh.com

2019-05-03

Some residents of the metropolis of Kumasi and its environs have taken the airwaves to express their disgust at the statue of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II located in the new multi-million dollar Kejetia market.

They argue that the sculpture does not represent the true image of King Asante, adding that it has ruined the beauty of this building at the forefront of technology.

According to them, the statue represents another person and not their king who ruled the Asante kingdom for twenty years.

Their disappointment came after the unveiling of the statue Wednesday at the inauguration of the new Kejetia market in the presence of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Some radio commentators and serial callers who also called the various radio stations monitored by MyNewsGh.com wondered why the KMA officials had not done the due diligence before the unveiling of the statue. Wednesday, claiming that such a blunder was unforgivable.

They wondered about the type of works entering the design of the sculpture, accusing the sculptor and city authorities of doing poor quality work.

The statue bearing the inscription describing the image of the Assantehene dressed in rich Kente with some gold ornaments was misspelled.

Instead of "complaining" to explain his year of reign, it was wrong to "seek treatment".

They called for severe punishment for the sculptor and engineer for such embarrbadment and put the Asante kingdom in a public ridicule.

They suggested removing the sculpture and installing a new one to prevent Assantehene and government officials responsible for the New Kejetia Market from being publicly ridiculed.

The inauguration of the first phase of the Kejetia / Central Market redevelopment project in Kumasi has attracted hundreds of people, including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, Asantehene, diplomats, men and women from market, politicians.

The new market includes facilities such as police station, fire station, clinic, school, waste management system, bus terminal and more than 9,000 shops.

The market was built by the Brazilian engineering and construction company, MM. Contracta Engineering Limited).