King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II of the Ashanti has described the Kingdom of Eswatini as a symbol of African Monarchical rule.
This he said when delivering his speech at the Jubilee Hall, Manhyia Palace on Friday during a State banquet he hosted in honour of His Majesty King Mswati III, who was on a four-day state visit to Ghana on the invitation of President Dr. John Dramani Mahama.
“Your Majesty, the timing of your State visit could not have been more significant. You have come at a time of unprecedented global tension, creating a state of uncertainty never experienced in history. In this uncertain world, the fate of Africa has become even more precarious.
“Whatever the eventual outcome of the new geo-political contests at play, the outlook for Africa cannot be bright. The one thing we can be certain about is that Africa cannot proceed the way she has done over the past half century of our post-colonial existence. So, by your visit, destiny has brought us together, Ghana, the standard bearer of African liberation, and Eswatini symbol of African Monarchical rule, to work together, think together and to explore how Africa faces the challenge of turning this moment into an opportunity to carve new pathway to a greater future,” King Osei Tutu II said.
He said the challenge was great but the opportunity was greater. The king said it was only in the middle of the last century that Africa confronted the challenge of breaking free from the yoke of colonialism.
“That challenge was successfully accomplished barely six decades ago. But political independence has not delivered the prosperity our people deserve and we have been kept on the margins of society.
“The circumstances of the moment present us with the challenge of launching a new struggle as momentous as the struggle for political independence. It is a struggle to give meaning to our political independence by breaking free from the yoke of poverty and ignorance and lifting our beloved continent onto a new pedestal of prosperity and happiness for our people. It is not a struggle for the rhetories of the past and not a struggle for the ideologues,” he said.
King Osei Tutu II said theirs is a struggle that can only be won in the farm lands of the continent, in the industrial factories of every state, in waterways and mine fields.
“It is only by our success in managing the natural resources gifted to us by our creator that we can earn for ourselves a justifiable place at the table where the true fate of society is determined.
“For let there be no doubt in our minds that the age of ideology is dead and we need to put behind us the era of whining and moral outrage over our past.
“The new world on the horizon is a world in which power flows out of the vault of the banks and out of the factory gate. There is no room at the inn for the unproductive. We may still hold on to the belief that all men are created equal but in the world on the horizon, all nations are not equal.
Equality is now a function of the balance sheet, National sovereignty is subsumed by the power of the economy. So, either we begin to focus and build our own Heaven or we perish in our own hell,” the king said.
He described the visit by His Majesty the King as one of the happiest moments of their time, to be sharing the company of a unique guest, a towering statesman who is not just a shining leader of his people but a great symbol of Africa’s cultural authenticity.
“His Majesty King Mswati III, Head of State and King of Eswatini is on a State visit to Ghana at the invitation of the President of the Republic, Dr. John Draman Mahama, and we have to thank the president, for giving us the rare privilege of hosting this heroic visitor.
“It has allowed us the opportunity to borrow from a famous saying from the past to ‘retaliate’ for the exceptional hospitality once accorded us by His Majesty in his majestic Kingdom.
“In 2015, he invited us to be his guests of honour at the nation’s famous Reed Dance ceremony. His Majesty and the entire nation gave our royal delegation a most memorable time over the five days of our visit,” the King acknowledged.
Eswatini Observer Press Reader
