Apesokubi: Akposso descendants cannot claim ownership of our area – Paramount chief

The paramount chief of the Apesokubi Traditional Area in the Biakoye district of the Oti region, Okogyeaman Asiedu Koram II, has described as false and baseless claims by some immigrants of Akposso that they are the rightful owners of the area.

According to the chief, this is part of “an ongoing treacherous project known as the “Akposo Project” by the descendants of the Akposso immigrants in Apesokubi Traditional Area to extend the erstwhile Akposso traditional state in French Togoland/Republic of Togo into British Togoland/Republic of Ghana.”

He stated that the ancestors of the Akposso immigrants, who were from Togo, settled briefly in Ghana in the area during the early 90s as farm workers for the Apesokubi people, and due to procreation, they gave birth to those who today claim that they are the rightful owners of Apesokubi.

Okogyeaman Koram II said this in a press conference on June 19, 2024, to respond to an earlier press conference by some descendants of Akposso contending they were being unduly wiped off from the country’s map.

He said that the people of Apesokubi are Akans, who have inhabited the area for over three hundred years and have acquired the area through conquest, settlement, warfare, court litigation, and peaceful negotiations with neighbouring traditional states.

“All available historical evidence establishes clearly and conclusively that the indigenous inhabitants of Apesokubi/Apesokubi Traditional Area are Akans, whose forebears acquired the area through conquest and settled on it, and have since remained in uninterrupted and effective possession of the lands for more than three hundred years now through warfare, court litigation, official state and institutional/departmental inquiry proceedings, and officially recorded peacefully negotiated settlements with adjoining neighbouring traditional states and areas.”

The paramount chief refuted other claims of the Akposso immigrants that the area is called Akposso-Kubi and not Apesokubi and that they are the rightful chiefs and traditional authorities in the area.

He explained that following the defeat of Germany in the first world war, the Akposso traditional state political district in German Togoland was partitioned into two between France and Britain, thereby placing one half in the French Togoland Republic of Togo and the other half in the British Togoland Republic of Ghana.

According to Okogyeaman Koram II, some key facts “individually and collectively” expose the claims of the immigrants as dishonest fabrication.

He noted that the German Map of 1905 (The Grunner Map of Togo) clearly shows that Apesokubi Traditional Area is one part and Akposso on the other part are located in British Togoland/Republic of Ghana and French Togoland/Republic of Togo, respectively.

He indicated that the two areas, which are more than 80 km apart, share no boundary, and there are intervening towns, including Asatu, Kadjebi, Ahamansu, Dodi Papaase, Dapaa, Amenyo, Pampamwie, Jinjiso, and Dodo Fie, all located in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region of Ghana.

“There is no connection or relationship between the two names Apesokubi and Akposso, let alone the falsified name “Akposo-Kubi,” which does not exist on any colonial or Ghana map,” he said.

The Apesokubi paramount chief asserted that there is no certified true copy of the extract from the registry of the EP Church Headquarters, Ho, showing the formal acquisition by the Breman Mission of Germany of land from the indigenous Akans of Apesokubi in 1913 for the planting of churches.

He also said that the Kabo River and Asukawkaw River Forest Reserves Enquiry Proceedings 1929 to 1954 on Boundary Disputes arising between Apesokubi stool and its Akan neighbours of Worawora stool and Asatu stool determined the indigenous Akans on Apesokubi as the true owners of the lands of Apesokubi Traditional area, covering towns and villages such as Apesokubi, Kabosreso (Kaboso), Okrabe, Asukawkaw, Okokrowa, and Okanease, among others, whose names can be found on many authentic colonial and Ghana maps.

He asked the Akposso immigrants about their whereabouts when Apesokubi leaders were involved in land transfers, court litigation, settlement negotiations, and agreements to determine the boundaries of the Apesokubi Traditional Area with their immediate neighbours, including Asatu and Worawora.

Okogyeaman Koram II observed that due to the hospitable nature of the Apesokubi people, the traditional area became and is still a home for people from diverse ethnic groups who live in harmony, except for the Akpossos, who are always fomenting trouble and insecurity.

He revealed that among the various ethnic groups who serve under the Apesokubi Stool through their respective headmen are the Ewes (Ghana Ewes and Togo Ewes), Kotokplis, Basares, Kabee, and Atakpame.

Okogyeaman Koram II further stated that the Akpossos, who arrived without black stool, were only accepted by landlords as farm help and hence could not assume chieftaincy positions in the Apesokubi.

“It is important to note that when the Akpossos arrived in the Apesokubi Traditional area, they did not come along with any black stool, and as a result of that, they willingly accepted to be distributed among families by landlords who readily accepted them to serve as their farm help,” he said.

“All pieces of legislation regarding membership in the Volta Regional House of Chiefs have always mentioned Apesokubi as a member, just like its adjoining traditional areas, Worawora, Bowiri, Lolobi, and Akpafu. Membership of the newly created Oti Regional House of Chiefs, made up of twenty-six paramount chiefs, also includes the paramount chief of Apesokubi, a name that is consistent with well-established and long-established usage and practice,” he added.

He said they are ever ready to live in peace and harmony with the Akposso people if only they would stop recognising themselves as the owners of the Apesokubi Traditional Area while reaffirming the name of the area as Apesokubi, not Akposso-kubi.