The President of the Ga Dangme Council, Nii Ayikoi Otoo, has fumed that, historical records confirm Tetteh Quarshie’s roots in Osu, Greater Accra Region, and not Mampong in the Eastern Region.
This correction comes after President Akufo-Addo while delivering a speech at the 67th Independence Day celebration in Koforidua on Wednesday, March 6, acknowledged Tetteh Quarshie as the mastermind behind the introduction of cocoa to Ghana, attributing his heritage to Mampong Akuapem.
“Indeed, Tetteh Quarshie, an indigene of Mampong Akuapem, here in the Eastern Region, brought back, in the late 19th century, the cocoa pod from Fernando Po, now Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea, an act which led him and others to establish our nation’s first commercial cocoa farms here in the Eastern Region”, the president stated.
In an interview with Citi News, Nii Ayikoi Oto, lamented that the public must know the truth, thus, speech writers must check their history before bringing information out.
“Let us give due where it is appropriate. We have never heard this history before and we don’t know where they are getting it from. Is it the speech writers? Even if it is the speech writers, then they should check their history and stop what they are doing”, Ayikoi Otoo urged.
He cautioned that the information is not accurate, however, a cash crop for Ghana was brought by a Ga man not Mampong.
“If it is deliberate, then they should stop because we have said that even if people don’t want to respect us, cocoa that has become a cash crop for Ghana was brought by a Ga man and now they are telling us that the man hails from Mampong. We are peeved and the earlier it is stopped, the better”, he added.
