National anthem disrespect: Mempeasem chief behind Akufo-Addo’s public dispaly of anger

On Friday, June 9, 2023, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was captured flying into a rage at a public ceremony.

The president, during a ceremony at the Green Ghana Day event held at the University of Ghana, was captured reacting furiously and instructing the Greater Accra Regional Minister to take some action.

However, a graphic.com.gh report has revealed the actual reason behind the incident.

According to the report by Graphic’s presidential correspondent, Donald Dapatem, the president’s fury was ignited by a decision by the Chief and elders of Mempeasem, who were present at the event, to refuse to stand for the national anthem.

Nii Torgbor Obodai Ampaw and his elders, contrary to protocol, refused to stand to the tune of the national anthem by the Ghana Armed Forces Band immediately after the arrival of the president.

This was after the MC for the event, Kafui Dey, had announced that the gathering stands for the anthem.

Inaudible for the most part of his rage, President Akufo-Addo is heard telling the regional minister to “go and tell him…, stand up…”

Henry Quartey, who, on the orders of the president, walked out of the frame in the video, is said to have approached Nii Torgbor and his entourage and held a brief discussion.

The aftermath of the discussion, according to the report, was followed by the brisk participation of the chief and his elders in all the events at the ceremony, including standing upright for a subsequent national anthem, which was played to mark the end of the event.

It is, however, not known what prompted the initial refusal of the chief and his elders to stand for the national anthem.

Green Ghana Day was introduced in 2021 by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as part of an aggressive national afforestation/reforestation program to restore the lost forest cover of Ghana and to contribute to the global effort to mitigate climate change.

Annually, the event has seen millions of trees planted across the country.

The 2023 edition was marked under the theme “Mobilizing for a Greener Future” and targeted the planting of some 10 million trees.