Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Of Criminality and Cheiftancy: The Rise and Rise of Land-Guardism.

In the beginning of human history, (from a Christian perspective), God created the earth ; man thereafter and made a liberal declaration that man should "go and have dominion over the earth". This dominion, from a legal spectacle, included the right to live on and own the very earth he (man) was crafted on.




The "Adamic principle" of dominion and land entitlement later transmogrified into the " "Feudal Priciple" where the rich and powerful had the entitlemants to the lands.




This means that the early 15th centuries where the classist era were land entitlements were attributed and apportioned to the elite few.




The the 18th and 19th Centuries changed the cause of land entitlement entitlement when chieftancy emerged.It was in this wake that our beloved country, Ghana, started to recent times, aligning prestige to Chiefs of clans and ethnic groups.




"Custodians of the Land", they are often termed in the cheiftancy parlance. Authorities they are and remain on matters of land ownership. Ghana's legislative body have made strides in churning out logical legislative stipulations which espouse on who the powers of land ownership is vested on - The Traditional Chiefs.




Interestingly enough, never a day passes by , that I don't get to witness or read the sheeer monstrousities taking place all over regional capitals in the name of " Land Guardism". Could it be that Cheiftancy and all its powersp; they traditional or legislative is, with a sense of impunty, obstructing the free will of the poor widow in Afienye to at least own for herself and family of eight a piece of land? I believe it isn't. The problem lies with the "Macho Men" who in the name of chieftancy authority scare land owners away frm their lands with cutlasses, machettes and weapons of mortal destruction in the pretext of protectng stool lands.




Go check out hte records at the Ministry in charge of Cheiftancy and Culture; go check out breaking nws stories of innocent Ghanaians lynched to death over land disputes; in fact you may want to see the sheer fear in the eyes of prospective land owners then you will find out how brutal and inhumane the presence and domination of criminal gangs who pose as languards are, not leaving the negative impression rendered on Cheiftancy and Landownership in Ghana.




If possesing a land through legal means was just by Cheiftancy legislations; if the basis on which stool lands were and are the preserved is by the lawand nothing but the law, what then happened to land entitlement disputes, what happened to land guardism and its accomplices?




The picture is quiet clear for all to see.

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