The Council of Zongo Chiefs yesterday inducted Chief Hamza Peregrino-Brimah VIII as its member at the Abossey Okai Central Mosque in Accra.
Chief Brimah VIII, the recently installed Greater Accra Regional Yoruba chief, was also presented with a certificate and identification of membership by the President of the Council Chief Abdul Kadir Tahiru, who is also the Chief of the Dagomba community in the Greater Accra Region.
He admonished the chief to be patient and consider his position as God-given, adding that God installs those He wants as chiefs and so those who find themselves in such positions should exercise patience in the management of their affairs.
“Chieftainship or leadership is the robe of God and so those who are bestowed with such positions should be fair and listen to both sides of cases brought before them,’ he admonished the new member of the Council.
Continuing, he charged him to invite those who opposed his installation.
Chief Brimah VIII, he went on, is the man the Yorubas have chosen as their chief and so the Council has gone ahead to render him the recognition as such.
He charged Yorubas in the Greater Accra Region to support the new chief to discharge his functions well so success can be chalked.
“Whoever respects chiefs and leaders is showing reverence to God because it is he who appointed them. Whoever disrespects leaders is showing disrespecting to God, he concluded.
Earlier, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Council, who is also the Wangara Chief of the Ayawaso area of Accra, expressed delight at the membership of the Yoruba chief, saying “we are proud of the rich history of the Brimah family from which chiefs of the ethnic grouping are chosen.’
Chief Brimah I is the first Yoruba Chief in the Gold Coast colony, having migrated from Ilorin in today’s Kwara State of Nigeria to the then Gold Coast in the 1800s.
The new chief is the eighth to occupy the throne.
His coronation earlier attracted people from all walks of life, one of the dignitaries being the new Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador Michael Olufemi Abikoye.
The new chief, who performed this year’s Hajj, promised to be fair and respect all and sundry, regardless of whether they supported him or not and especially allowing the fear of God to be the cornerstone of his administration.
By A.R. Gomda