Agogo, Ghana

Agogo
Town
Agogo

Location of Agogo within Ashanti

Agogo

Location of Agogo in Ghana

Coordinates: 6°48′0″N 1°5′0″W / 6.80000°N 1.08333°W / 6.80000; -1.08333Coordinates: 6°48′0″N 1°5′0″W / 6.80000°N 1.08333°W / 6.80000; -1.08333
Sovereign state  Ghana
Region Ashanti
Municipality Asante Akim Municipal
Elevation[1] 396 m (1,299 ft)
Population (2013)
 • Total 36,797
 • Ethnicity Ashanti people
 • Demonym Agogoan
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time
 • Summer (DST) GMT (UTC)

Agogo is a town in the Asante Akim North Municipal District of the Ashanti Region of Ghana.[2] Agogo is approximately 80 kilometers east of Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, and had a population of 28,271 in the 2000 census. Computer projections estimate that the 2007 population was 32,859.

History

Around the year 1500, the people of the Aduana clan in Asantemanso, who were originally from Esumegya, dispersed to settle in different parts of the country. One group settled at Nyanawase under Ansa Sasraku, but moved again after a series of wars with the Ashantis and the Gas. In the end they settled in Akwamu.

In or around the year 1600, three chiefs of the Aduana clan: Ofori Krobon of Agogo, Ntori Nimpa of Kwaman, and Effa Kai of Kumawu left Akwamu and joined forces under the command of Ofori Krobon of Agogo to fight and defeat Ataara Finam. He was the supreme ruler of the Afram plains at that time. This war lasted for almost three years. All the lands controlled by the vanquished Ataara Finam were annexed to the three stools who were independent of each other. Because of this annexation, the three stools - Agogo, Kumawu and Kwaman - all controlled some of the most extensive land possessions in the Ashanti Union. Their lands extended to Akwamu, the Volta Region, Brong Ahafo and to parts of the Northern Region.

Meanwhile, the people of Agogo settled in Santenso, which is where the three-year war with Ataara Finam came to an end. Like all other Asante states, the people of Agogo had remained an independent entity until the need to form a union of states became apparent. The people of Agogo did directly participate in the Denkyira war in 1698, which concluded in the liberation of Asanteman from Denkyira under Ashanti King Asantehene Osei Tutu I. However, they did contribute men and materials to support the Ashanti forces.

Geography

Agogo is located at 6.80004 (latitude in decimal degrees), -1.08193 (longitude in decimal degrees) at an elevation/altitude of 396 meters. The average elevation of Agogo in Asante Akim North Municipal is 396 meters.

Culture

Agogo celebrates the Akogya Siakwan Festival, which is a festival of peace, thanksgiving, love and harmony among the communities, in recognition of their primordial selves. The people of Agogo have a strong sense of identity and associate the festival with their native religion. Legend tells that in such times the people, recognizing the part played by their gods, gave thanks to Akogya. Akogya is the incarnation of all the gods in Agogo, which include Afram, Anokye, Tano Kofi, and Ntiwa Tano. The Shrine to Akogya is both a river and a lake and is situated strategically at the outskirts of the traditional capital, Agogo. In combination with the gods of rivers, mountains, and the unexplained, the shrine is believed to protect the community from attacks of all kinds and to bring food, prosperity and good health.

Government

Agogo is the capital of the Asante-Akim North District Assembly (AANDA) and is in the Asante-Akim North parliamentary constituency in Ashanti Region. Agogo is represented by Hon. Kwadwo Baah-Agyemang[3] as its Member of Parliament (MP). Baah-Agyemang has held this parliamentary position since January 7, 2013 and succeeded Hon. Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, formerly Minister of Finance for the Republic of Ghana.

Nana Kwame Akuoko Sarpong is the paramount chief or Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area.[4]

Agriculture

Farming is the main economic activity in Agogo, contributing about 70% of the town's economic output.

Education

Agogo has a number of schools, including Junior High Schools, Senior Secondary Schools, and Tertiary Institutions.

Junior high schools

Senior high schools

Tertiary institutions

Tourism

The town is noted for its uniquely hilly landscape, earning it the name "Naturally Walled Town." Agogo also boasts of waterfalls at Hwidiem and Onyemso.

Institutions

Agogo's Presbyterian Hospital, established 21 March 1931, is the oldest mission hospital in Ashanti and Ghana. Its Ophthalmology program serves patients from Ashanti, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and Togo.[5]

There is a collaboration with the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) in Kumasi, which is part of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi and associated with the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany.

The Asante-Akyem campus of Presbyterian University College is in Agogo, with a health and medical sciences department affiliated with the hospital.[6]

Agogo and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in partnership with Fort Lauderdale-based Citrix Systems and Sister Cities International, launched the prototype Cyber Sister Cities (CSC) program.[7]

Notable people

Frank Osei formal Asante kotoko player

Sister city

Agogo has a sister city:[11]

Sovereign state City State Date
United States United States
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Florida 2001 [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Agogo, Ghana page". Falling Rain Genomics. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  2. ↑ "Asante Akim Central Municipal".
  3. ↑ "Hon. Agyemang Kwadwo Baah". Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. ↑ https://www.modernghana.com/news/365498/1/agogo-residents-want-nana-akuoko-sarpong-destooled.html
  5. ↑ "Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Ghana". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 15 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  6. ↑ "Presbyterian University College". Presbyterian University College Foundation. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  7. ↑ "Citrix Systems, Inc. to be honored at Sister Cities International Gala" (Press release). Sister Cities International. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  8. 1 2 http://www.ghanabase.com/oforiamponsah/biography.asp
  9. ↑ http://www.ghanabase.com/news/2007/1173.asp
  10. ↑ "Okuraseni Samuel Loses Father". 23 November 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Online Directory Ghana, Africa". Sister Cities International. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  12. ↑ "2001 Sister City/Sister State Directory" (PDF). Florida Department of State. Retrieved 2015-08-04.

External links

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