By Prof. Damasus Tuurosong 
When Truth is enthroned, Lies cannot serve as his linguist.
Truth and honesty are increasingly scarce virtues, especially in Ghanaian politics. Little wonder that there exists a deep trust deficit between politicians and the people. Therefore, when one of Ghana’s most celebrated statesmen is crowned as a Chief Truth-Teller, it becomes an event of profound significance.
April 25, 2026 was the date. The venue was Puromuni, the ancestral shrine of Sankana, an enlightened community in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region. Aged kingmakers presided over the sacred rites for the enskinment of Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin. Later that day, amid pomp and pageantry, he was outdoored to deafening cheers and jubilant celebrations during the climax of the Kalibi Ganlaa Festival of the people of Sankana. Kalibi commemorates the victory of the gallant Sankana warriors over notorious slave raiders, particularly those led by Samori Touré and Babatu Sanka, also known as Babatu Zongo or Babatu Zato.
As if to preserve the sanctity of the occasion, the organizers carefully selected the dignitaries who graced the festival, inviting personalities whose public lives symbolize the virtuous leadership Africa desperately yearns for. The Special Guest of Honour was Her Excellency the Vice President, Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, while the keynote address was delivered by PLO Lumumba — renowned scholar, Pan-Africanist, and advocate for ethical leadership. The Master of Ceremonies, Bernard Anbataayela Mornah, is himself a maverick politician and traditional leader widely acknowledged for his blunt honesty and fearless outspokenness.
The choice of dignitaries conveyed a powerful message: the King of Truth must, at his coronation, be flanked by elders who embody integrity and dignity. Otherwise, his crown risks contamination by the filth of gutter politics.
This was by no means Rt. Hon. Bagbin’s first traditional honour. In 2022, the Chiefs and people of the Awudome Traditional Area in the Volta Region conferred on him the title Togbe Nutefeworla Awudome I — a leader of integrity and uncommon impartiality. In 2023, the Chiefs and people of Suma-Ahenkro in the Bono Region enstooled him as Adasuokohene — “the deity with a peaceful disposition in resisting external aggression.” In 2024, the Takpo Traditional Area honoured him with the title Tinmaali-Naa (Chief of Development), while the Chiefs and people of the Wala Traditional Area decorated him as Dakagli Naa — chief over the land where spiritual waters flow as sustenance for its inhabitants. Thus, chieftaincy honours are not novelties to Ghana’s chief legislator. Yet, the enskinment by the Sankana Traditional Council stands uniquely apart. Perhaps, for the first time in Ghana’s political history, a statesman was publicly honoured principally for his truthfulness and candour.
His skin name itself speaks volumes: Yelminni Naa Yelkaabaare Kunkpewuo I — literally, “Chief of Truth Whose Word Prevails, and Who Never Enters the Goatskin Bag.” In essence, he is recognized as a credible and fearless leader whose position on national issues is consistently vindicated and who cannot be silenced or manipulated.
Who doubts the frog that emerges from the pond to declare that the crocodile — the beast that terrifies even fighter bulls — has only one eye? After all, the frog is the crocodile’s bed mate.
So, when the people of Sankana proclaim to the world that Alban Bagbin is honest and straightforward, who dares dispute them? Is he not their flesh and blood, son of their daughter, the late Magdaline Ba-emata Bagunno? The sages say no one knows a child better than its mother.
Besides, for more than a quarter of a century, Bagbin served as Member of Parliament for the Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency. During those years, the people experienced a politician who would not use empty promises to secure votes, or market himself through ceremonial commissioning of basic infrastructure. Neither would he concoct stories to win their mandate. Rather, his leadership delivered tangible benefits that positively impacted the lives of his constituents.
Standing for truth, however, requires grit and guts. The mean and mighty who detest the truth will cut the tongue that utters it. Knowing that bravery flows from his genes (were his maternal forefathers not among the warriors who defeated the slave raiders?), the Sankana kingmakers named him Kunkpewuo – one who cannot be silenced. For he is never one to shy away from the truth. Has Bagbin not consistently demonstrated a willingness to speak truth to power? Has Yelminni Naa Yelkaabaare Kunkpewuo I, not openly criticized wrongdoing under Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor, Nana Akufo-Addo, and even leaders within his own political tradition, including Jerry John Rawlings, John Evans Atta Mills, and John Dramani Mahama?
Truth stands tall across generations, unscathed by the storms of time. It is the cork that can never be permanently submerged. Lies, on the other hand, are spineless; time inevitably exposes them. That is why, when Truth is enskinned as Chief, he never settles for Lies as his spokesman.
Johannes Jafo Akunatu