Sankofaonline Editorial Board: September 9, 2026
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, recently delivered a message that struck at the very heart of leadership, accountability, and unity across the global diaspora. Speaking with the unyielding authority of the Golden Stool, he issued a direct, uncompromising rebuke: “None of you brought a stool from Ghana, if your term ends, vacate the stool and allow another to serve. Why are you fighting? Stop the fighting.” His words were not ceremonial poetry. They were a warning, a correction, and a call to order.
Yet the reality confronting Ghanaian and African diaspora associations across North America and Europe today is far more troubling than disputes over ceremonial lineage. The deeper threat to our community cohesion is the blatant, shameless refusal of elected officers to step down when their terms expire, and their persistent refusal to provide transparent financial accounting to the very members who entrusted them with leadership. These behaviors have become the poison slowly weakening our organizations from within.
When members ask simple, legitimate questions such as “Where are the financial statements?” or “When is the next election?”, what should be routine civic engagement suddenly becomes a battlefield. Leaders who once campaigned on service and unity begin treating democratic associations as private estates. They fabricate excuses, postpone general meetings repeatedly, amend constitutions quietly, and scheme relentlessly behind closed doors, all to cling to seats that were never meant to be theirs permanently.
Let us say it plainly and without hesitation: this is low‑grade dictatorship in the diaspora.
It is a disgrace that individuals who left the continent to live in established democracies come to the West only to replicate the same corrupt, unaccountable governance that holds our homeland back. We watch once vibrant community associations slowly rot from within. We watch young, energetic, professional members walk away in frustration, leaving these groups as hollow shells controlled by a tiny clique of self‑appointed, lifelong executives, chiefs or queens.
Why the desperation to cling to power? Why destroy the very fabric of our communities simply to sit at the high table at funerals, wave at festivals, or control bank accounts that no one else is allowed to audit? Is it ego, is it prestige, or is it fear of what a proper financial audit will reveal once a new executive takes over?
When Otumfuo asked, “Why fight and destroy one another? Why carry hatred or conflict?”, he was calling out the arrogance that places personal ambition above collective progress. A leadership seat in a diaspora association is a temporary trust, not an inheritance.
Sankofaonline stands firmly with the truth: the era of business‑as‑usual is over. We declare, without hesitation, that complacency has no place in our civic, cultural, or community life. Those who rise to confront entrenched systems, those who challenge the comfort of silence, and those who refuse to bow to the old order will find in us an unflinching ally.
We will fight with all who fight for justice , not as distant observers, but as committed partners in the struggle for accountability, transparency, and dignity. We will stand beside every voice that resists the machinery of business‑as‑usual, lending our platform, our energy, and our editorial might to amplify their cause.
Sankofaonline will be there , unwavering, unbending, and unafraid , supporting all who confront the status quo with courage, conviction, and truth.
We call on every community member, every elder, and every patron of our diaspora associations to demand accountability.
Enforce Term Limits Without Compromise: If an executive’s tenure has ended, their authority has ended. No extensions, no backroom deals, no manufactured crises to delay elections.
Demand Full Financial Transparency: No association should tolerate leaders who manage community funds like personal accounts. Every dollar and pound collected from dues or fundraisers must be publicly accounted for.
Reject the Schemers: Stop rewarding power‑hungry executives with respect and front‑row seats. If a leader refuses to hold elections or submit to an audit, they have forfeited their right to lead.
Our diaspora communities were built on mutual aid, shared culture, and collective strength. We cannot allow a handful of power‑drunk individuals to dismantle decades of hard work for their own self‑aggrandizement.
To the leaders currently scheming to bypass their own constitutions, take a hard look in the mirror. You did not bring a stool from home, and you do not own the organization you were elected to serve. Show dignity. Render your accounts, step down gracefully, and let the next generation lead.
Stop the fighting, relinquish the seat, and let our communities breathe.
