When talking of rivalry between two cities, one may think of Madrid and Barcelona making up the El Classico between Real Madrid vs. Barcelona CF, Manchester and Liverpool making up Manchester United vs. Liverpool FC, La Boca and Nunez making up Boca Juniors vs. River Plate, Cairo and Giza making Al Ahly SC vs. Zamalek SC, not forgetting our own backyard Accra and Kumasi making up Accra Hearts of Oak SC vs. Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko FC.

The economic war between Accra and Kumasi is one that has come to stay, it always changes its dimension when there is a switch in power. Every political party and how they handle or treat issues concerning the two cities. They are believed to have special heart spot for a particular city when they are in power. Most at times eyebrows are raised per some decisions and actions taken in terms of development of the two cities.

Many can recall the moving of animals from the Accra Zoo to the Kumasi Zoo for the construction of the Jubilee House, some section of the public argued that a new site could have found within the region to house them.

Not forgetting the condemnation of the tartan tracks at the Accra Sports Stadium and moving it to Baba Yara Sports Stadium Kumasi which was criticised by Ghana Athletics Association (GAA).

“Nobody will point his/her left finger to his home,’’ literal translation; In our local parlance meaning everyone will look back to his/her home when it comes to development or good times.

Friday, March 27, 2020, viewers and listeners were astonished when president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Ada, mentioned ‘Greater Kumasi’ while addressing the nation in the wake of the Corona virus outbreak.

Is it an issue of thinking outside the box or subjecting it critical thinking per the dynamics of politics in our country?

Many are those applying common understanding to it, believing it was just a mistake made by the president, others are reading political meanings into it, others are also of the view that is a deliberate attempt to give Kumasi a greater recognition, well time will tell.

Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie and usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. The name Kumasi comes from the Twi language, meaning “Under the Kum tree.” The word “ase” or “asi” means “under, down, or below” and is used in many place names in Ghana, such as Obuasi, Daboase, and Kenyase.

Kumasi is near Lake Bosomtwe, in a rain forest region, and is the commercial, industrial and cultural capital of the historical Ashanti Empire. Kumasi is approximately 500 kilometres (300 mi) north of the Equator and 200 kilometres (100 mi) north of the Gulf of Guinea.

Kumasi is alternatively known as “The Garden City” because of its many beautiful species of flowers and plants. It is also called Oseikrom (Osei Tutu’s town). The second largest city in Ghana after the capital Accra, Kumasi known as Ghana’s second city.

The Central Business District of Kumasi includes areas such as Adum, Bantama and Bompata (popularly called Roman Hill) is concentrated with lots of banks, department stalls, and hotels. Economic activities in Kumasi include financial and commercial sectors, pottery, clothing and textile. There is a huge timber processing community in Kumasi serving the needs of people in Ghana. Bantama High Street and Prempeh II Street in Bantama and Adum respectively have the reputation of being the hub of business and night life in Kumasi.

The term “Greater Kumase,” has been part of the lexicon of a development strategy comprising a larger area with the City of Kumase as the core. Under such a development scenario, Kumase becomes, as it has always been, the centrepiece of a strategy that radiates to at least thirty miles radius of Kumase; and which economically integrates and incorporates an area termed “Greater Kumase. There’s a perfect historical underpinning that helps to explain, understand, and rationalize this development strategy.

The “Greater Kumase,” is the area that the Historian Kwame Arhin, described in 1967, as being “Metropolitan Ashanti.” This is the core or foundational template of what became Asanteman or the Asante Kingdom. In 1967, Professor Arhin wrote a seminal article on Asante in the Journal of African History titled: “The Structure of Greater Ashanti, (1700-1824)” Volume 8, Issue 1. March 1967, pp 65-85. It is a paper that Historians of Asante History such as Adu Boahen; Isaac Tufuo; Ivor Wilks, etc., have stated that it opened the floodgates to the study of Asante as academic discipline.

Kwame Arhin who was later enstooled as a sub-Chief of Barekɛse under the Stool name Arhin Brempɔn, was the first to use the term “Metropolitan Ashanti” to describe the geographic and territorial boundaries of the original core States which formed the Asante Nation……. Asanteman.

This is the land area that now constitutes: AMANSEƐ; SƐKYERƐ; KWABERE (including ATWEMA), and ADANSI. All this area is about twenty-five to thirty-five miles radius of Kumase, aka OSƐIKROM. This is also what some are now calling “Greater Kumase,” with a few exclusions. But in reality, the entire area can be easily subsumed into the Greater Kumase idea.

The tributaries formed the economic and manpower base of the Ashanti expansion. But it must be noted that these relationships were fluid, and fluctuated with Ashanti military and political fortunes. Finally, the Ashanti political experiment was halted by the British and was therefore inconclusive.

Referring to an area as “Greater” means simply the general area surrounding in larger context, therefore putting communities under one umbrella within a particular catchment area makes the parent city a greater city in terms of region.

Greater Kumasi is an extension of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (Bantama, Nhyiaeso, Subin, Manhyia South and Manhyia North Constituencies) to include the newly created assemblies (Tafo-Pankrono, Suame, Kwadaso, Oforikrom, Asokwa, Asokore Mampong Municipalities). The contiguous districts are districts sharing boundaries with Kumasi such as Bosomtwe, Atwima Nwabiagya South, Atwima Nwabiagya North, Atwima Kwanwoma, Kwabre East.
Therefore, Kumasi and its environs make it Greater Kumasi because it extends beyond its boundaries.

The lexicon “Greater Kumasi” has been a household terminology especially used by development planners with special reference to spatial planners.

Several usages of the terminology are evident in litany of academic research in the area of development planning such as “analysing growth patterns in Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area using GIS and multiple regression techniques” and the “2013 study on comprehensive Urban Development Plan for Greater Kumasi” drafted by former President John Dramani Mahama’s Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.

So, in simple terms, Greater Kumasi is used when you are referring to Kumasi and its environs in one big picture.