NENE SIR EMMANUEL MATE KOLE
Nene Sir Emmanuel Mate Kole (February 7, 1860-1939), Konor (paramount chief) of Manya Krobo, a state about 50 mi (80 km) northeast of Accra, was the first literate chief of his state. He introduced legal and administrative reforms, supported the British in the 1895-1896 Asante war and in World War I, and promoted trade and agriculture.
He was born at Odumase (now the capital of Manya Krobo), and began his education there. From 1874-1880 he was trained as a teacher and catechist at Osu Salem (Christiansborg Middle School) and at Akuropon Seminary in the state of Akuapem. From 1880-1891 he taught in various Basel Mission Schools.
In 1892 he was elected Konor of Manya Krobo. His installation was attended by the governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Brandford Griffith (in office intermittently from 1880-1895). After his installation, the British government decided to move the capital of Manya Krobo from Krobo Hill, where it had previously been established, to Odumase. This was because Krobo Hill was overcrowded, was associated with barbarous customs, and was in an insanitary condition. The Krobo opposed this move, and the British Army was used to eject them.
The Konor fought on the side of the British in the Asante war of 1895-1896, with seasoned warriors chosen from a Krobo war cult called ‘’Tegble’’. During the war he was associated with Prince Henry of Battenburg (1858-1896), and Major Robert (later Lord) Baden Powell (1857-1941), who used the Krobo for intelligence work. Baden Powell’s Boy Scout movement, founded in 1908, seems to have adopted its characteristic left handshake from the Tegble cult.
Under his leadership, the Krobo pursued a vigorous agriculture expansion drive, acquiring much land from the Akyem and other neighbouring peoples between 1892 and 1914. About 200 farming villages were established, and markets were located at convenient points for the sale of agricultural produce, such as palm oil, kernels, cocoa, and maize. For this good work, the Gold Coast government awarded him the first agricultural medal in West Africa.
He established courts for his six principal clan chiefs, and ended the habit of settling disputes by fights. He also built about 100 miles (160 km) of roads by communal labour. In World War I, he sent 400 Krobo soldiers to fight for the British in the German colony of Togo. His training by the Basel Mission led him to assist the Basel Missionaries in their educational and evangelical activities in Manya Krobo, as well as to abolish certain fetish practices.
In 1911 he became the first paramount chief to be appointed to the Gold Coast Legislative Council, being reappointed in 1920. In 1926 he was elected as a provincial member. He also served on the Cocoa Advisory Board. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1930.
He died at Odumase in 1939.
NENE AZZU MATE KOLE
