The late Daasebre Oti Boateng
Daasebre Professor Emeritus Oti Boateng, the Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional area in the Eastern Region, has been confirmed dead by the New Juaben traditional council.
He died at age 83, three weeks ago after a short illness leaving the traditional area in a state of mourning. The area, since the beginning of the year, had been mourning due to the demise of two sub chiefs of the traditional council, Oyokohene Nana Kodua Kesse II, who was Adontehene, and Okogyeaman Ankomah Basapong, Suhyenhene and Mponuahene of New Juaben Traditional area.
Academic life and legacy
Daasebre Oti Boateng was enstooled as the Omanhene of New Juaben in 1992 succeeding his brother, the late Daasebre Nana Kwaku Boateng II. He is a member of the Yiadom-Hwedie Royal family of Juaben, Ashanti and New Juaben and son to the late queen mother of Juaben.
Before his traditional role he held several national and international positions as a distinguished statistician. He was known in private life as Professor Emeritus Emmanuel Oti Boateng, an academician who commanded huge respect both locally and internationally. He served as Ghana’s government statistician from 1982 to 2000. He successfully conducted the 1984 population census under strict military curfew.
Daasebre Oti Boateng also worked for 14 years with the University of Ghana where he was promoted to the position of Senior Research Fellow and Director of Studies at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER). In 1987 he was elected as the first African chairman of the United Nations Statistical Commission and the first African chairman of the 15th International Conference of Labour Statisticians in Geneva in 1993.
Daasebre Oti Boateng has authored six books, which includes Barack Obama- Africa’s Gift to the World, AKWANTUKESE Festival 2017, a three-volume series: “Development In Unity Volumes I, II, & III” and the Root-Based Development (RBD). He also has other technical publications in the areas of population and health, statistics, governance, disaster management, economics and policy issues.
Traditional leadership
As a traditional ruler one of his key projects in recent times was his award-winning Root-Based Model, an innovative development model aimed at reducing poverty in Ghana and Africa.
The Omanhene also enforced the strengthening of the New Juaben Traditional Council as a local institution for the betterment of the people.
He was also a former president of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs.
He holds a Bachelor of Science with honours degree in Economics from the University of Ghana, a Master of Science in Statistics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.
