Pretty, bustling, friendly Vakpo

Vakpo (meaning better surrender) is a town in the North Dayi District in the Volta Region, with a population of about 30,000.

A first-time visitor to Vakpo is struck by the busy taxi rank, from where commuters can easily get to Kpando, Ho, Hohoe and Accra.

Another feature of the town is the numerous shops along the streets, which open soon after sunrise for serious business.

The people of Vakpo trekked in seven clans, from Notsie in Togo some eight hundred years ago, after fleeing the tyranny of King Agorkorli.

On arrival at their present location, they met other people on the land.

“So, we fought the Kaleawo and Akpafus and sent them fleeing,” said the chief linguist of Vakpo, Tsiamiga Siale.

He said some of the enemies surrendered after responding to the order “Vakpo.”

By its strategic location along the Ho-Kpando Road, the sound of moving vehicles dominates the township, day and night.

For years, the people of Vakpo have lived in peace with their neighbours in Tsrukpe, Botoku, Tsorxor and Anfoega.

Amazingly, Vakpo has a number of old storey buildings which are very well preserved.

Meanwhile, the compounds of every house and the streets in the town are kept clean all the time.

From one direction, the view of the Anfoega Mountain from the taxi rank in Vakpo is really captivating.

The people of Vakpo are so friendly that when a visitor asks them for the direction to a particular house, they walk the person to the place, rather than pointing to the place.

Togbe Gbogbolulu, Paramount Chief of Vakpo

Vakpo can boast of a senior high school and a senior high technical school.

There is also a District Magistrate Court and a District Directorate of Health in Vakpo.

The chief linguist said the high level of social discipline and basic human courtesies among the people of Vakpo, especially the elderly, were inherited from the German colonial authorities.

“Then, the Bremen missionaries from Germany and the Roman Catholic Church brought education to Vakpo many decades ago, and that accounts for the high level of education among the people of Vakpo,” he explained.

Vakpo is on record for producing yam on an unequalled scale in the Volta Region, in addition to bountiful harvests of cassava, vegetables including cabbage, okra and garden eggs, which attract buyers from Accra, Aflao, Ho, Kpando and other parts of the country.

There are also reservoirs of wood carvers, carpenters and masons in Vakpo, as part of the legacy inherited from the Bremen missionaries.

The recreational dances in Vakpo include Gabada, Gbolo, Sonfuo, Adewu and Borborbor.

It must be placed on record that polygamy is not frowned upon by the culture of Vakpo.

“We only insist that what the man does for his first wife, he must do for the second wife as well,” said the chief linguist.

For now, one trend is rising in Vakpo and that is a growing number of retired civil servants are choosing Vakpo as their retirement home.

“This is because we are a very orderly town,” said the chief linguist.

The Paramount Chief of Vakpo, Togbe Gbogbolulu V, is spearheading a campaign to make farming compulsory in all schools in Vakpo and beyond.

He recently pledged to support farming activities in all schools with a vast land set aside in Vakpo by the traditional authorities for the purpose.

Togbe Gbogbolulu also vowed to work hand in hand with the security agencies to ensure law and order continue to prevail in Vakpo.

“This means we will hand over miscreants in the town to the police without delay,” he told the Daily Graphic on Monday at the Vakpo Traditional Council Palace.