She stated no society could progress in the absence of observing best cultural and traditional practices because it had a positive influence on development in any country through its identity where common values, attitudes, preferences and knowledge were shared.

Mad. Nyame was speaking at a grand durbar to climax 'Meko Bono' Home Coming and Festival which was on the theme ''Unifying Our People for Development through Tourism and Culture” in Sunyani.

The week-long event was initiated and organised by the ‘Bonofie’ with the support of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs, Sunyani Traditional Council, Bono Regional Coordinating Council, Centre for National Culture and the Ghana Tourism Authority.

The ‘Bonofie’is a wholly Ghanaian but international event organisation promoting the socio-cultural and economic development of the Bono and Bono East Regions.

Mad. Nyame said, “development does not happen in a vacuum, nor does it occur in an unregulated and disorganised social setting”.

She therefore commended the organisers that envisaging the importance of converging sons and daughters of Bono to promote unity and socio-economic progress through culture “is a laudable initiative”.

According to her, cultural events permitted people to integrate physically and mentally through fun, entertainment and education and therefore commended the CNC in the region for their collaboration in making the festival a reality.

Mad. Nyame was optimistic the introduction of the Home Coming and Festival would further enhance the exchange of cultural traits and ideas, inform policy direction and tolerance as well as welcome great developmental projects and activities to the Bono Region.

She said "development through cultural studies" according to the United Nations was a comprehensive economic, social and political process that aims at constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population.

Consequently, Mad. Nyame urged the indigenes of Bono, both home and abroad to uphold their cultural values and traditions by speaking their language, eating their indigenous cuisines and impacting their unique culinary skills into their young and upcoming generation in addition to wearing their traditional costumes which depicted their distinctive cultural identity.

Okokyeredom Sakyi Ako II, the Paramount Chief of Drobo Traditional area in the Jaman South Municipality and Vice-President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs later in an interview with the Ghana News Agency stated the Bono people had played significant role in the history and holistic development of the country.

He cited in the areas of politics and education, Professor Kofi Abrefa Busia of blessed memory was not only the Prime Minister of Ghana in the Second Republic but also endeared himself as an eminent, internationally acclaimed intellectual and academician whose scholarly achievement cuts across the University of Ghana (UoG) to Oxford in England, the Netherlands in the mainland Europe and Mexico in South America.

Okokyeredom Ako II also mentioned other statesmen from the Bono Region, including the late Mr. Joseph Henry Mensah, an astute politician, economist and Ghana’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the Second Republic, the late emeritus Prof. George Benneh, a prominent academician and former Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Ghana.

Other illustrious natives of Bono who have contributed to Ghana’s educational development included emeritus Prof. Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, a distinguished academician, a former Minister of Education and ex-Director-General of Ghana Education Service, emeritus Prof. Ambrose Kwame Tuah, an internationally acclaimed Agricultural Scientists, former acting VC of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a past Chair of the Governing Council, University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), he added.

According to him, there are others such as Prof. Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, currently the Chair of the UENR Governing Council who is a former Rector of Sunyani Polytechnic, now Sunyani Technical University (STU) and Prof. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, presently the VC of STU and Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, a political scientist, former lecturer, UoG and Ghana’s longest serving Electoral Commissioner.