What wrong at all have Asantes done, to be hated by other ethnic groups in the country?
I believe, it may be due to the indoctrination by the colonial masters and the fear these ethnic groups had for that warlike nation who existed because of war, “Asa-nti” which blended into their genes.
The British had some respect for Asantes to make them a protectorate state in 1935 and ruled by the Asantehene, while the other ethnic groups who were colonized and under direct rule by the same British, only bred suspicion and hatred of the Asantes. It must be noted here that Asantes and Anlo were once united like siblings, sharing princesses among many other things, until politics separated them.
So, to this day, some non-Asantes condemn Asantes for no reason. Ask them why and all they would say, include statements like, “They brag a lot; they are too loud; they think Ghana belongs to them; they are fools…”Baseless statements!
With the least opportunity, whether it concerns Asantes or not, these people would quickly seize that moment to condemn Asantes.
Today what is pending is the controversy of using the internationally known Akan word, Akwaaba, which means “Welcome,” on Ga soil. The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, had suggested it should be replaced with “Oobaké” on public places, like the airport and the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum. Meaning this word is not found on entrances of chiefs’ palaces or traditional Ga edifices.
And unfortunately, the Greater Accra regional minister, Hon. Linda Ocloo’s, proclamation that Accra belongs to the Gas and so they must be respected on their own soil, worsen matters. And suddenly some Gas took to social media to condemn and insult Asantes for forcing the word Akwaaba on Gas in Accra.
The word, Akwaaba, is Twi, which is the mother tongue of Akans, which include Asantes. So, why should only Asantes be singled out and condemned for that word? Did Kwame Nkrumah not post Akwaaba on some state edifices in Accra?
Because of ethnicity, even though Twi is spoken by about 85% of Ghanaians with Akans forming at least 45.7% of the population, most non-Akans are against making this most popular language, an official language.
There are about thirty-five languages spoken in South Africa and twelve are official languages. In Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda where Swahili is widely spoken, the language comes first before English as the official languages. But Ghana will not follow suit, even with Twi being the most widely spoken local language.
So why can’t we have Twi as our official languageahead of at least the top three widely spoken local languages?
A Ga lady, said to be called Henrietta Laryea, was on social media tearing Asantes apart because Twi is widely spoken in Accra. She went on to claim that Asantes want to wipe out the Ga language in Accra, sincethey are behind those preventing Ga to be taught in schools. But if GES is not allowing Ga to be taught in basic schools, why blame Asantes? Are Gas not in the GES?And according to her, the national capital will be cleansed of Twi since it is not the language of the Ga people.
This is where this suggestion of replacing Akwaaba with Oobaké is leading us to.
Unfortunately, no one is attacking English. A 2010 census report shows that 63.6% of Ghanaians can speak English while as indicated earlier 85% can speak Twi, making Twi the most spoken language in Ghana.
Language makes communication possible,when it is a two-way activity. If two people meet and cannot express themselves in English but both understand a local dialect, they cancommunicate better.
If it is not for ethnicity, why should only Twi be removed from Ga lands and not English as well, which is not even a Ghanaian language?The hatred for Asantes is getting overboard.
Those Gas who have started advocating for the eradication of anything Twi and Asante from their land, must first make sure that they go all the way.
Some Ga communities, especially Jamestown and NleshieAlata celebrate Odwira which is an annual festival celebrated by the Akan ethnic group of Akwapim, because there are blood ties between the Akwapims and those Gas. So, by what those non-Asantes are advocating against Asantes, all Gas with blood ties with Akwapims must be deported.
There are some Ga communities’ names with Akan roots. Chorkor for example is from the Twi word, “twaakor” meaning “cross and go.” This was when people approached the Gbegbe riverand had to be encouraged to cross and go. So, Chorkor must be changed.
Also, an Akan called Agya Obeng founded a community within the business district of the capital which was named Adjabeng. That must also be changed.
Jamestown must bear the original Ga name. So should R.E., Cantonments, Airport Residential Area,Roman Ridge and Ridge. Further down the line, words like interchange, street, high street, avenue, cul de sac, lane, road, etc should be changed into Ga. This should also affect Oxford Street in Osuwhich I suggest should be renamed Nii Kwabena Bonne Gbé, to honour that great Osu Mantse who was a founder of our nation.
Accra Sports Stadium was named after Ohene Djan, but the Gas rose against that and it is back to Accra Sports Stadium. Can the Gas show how bold they are and removed names like Kwame Nkrumah, John Evans Atta Mills and others from streets, interchanges roundabouts, etc., in the capital?
By the way, the Accra Sports Stadium is on Osu land and not on Accra land. Accra was a small community located in what is now the central business district of the capital. Osu was also a community on its own. When the capital was moved from Cape Coast to Ga land, Accra took over as name of the new capital. That is why to this day, anybody in any other suburb of the capital going to the central business district, will say “I am going to Accra.”
This does not happen in Kumasi. You cannot be in Kumasi and say you are going to Kumasi. So, we should be expecting Osu Sports Stadium.
But the question is, so after Nkrumah, who put Akwaaba or Woezor on state and public icons in Accra? And where were the Gas at that time? Now where from this word, oobaké?
Speaking to a Ga man who is a scholar in the language, he said welcome in Ga, is “Moo yee” or naaléand the response is “Yeee. Unfortunately, the typical words used in welcoming people in Ga that many people including Gas know, have nothing like oobaké.It was only when that word dropped from the lips of the Ga Mantse, that many Gas who are now hearing that word for the first time, are trumpeting it around as if to say that it was there before and the Asantes erase it.
Attacking Asantes for the wordAkwaaba, with such venom, as appearing on some social media platforms could spark verbal conflicts, because surely the Asante Gen Zs of this era will not keep quiet. Ghanaians know how they are dealing with the Dormahene, OsagyefoAgyeman Badu for his gross disrespect to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Asanteman.
Some of those Gas must be careful what they are promoting. Gas are in the minority in Ga land. We have more Akans, then Ewes than Gas. And the majority comes with their language to make communication easier. In Chinatown, a suburb of San Francisco, where about 35,000 Chinese live, inscriptions are more in Chinese than in English. So, in a country where 85% of the people can speak Twi, much more than the people who can speak English, we should not feel surprised that words like Akwaaba is very prominent.
And by the way, all private radio and television stations in Ga lands are Twi stations. What are the Gas doing to promote their language by setting up Ga stations? The only station where Ga language is prime is Obonu, which is a national station under GBC.
And Gas who are only 3% of the national population, must also know that they are also in the minority when it comes to indigenes of Greater Accra region.The Dangmes who are 4% of the national population are in the majority. Should the Dangmes also decide to push any ethnic agenda, it may not go well in the region.
And Ghanaians should take note that there is no ethnic group called Ga-Dangme. There is Ga and there is Dangme, two different ethnic groups and two different languages. It is only for political agenda that we hear people, especially Gas saying Ga-Dangme. And by the way, the word is Dangme, not Adangme.
In conclusion, I will plead that the languages of the three ethnic groups of Akan, Ewe and Ga should be used to welcome people in the capital to state and public edifices. And if it will not be too much, instead of Oobaké, Mo Yee (Hee), which is common among the Gas and the Dangmes should be used. It is being speculated that when the Ga elders sat with the Dangme elders, Mo Yee(welcome) was chosen, but later rejected by the Gas because it sounds more like Dangme.
And Asantes should be left alone in peace!
Hon. Daniel Dugan
