The bashing of Ewes in Ghana

It is very interesting to see how Ewes have become chewing stick for some ethnic groups in Ghana. The magnitude of hatred Ewes experience anytime some political parties are in power is unimaginable.

Interestingly, this hatred has ascended to its apogeal heights that, our own Elizabeth Ohene, who sometimes turns a blind eye to all these atrocities, could no longer sit on the fence.

According to Elizabeth Ohene, the book which was published for use by public schools in Ghana was full of fallacies and innuendos. She had this to say, "In telling the story about how the various groups got into present-day Ghana, the book paints a romantic picture of the Akan and their legendary migration from the ancient empire of Ghana, while the Ewe were projected as recent arrivals." This historical heresy could only be explained off as a result of total ignorance of the rich and enviable history of the Ewes. If not, then it is a deliberate attempt to corrupt the young minds of our children. This must stop!!

To add more insult to injury, the so-called authors categorically made references to juju and voodoo worship as something that is characteristic of Ewe people.

It is an open secret in Ghana that all ethnic groups practise some form of juju. I ask whether Kankan Nyame, Antoa, Akonedi, and the numerous shrines that are found in every nook and corner of the entire nation, belong to Ewes?

For instance, when one travels outside Volta Region to other regions, billboards advertising the services of fetish priests are conspicuously displayed. I wonder if the position of the authors is not a display of unredeemable hypocrisy and catastrophic ignorance.

Some of the questions we as Ghanaians must ask ourselves are: where do these cultural or traditional fetish practices come from? Do all shrines in Ghana belong to Ewes or bear their names? That is, are all the leaders of shrines and temples in Ghana Ewes?

Did the authors of these controversial books hear about many owners of spiritual churches who are not Ewes, and who engage in the services of non-Ewe fetish priests for spiritual fortification and powers? Can l possibly refer these so-called authors to talk to Kennedy Agyapong about the activities of non-Ewe fetish priests and some non-Ewe Christian church leaders in Ghana? The hypocrisy must stop!!

A Case of the kettle calling the pot black

If the authors of these biased textbooks are really interested in solving the cultural, social, spiritual, psychological and economic problems of this experimental country called Ghana, then these are some of the issues their textbooks should have addressed:

1. How come that a country that boasts of Christian majority in its population, the overwhelming majority of its people are neck-deep in occultism, voodooism, jujuism and witchism?

2. Why are all these nefarious activities happening in the country?

3. Where in Ghana are these practices more prevalent?

4. Equally important, the authors should explain with evidence that juju and voodoo, which they attribute to Ewes are more dangerous than occultism, witchcraft and blood sacrifice for power and money, which are prevalent in the Ghanaian society.

For the authors to pick and choose Ewes to be fetish but all ethnic groups do engage in more dangerous occultism and fetish practices, within and outside Christian churches, is like the KETTLE calling the POT black.

Do we leave a log in our own eyes and draw the attention of the speck in someone's eyes?

All the practices l mentioned in Number 4 happen in every region in Ghana. More importantly, as Elizabeth Ohene points out, "On Accra to Kumasi road there are midsize billboards advertising the services of fetish priests. The advertisers were not ashamed of their trade or profession and they are not Ewes."

The ethnic bashing and hatred which is gaining momentum in Ghana will not help anybody. I was very surprised with the response of the Minister for Education when he was asked about the admission saga at Achimota School over hairstyle that “At this time when men are racing to Mars, we are fighting over hairstyles in schools." I was surprised because the Minister for Education was silent on the issue of the hate-mongering textbook; for it is full of derogatory information about Ewes. Additionally, l expected the Minister to take immediate and swift action against the heads of Achimota School but his response was a big disappointment.

Hypocrisy In Our Society

We live in a country where those who practise traditional religions are disgraced and debased by the very Ghanaians who patronize them secretly under the cover of darkness. Our hypocrisy in Ghana towards traditional religion is legendary and grandiose.

Christians always speak in tongues, take part in communion, confess their sins to their Priests, pay fast tithes from their ill-gotten wealth and fast assiduously almost every day, yet, the same Christians who form the majority, loot the state treasury without mercy and save the proceeds in foreign banks, inflate contracts while the citizens struggle for basic amenities.

How can we believe and profess our undying love and faith in God while we do the very opposite of what the Bible preaches about love and caring for one another?

It is amazing how we combine RELIGION with GREED and HATRED and quickly discount with contempt traditional practices. For example, most government officials swear with the Bible and Koran and lie through their teeth on a daily basis. However, in the traditional setting, Christians are afraid to swear at the shrine because of the repercussions. The late President Jerry John Rawlings (RIPPP) highlighted this example in one of his numerous video interviews.

In the town of Nogokpo, as the name implies, one cannot tell a lie or involve in any criminal act and survive. Therefore, the town is safe and peaceful. As a result, people open their doors and go about their daily activities without fear for their lives. However, the same cannot be said about cities or towns that are predominantly Christian.

To end this piece, l will like to leave this note written by a holocaust survivor purposely for teachers, authors and publishers of textbooks for students.

"I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness: Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot and burnt by high school and college graduates. So I am suspicious of education that indoctrinates school children. My request is: Help your students to become human when they grow up."

I hope all education officials in Ghana will listen.