The City and the Lake

A GNA feature by Samuel Osei-Frempong

Accra, May 9, GNA - A weather battered billboard which wavered at the weakest passing wind, stands at a junction welcoming visitors to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashantis.

Around the billboard are countless block making machines and houses littered in an unplanned fashion.

But just a few kilometres down the road, the massive and aesthetic Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology stretches out her glory and myth.

Making a journey from Accra to Kumasi, Ghana's second largest city, on road these days is life itself.

The highs and lows, the completed bits of the stretch, the rough parts where vehicles eat the dust, which whirls at, will. The pathetic sights of the rural poor, who as a matter of necessity exchange portions of their subsistence for cash with the travelling public, make the bits of the kaleidoscope.

There is so much evidence of carnage resulting from careless driving as wrecks lie by the roadside with grisly allure. In the midst of all these sights and sounds, the anxiety to reach this ancient city of tradition and modernity could be heightened by authentic highlife music made by Amakye Dede or the old giants like Dr K Gyasi and Kakaiku.

Their brand of music rolls around themes like love, happiness, unfaithfulness, independence, unfulfilled love, funerals etc. In the case of Amakye Dede, his vivid description of the culture and life of the people of Kumasi make the feeling akin to a Rod Steward repertoire on a Scotland bound train.

If Rod Steward would make a lasting impression by drawing sympathy and nostalgia on a first time visitor to Scotland when he flawlessly sing about the snow, the people and their culture, Amakye Dede would put the whole city of Kumasi in the mind as he sings about the restlessness in Kumasi, funerals on Saturdays, their mannerism and love.

Kumasi steeps in tradition and history, which goes back several centuries. A few landmarks like the Manhyia Palace, Military Museum and others insufficiently hold the memory of the people called the Ashantis, who founded a kingdom and made it their eternal home.

It used to hold true to its accolade of the "Garden City of West Africa" but now, the lush greenery has receded to small portions of the city as it brews slums and unplanned suburbs.

The city's old quarter is a delight to watch especially at dusk when the waning sun leads it to drift silently into slumber. Flickering lights from antique windows struggle to reconstruct the frame of the old architecture that still hold the glory and expertise of master craftsmen of old.

Those were the days when people built to accommodate strangers and the entire family. Modern homeowners glorify the "self".

The gene of the Kumasi dweller is implanted with hard work, private enterprise and pleasure. He dreams at an early age "the path to success" and struggles to build his own business on sheer determination.

For the five and half working days of the week, he leaves home early to come back late but when his last hour strikes on Saturday, a new personality is born in him. A mourning cloth and sandal to match would carry him through corridors of funerals and after that he joins the rest of the city which would be swaying with delight as people troop to the countless rendezvous to wine, chat and while the night away. They would normally tolerate any form of behaviour and accent but would mock at Locally Acquired Foreign Accent (LAFA), the craze on private radio and television.

They have their own customs and traditions, which is founded on a distinctive communalism. They enjoy their language and "slang" with such relish that it helps them to escape the pain, inferiority complex and despair that many people in Ghana go through by trying to speak in a way they are not used to.

Not too far from Kumasi lies the only natural lake in Ghana called the Bosomtwi.

Its beauty is unrivalled and breathtaking. It lies quietly with timely murmurs as it stretches at the foot of ancient elegant hills. Scientists have two theories to explain away how it was created. One school of thought speaks of a huge stone called meteorite descending from the skies to hit that spot. The phenomenon created the crater and after that water collected into it. The other talks about a volcanic eruption that blew away the portion now filled with water.

The locals, however, believe that long time ago, a tired thirsty hunter got himself led to a small pond which was full of fish, by an antelope (otwi). The locals believe that animal is the spirit being in charge of the Lake hence the name Bosomtwi.

This elegant body of water is reeling under the threat of deforestation as portions of forest around its shores are being cut. A whirling rumour of gold prospecting along the Lake glooms the future of tourism goldmine.

The guardians of the Ashanti Region need to do a lot to restore fully the pride of the City and the Lake.

If physical and image rehabilitation are not done, in a few years to come, lyrics of sorrow, abandonment, nostalgia would extol the lost glory of the great Lake and City. 9