Have you asked why Ga people speak Twi with their kids at home. Strange!
Have you asked why Ga people speak Twi with their kids at home. Strange!
M Ed 8 years ago
Y would a Ga speak twi at home with their kids? Is it to help them speak with people from other parts of the world?
Y would a Ga speak twi at home with their kids? Is it to help them speak with people from other parts of the world?
spartacus 8 years ago
great piece. akans must not force their language onto ghanaians.
great piece. akans must not force their language onto ghanaians.
Menua Kwadwo 8 years ago
Please, do tell. How are the Akans forcing their language onto Ghanaians?
Please, do tell. How are the Akans forcing their language onto Ghanaians?
M Ed 8 years ago
If the vast majority of Akans who troupe to Accra can at least communicate in English, people will not be forced to rather learn twi to communicate with them. )mu nti shweeee. U come to Accra, u can't speak Ga or English, so ... read full comment
If the vast majority of Akans who troupe to Accra can at least communicate in English, people will not be forced to rather learn twi to communicate with them. )mu nti shweeee. U come to Accra, u can't speak Ga or English, so ppl have to go and learn twi in the village n come back to interact with u.
Menua Kwadwo 8 years ago
If somebody comes to you and they cannot communicate with you in the language you prefer, you are not under any obligation to talk to them. You said "can't speak Ga or English, so ppl have to go and learn twi in the village n ... read full comment
If somebody comes to you and they cannot communicate with you in the language you prefer, you are not under any obligation to talk to them. You said "can't speak Ga or English, so ppl have to go and learn twi in the village n come back to interact with u." Where is the force here? My friend do not go to the "village" and learn Twi. Nobody is forcing you to learn and speak Twi to anybody!!!!!!!!!
NANA BONSU 8 years ago
I disagree. No one is forced to speak Twi in Accra, especially the indegenes. If one responds to a Twi question in Ga The non Ga speaker will be forced to speak it. The excuse should not be that the indigenes are being nice. ... read full comment
I disagree. No one is forced to speak Twi in Accra, especially the indegenes. If one responds to a Twi question in Ga The non Ga speaker will be forced to speak it. The excuse should not be that the indigenes are being nice. Language defines culture. I can also put some blame on the indigene. In 1968, I was vacationing in Accra and asked for the cost of an item at Makolo in Twi, the lady dressed me down and we switched to English. In 1996 same area in Accra, vendors who are Ga were beckoning to their wares in Twi. I did not force that transformation. I always try to speak English when I meet non-Akan folks, lately what I have observed is that, invariable, most switch the conversation to Twi. Twi maybe the mostly widely spoken language is Ghana but no one should aim for the idea of transforming it into a National language: That will be WAR!!
Another surprise this article revealed is the dominance of Ga on academic campuses. I attended a prominent high school in the Ashanti region,the biggest cultural shock was the prominence of Ga on Campus. My experience at Akropong Salem is the same. It was so for all schools in Southern Ghana. To be hip,you had
to be at least able to dabble in Ga.
To Twi speakers don't assume every Ghanaian should be able to speak Twi that is insulting. I rest my case. No insults please
Nana Aboagyewaa 8 years ago
Great piece. I love it
Great piece. I love it
M Ed 8 years ago
There's nothing more to add to this article. The Ashantis know that language learning is a headache for them but will turn around n blame others. Even in the UK, the Asians in the local shops are trying to learn some twi ju ... read full comment
There's nothing more to add to this article. The Ashantis know that language learning is a headache for them but will turn around n blame others. Even in the UK, the Asians in the local shops are trying to learn some twi just to communicate with the Ashantis because they can't speak well in simple English, the same way other tribes in Ghana try to accommodate their language problem.
Sumdom 8 years ago
"Even in the UK, the Asians in the local shops are trying to learn some twi just to communicate with the Ashantis because they can't speak well in simple English, the same way other tribes in Ghana try to accommodate their la ... read full comment
"Even in the UK, the Asians in the local shops are trying to learn some twi just to communicate with the Ashantis because they can't speak well in simple English, the same way other tribes in Ghana try to accommodate their language problem."
Not true. They learn twi because it is good for business.
M Ed 8 years ago
Twi for good business? are the Asians also going to speak twi with ppl from other African counties?
Twi for good business? are the Asians also going to speak twi with ppl from other African counties?
kalide 8 years ago
Akans especially Ashantis don't want to learn any other language. Even common English they re reluctant to learn. u will be surprise to know even their educated folks are shy of the English
Akans especially Ashantis don't want to learn any other language. Even common English they re reluctant to learn. u will be surprise to know even their educated folks are shy of the English
TT 8 years ago
Be surprise? But you have the audacity to talk about the inability of Akans to speak the language.
Akans especially Asantes not Ashantes are proud to speak their language if communication can be done in Twi unlike some of ... read full comment
Be surprise? But you have the audacity to talk about the inability of Akans to speak the language.
Akans especially Asantes not Ashantes are proud to speak their language if communication can be done in Twi unlike some of you stupid morons who are ashamed of your dying languages, Fools.
kweku trouble 8 years ago
THIS IS WHAT WE CALL INWARD LOOKING PEOPLE. YOUR TYPE WHO ARE NOT PREPARED TO LEARN ANYTHING NEW. JUST SHUT UP. DID YOU SAY MORONS? I THINK YOU JUST DESCRIBED YOURSELF IN ONE WORD.
THIS IS WHAT WE CALL INWARD LOOKING PEOPLE. YOUR TYPE WHO ARE NOT PREPARED TO LEARN ANYTHING NEW. JUST SHUT UP. DID YOU SAY MORONS? I THINK YOU JUST DESCRIBED YOURSELF IN ONE WORD.
kofi 8 years ago
only few asanthiefuo can speak without insults.so don't be surprised
by their insults
only few asanthiefuo can speak without insults.so don't be surprised
by their insults
WOMAN 8 years ago
Don't mind them, enviness and hatred of akans is killing them. Akans have been ableto sell their Twi language to the extent that Twi is a course in Fordham university. The Chinese and the Hispanics in the USA haven't thrown o ... read full comment
Don't mind them, enviness and hatred of akans is killing them. Akans have been ableto sell their Twi language to the extent that Twi is a course in Fordham university. The Chinese and the Hispanics in the USA haven't thrown out their languages and they are in schools in the US. If you shy from your language and choose to speak your colonial masters language who cares? Akans are proud of their language like the English who are also proud of their language and wouldn't go in for others. Are you the only people with degrees in Ghana? Don't the akans/ Ashantis also have people holding what you think you are better off? And even so they are better in governance than you. They have the wisdom and the technical know how to govern a nation than you. They do everything excellent and perfect than you. Their intellectuals in overseas are better off than yours and even those doing manual works are better and live good abroad than your so called intellectuals. STILL NO SIZE.
Kofi 8 years ago
Idiot,it has not occurred to you that Spanish is also a colonial language that the South Americans mastered to bring them together.
Languages of Mexico
Official languages None at federal level
Main languages Spanish
... read full comment
Idiot,it has not occurred to you that Spanish is also a colonial language that the South Americans mastered to bring them together.
Languages of Mexico
Official languages None at federal level
Main languages Spanish
Indigenous languages Nahuatl, Catalan Yucatec Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Mayo, Yaqui, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Chol, Totonac, Purépecha, Otomi, Mazahua, Mazatec, Chinantec, Mixe, Zoque, Popoluca, Popoloca language, Me'phaa, Wixarika, Naayerite, Tepehuán, Warihio, Raramuri, Seri, Chontal Maya, Chontal, Huave, Pame, Teenek, Kickapoo, Kiliwa, Paipai, Cucapá, Amuzgo, Triqui, Lacandon Maya, Mam Maya, Jakaltek, Matlatzinca, Tepehua, Chichimeca Jonaz, Pima Bajo, Ngiwa, Ixcatec, Ayapanec etc.
Ecuador;
Official languages Spanish[1]
Recognised regional languages Kichwa (Quichua), Shuar & others "are in official use for indigenous peoples.
Colombia;
Official languages Spanisha
Recognised regional languages 68 ethnic languages and dialects. English also official in the San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina Islands.
Ernest ofori 8 years ago
in the sight of God there is nothing like ga,twi,ewe,etc...humans are one people so please articles like this which are meant to divide us as people should not be allowed.what are we fighting over,what are we fighting for.the ... read full comment
in the sight of God there is nothing like ga,twi,ewe,etc...humans are one people so please articles like this which are meant to divide us as people should not be allowed.what are we fighting over,what are we fighting for.there is a place called heaven and a place called hell,that should matter to us than tribal bigotry.I love ghana.
gg 8 years ago
no is not like we dont want to learn english . is it because we rae proud of our language that is it when you are not proud of your language you will Always choose somebody language. here in europe the turks Always speak turk ... read full comment
no is not like we dont want to learn english . is it because we rae proud of our language that is it when you are not proud of your language you will Always choose somebody language. here in europe the turks Always speak turkish when they are with other turkish people bacause they are proud of it.you people are not proud of your language that is why you are speaking twi . we are not forcing twi on you. ashanti like to speak twi because we know it is better for us even in belguim that i am when i meet ghanians that are born here they like to speak twi when they know you are ghanian. you people dont know whow the French africans envy use because they say we like to speak our own language, they cannot do it because they have slave mentality that is happening to gas and other tribe you will be slave your life if you dont like your language that is why everybody here in europe like to say they are from ashanti region because they want to fit in with use when i see an ghanian why should i speak english to him when i both speak twi is it just simple ashanti have history when you dont have history you will Always going to be someones slave thank you.
Son 8 years ago
Twi is not written on the forehead of every Ghanaian. Do not expect the person from Paga to understand or speak Twi. As an Akan I always approach other Ghanaian nationals with English.I do not start with the nonsensical stuff ... read full comment
Twi is not written on the forehead of every Ghanaian. Do not expect the person from Paga to understand or speak Twi. As an Akan I always approach other Ghanaian nationals with English.I do not start with the nonsensical stuff like "Wo ye Ghanani,ena wo nte Twi"? whether I am in Belgium,France,Poland,Germany etc
Menua Kwadwo 8 years ago
Nobody is forcing you to speak Twi. DO NOT EVER SPEAK it to anybody if you do not want to!!!!!!! If anybody tries to speak Twi to you PLEASE WALK AWAY!!!!!!!
Nobody is forcing you to speak Twi. DO NOT EVER SPEAK it to anybody if you do not want to!!!!!!! If anybody tries to speak Twi to you PLEASE WALK AWAY!!!!!!!
Mike Olongo, USA 8 years ago
Stop using the word AKANS when in fact you are referring to a particular Twi-speaking tribe. The Fantes, Ahantas, kwahus, Akwapims speak Ga like Akoo.
Stop using the word AKANS when in fact you are referring to a particular Twi-speaking tribe. The Fantes, Ahantas, kwahus, Akwapims speak Ga like Akoo.
david tagoe 8 years ago
Mr Sawyerr, that's brilliant. The truth must be told. Asase's xenophobic feeling is a sign of his personal inferiority complex. Gamei are just tolerant but complex. Nothing more than that.We are all Ghanaians.
Mr Sawyerr, that's brilliant. The truth must be told. Asase's xenophobic feeling is a sign of his personal inferiority complex. Gamei are just tolerant but complex. Nothing more than that.We are all Ghanaians.
THEO 8 years ago
Gamei are tolerant of what? What can Gamei do about other people coming to live in Accra? Can you lazy beach shitters who have sold your lands do anything?
Accra is an Akwapim land and you dirty Bukom fools should know tha ... read full comment
Gamei are tolerant of what? What can Gamei do about other people coming to live in Accra? Can you lazy beach shitters who have sold your lands do anything?
Accra is an Akwapim land and you dirty Bukom fools should know that. You don't own Accra. The little land you owned, you have sold it for kenkey.
GA DADEKRAMA 8 years ago
IDIOT ARE YOU EVEN GHANAIAN KOKUASE PEOPLE COME TO ACCRA AND DEFECATE ON THE BEACH. BACK IN THE DAY THE BEACH DEFECATIRS WERE ALWAYS RECENT MIGRANTS TO ACCRA. I WAS BORN AND BRED IN GA-MAN AND WATCHED THOSE REFERRED TO AS MUN ... read full comment
IDIOT ARE YOU EVEN GHANAIAN KOKUASE PEOPLE COME TO ACCRA AND DEFECATE ON THE BEACH. BACK IN THE DAY THE BEACH DEFECATIRS WERE ALWAYS RECENT MIGRANTS TO ACCRA. I WAS BORN AND BRED IN GA-MAN AND WATCHED THOSE REFERRED TO AS MUNK)MUNK)TSEMEI OR MINTIMINTI INAUGURATE INDUSTRIAL BEACH DEFECATION. LONGSTANDING RESIDENTS OF WHATEVER ETHNICITY RARELY INDULGED IN BEACH DEFECATION.
Asibigi J. 8 years ago
Language learning is not by force. Who is forcing you to learn twi. When you were selling your lands to non Gas what were you thinking? You never thought of your culture and traditions. I speak my Frafra proudly where ever I ... read full comment
Language learning is not by force. Who is forcing you to learn twi. When you were selling your lands to non Gas what were you thinking? You never thought of your culture and traditions. I speak my Frafra proudly where ever I find my self in Ghana. Learn to do that and stop complaining. We have Gas in Bolga and we are not complaining. Remember there are Gas in twi speaking areas too.
Kofi 8 years ago
Don't mind these beach shitting lazy fools. What natural resource comes from Accra? Accra is what it is today because of natural resources from other parts of Ghana.
Gas are now banished to Bukom and Nima. They are a lazy ... read full comment
Don't mind these beach shitting lazy fools. What natural resource comes from Accra? Accra is what it is today because of natural resources from other parts of Ghana.
Gas are now banished to Bukom and Nima. They are a lazy bunch of fools.
Asibigi J. 8 years ago
If I may ask, did the Gas come along with any land when they migrated from Nigeria? I know the Accra lands belong to the Akwapims, so which land are the Gas talking about.
If I may ask, did the Gas come along with any land when they migrated from Nigeria? I know the Accra lands belong to the Akwapims, so which land are the Gas talking about.
Azizz 8 years ago
Fool. Did akwapims come to ghana with any land from Mali or did your dog eating frafra come to Ghana with land from Burkina Faso . Gas did not migrate from Nigeria . Has have owned the land for over 600 years and there was no ... read full comment
Fool. Did akwapims come to ghana with any land from Mali or did your dog eating frafra come to Ghana with land from Burkina Faso . Gas did not migrate from Nigeria . Has have owned the land for over 600 years and there was no country called Nigeria at the time
Azizz 8 years ago
Very stupid to see ppl say Gas are from Nigeria. Are Akans from Mali? Are Ewes from Togo and Nigeria? When Gas migrated to what is now Ghana through what is now Nigeria over 600years ago there was nothing like Nigeria so only ... read full comment
Very stupid to see ppl say Gas are from Nigeria. Are Akans from Mali? Are Ewes from Togo and Nigeria? When Gas migrated to what is now Ghana through what is now Nigeria over 600years ago there was nothing like Nigeria so only a dog eating fool like you will say Gas are from Nigeria. And who says Ga lands are for akwapims . Why have the akwapims allowed Gas to sell their lands then. What is happening in Accra is a result of centralization and can happen to any toe in ghana that is chosen as the capital . Gas have always assimilated other tribes as sawyerr said and did not expect the current situation where they are overwhelmed with large numbers from other towns. We are one Ghana and need not say foolish things like some people come from Nigeria. Where do dog eating shit carrying Frafras come from?
Azizz 8 years ago
You fool
You fool
kweku trouble 8 years ago
GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND JOIN YOUR LIKES BUTCHER EACHOTHER OVER COW MEAT AND DOGS. FOOL.
GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND JOIN YOUR LIKES BUTCHER EACHOTHER OVER COW MEAT AND DOGS. FOOL.
kweku trouble 8 years ago
THE ISSUE ON DISCUSSION HERE IS DEEPER THAN WHAT YOUR MIND IS USUALLY CAPABLE OF. IT IS NOT ONE OF THOSE ISSUES YOU JUST START COMMENTING STUPIDLY ON. ANYWAY THAT IS YOUR LEVEL. WHILES YOU ARE AT IT LET ME COME DOWN TO YOUR L ... read full comment
THE ISSUE ON DISCUSSION HERE IS DEEPER THAN WHAT YOUR MIND IS USUALLY CAPABLE OF. IT IS NOT ONE OF THOSE ISSUES YOU JUST START COMMENTING STUPIDLY ON. ANYWAY THAT IS YOUR LEVEL. WHILES YOU ARE AT IT LET ME COME DOWN TO YOUR LEVEL AND ASK YOU THIS: YOUR CHIFS HAVE SOLD YOUR LANDS TO CHNESE EX-CONVICT GALAMSEYERS FOR A PITTANCE. THEY SLEEP WITH YOUR MOTHERS, SISTERS AND WIVES, LEAVING BEHIND BASTARDS, WHILST THEY TAKE YOUR GOLD AWAY. IN MOST CASES YOUR WOMEN CAN'T DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN TWO CHINESE TO EVEN KNOW WHO FATHERED THEIR BASTARDS. YOUR WATER BODIES ARE DESTROYED WITH CYANIDE, YOUR FARMLANDS ARE ALSO NOT SPARED. HAVE YOU FINISHED TALKING ABOUT THAT? AND YOU DARE OPEN THAT MOUTH OF YOURS THAT LOOKS AND SMELLS LIKE ANUS TO DENIGRTAE A WHOLE TRIBE. THIS IS JUST FOR YOUR LEVEL. FOOLS.
GA DADEKRAMA 8 years ago
Aboafunng. Wu na Wu y3 jimi mi GAMEI bubuu mu kwa 3w) KATAMANSU )mu humu m)b) maamu ma NANA SIKA DUA KOFI su gidigidi butubutu tumereka dwani dzai min mpaboa w) kwanso di k)) OSEIKROM!!! ABUA NKYI WU NWI. Wu s)RIA Wu ka nkw ... read full comment
Aboafunng. Wu na Wu y3 jimi mi GAMEI bubuu mu kwa 3w) KATAMANSU )mu humu m)b) maamu ma NANA SIKA DUA KOFI su gidigidi butubutu tumereka dwani dzai min mpaboa w) kwanso di k)) OSEIKROM!!! ABUA NKYI WU NWI. Wu s)RIA Wu ka nkwasisem efi wutrumu!! MMOASEM. Your cocoa nu you sabe say Tetteh Quarshie be GANYOBI? You know how many thousands of GAMEIABII establish the cocoa industry for you, how many masons bricklayers carpenters doctors nurses teachers from GA-ADANGBE build the modern infrastructure in your lands bringing the fruits of modernity. HEE"EH?!! If was not for OSAGYEFO. NANA KWAME NKRUMAH anka you all selef dey BAGWUARD. ABI?
GA DADEKRAMA 8 years ago
Kwaseasem are you suggesting GAMEI should have practiced LAND APARTHEID? SHEGE
Kwaseasem are you suggesting GAMEI should have practiced LAND APARTHEID? SHEGE
oshiapen 8 years ago
true that ma brother, Ga m3i needs to wake up to the reality of this century and know that we can move forward as a people.. truly the Gas has found their voice...tswa tswa ni omany3 aba...
oshiapen from dc...
true that ma brother, Ga m3i needs to wake up to the reality of this century and know that we can move forward as a people.. truly the Gas has found their voice...tswa tswa ni omany3 aba...
oshiapen from dc...
Atta Bonsu Joseph 8 years ago
the writer is right but the article looks like rebuttal attack on Asaase Asante xenophobia.However, the writer made some comments whuch is more of a denigration on Ashantis.He should u
nderstand that Ashanti is not only a re ... read full comment
the writer is right but the article looks like rebuttal attack on Asaase Asante xenophobia.However, the writer made some comments whuch is more of a denigration on Ashantis.He should u
nderstand that Ashanti is not only a region but a nation within a nation.That is why if you move to outside they percieved every Ghanaian as Ashanti.
NANA BONSU 8 years ago
"He should understand that Ashanti is not only a region but a nation within a nation. That is why if you move to outside they percieved every Ghanaian as Ashanti. ."
Bro that is a huge mistake. That is one of the reasons ... read full comment
"He should understand that Ashanti is not only a region but a nation within a nation. That is why if you move to outside they percieved every Ghanaian as Ashanti. ."
Bro that is a huge mistake. That is one of the reasons people are irritated. Ghana is a multi tribal nation and the awareness of the presence of other groups should be recognized by default.
Rev.Jimmy 8 years ago
The other regions needs development.There is no need for tribal competition .We still have our lands and chiefs intact.The Accla,Accla,Accla migration must stop.
The other regions needs development.There is no need for tribal competition .We still have our lands and chiefs intact.The Accla,Accla,Accla migration must stop.
Frank Moses 8 years ago
Good piece by all standard. Good write up. After all, nobody prevented them from going to school. Theis primitive Ashanti's are nothing than rats who think they are superior to other tribes. We know how they forged certificat ... read full comment
Good piece by all standard. Good write up. After all, nobody prevented them from going to school. Theis primitive Ashanti's are nothing than rats who think they are superior to other tribes. We know how they forged certificates or either buy it. Very inferior people who always find faults with other tribes. They behave ad if Mother Ghana belong to their animal shit eating grandfathers. The only tribe that can not tell from where they migrate. Some say they are from holes whiles others said from the sky. Why can't they go to their dirty villages andeave the Gas alone? They have become a nuisance to economic developments. They are illiterate to the core. What is good about these rats? They they have any sense at at all, especially that Asase, he should learn from this writer. Yaka gbemei
Menua Kwadwo 8 years ago
Inferiority complex on display!!!!!!
Inferiority complex on display!!!!!!
MINOR CASE 8 years ago
Stop shouting and crying . It is too late now. The writer wants to force Ga on others ? The problem with the Gas is , they never appreciate their proximity to the sea. If Asantes had the sea , they would make money out of it ... read full comment
Stop shouting and crying . It is too late now. The writer wants to force Ga on others ? The problem with the Gas is , they never appreciate their proximity to the sea. If Asantes had the sea , they would make money out of it unlike you who think the sea is the ideal place for you to shit. Stop disturbing our ears with your whining
M Ed 8 years ago
Make money out of the sea. when u came to Accra, u thought the sea is boiling but now u want to make money out of it. Good idea. Just get the sea to ur Kookoase village n charge ur village chief to see it then.
Make money out of the sea. when u came to Accra, u thought the sea is boiling but now u want to make money out of it. Good idea. Just get the sea to ur Kookoase village n charge ur village chief to see it then.
GA DADEKRAMA 8 years ago
MbraaFrank Tsui anaa oo, Ming kpa fai ooh.ake you no do wanna brothers like dat. I sabe plenty I go say majority no dey so. Also traditionally apart from Katamanso and a some minor battles, relations between Asanteman & Ga- ... read full comment
MbraaFrank Tsui anaa oo, Ming kpa fai ooh.ake you no do wanna brothers like dat. I sabe plenty I go say majority no dey so. Also traditionally apart from Katamanso and a some minor battles, relations between Asanteman & Ga-Adangbe, Anlo were decent. Anyway dont let the Mmoa minority brethren among our Asante relatives tear us apart. We are all GHANAMANBII in this together for better or worse.
SENDERO 8 years ago
Ade
Your piece is an interesting one which provides critical insights into aspects of ethnic differences and tensions in Ghana. In some places you soar to great heights in exposing the problem but in others you fall flat a ... read full comment
Ade
Your piece is an interesting one which provides critical insights into aspects of ethnic differences and tensions in Ghana. In some places you soar to great heights in exposing the problem but in others you fall flat and, in one particular instance, you are not the Ade I know on SIL.
While You expose the issue I think you do not go far enough in explaining what is taking place in Accra except the inference that the average Asante is too arrogant (supremacist?) to bother to learn Ga. Your piece does not incorporate issues of technology and economics, leaving us with a purely “sociological/socialistic” analysis of developments in Accra
But first some political issues. I know you are a CPP man but Gold Coast/Ghana was not the creation of Nkrumah. Just like Tech for which the sod was broken in 1949, Nkrumah had nothing to do with the creation of Ghana as a geographical entity. Gold Coast in reality is modern Eastern region with Accra, Western and Central regions.
This explains why Central is Central. It was in the centre of the 3 regions (Eastern and Western). The British had no intention of merging Asante with Gold Coast. In fact the proposals for an Asante Parliament were on the drawing board until JB Danquah, Nana Prempeh II and the Okyehene Nana Ofori Atta got together and proposed the merger of Asante and modern B/A of course, into the colony.
This was the essence of the 1946 Burns Constitution and it is a typical re-write of Ghana’s history to suggest Nkrumah put Ghana together. After Asante joined the north had no option but to go along with the British. The condition was an economically federal system as proposed by SD Dombo and others but that belongs to history. By 1951, before Nkrumah held any post Ghana was in place, save the Volta region. You live in London and the university of London college libraries like LSE, SOAS Commonwealth studies haves a wealth of information on this process.
Now to your main points: You lace unitarism into your paper. I interpret this as a dig at the federalist forces of which I am proud to subscribe to. Thankfully, Ghana is half way to a federal entity. But it is strange that a proud Ga like you does not appreciate federalism? The Ga are federalist – you allude to their city state system. The Fanti had a confederacy; the Asante had a confederacy; Akuapim (many entities) was based on federalism; the Akyems have 3 states equal to each other. Our DNA is federal. It was the British who unitarised us. But of course they did so at a time when central governments were strong; when the notion of sovereignty had corralled peoples into a single entity and had handed power to the central government.
It was strange that the UK did this to us since it was a successful federal entity for centuries.
However on 6th march 1957 we were a single state. However Ade, nowhere in the fanfare did anyone state they were going to abandon their identities in favour of the artificial creation called Ghana. We were still Denkyiras, Methodists, capitalists etc. The Soviet Union was one state that tried to shoe horn dozens of nationalities into an artificial creation. Not surprisingly it was predicted by Andrei Almarik that this will bring it down as the ethnicity of a people cannot be wiped away and when the state fails to fulfil desires, people will fall back on their centuries old identity and institutions.
I do not know if you followed the well-deserved collapse of that entity but the flash point was Armenian ethnic tensions. It was here that the first public manifestation of the collapse of that bogus Soviet entity made itself manifest.
Ghana is no different. People have multiple identities but what is interesting today, the world over is that technology, is allowing for cross-border identities to be forged at the expense of nationalism and loyalty to the state and other organizations previously held dear. 30 years ago my good friend was a Sekondi Wise fanatic, today his loyalty is with Arsenal in the UK yet he still lives in Sekondi.
As someone noted the up until the First World War, any time European powers went to war their citizens lined the streets cheering the troops. Today that patriotic fervour has gone as technology has enabled us break out of the straight jacket of nationalism and love for the entity that was created by men and women who monopolized gunpowder and held their citizens hostage in the name of the state and sovereignty. Over the internet, twitter, Facebook, fax, whatsapp etc we have seen globalism; global communities constructed by peoples with no love lost for the state. Catholics, gays, human rights activists, environmentalists, bankers, Islamists etc all have extra identities and they rank these equally to, if not greater than their loyalty to the state!
Ghana is no different, especially for Asantes. Kofi Awoonor told us about the Anti-Asante angle of the 31st December revolution. 20 years after Mills was going about the “Great Asante Project” and thus when you speak to Asantes you sense their awareness and concern that an entire constitutional order can be tossed overboard with the aim of going after them. Not surprisingly, they cling to their identities and this includes language and the golden stool.
Technology allows for this process to be even stronger. Asantes in the Diaspora lend support to the sense of oneness, making for a stronger more assertive defense of the customs of their fathers and the ways of their kings and queens
Perhaps the Ga have not had a political party talk of “Great Ga Project”; 24 February and 13 January were not about stopping “Ga hegemony” and so perhaps the Ga are more comfortable with the entity called Ghana than the Asante-Akans are. Food for thought
Centuries back, Latin and then French were the language of the elites of Europe. Then came the Reformation that broke the power of the Church and the industrial revolution that smashed the power of France. England and English emerged as the language to be used in commerce as England’s empire stretched from shore to shore. Even when their empire disappeared the replacement empire also had English as the main language.
The issue is the Akans are the largest entity and more prosperous than most. Cocoa farmers, timber merchants, private universities, hotels, private insurance firms, private banks etc are dominated by Akytems, Kwahus Asantes etc. Like the globe, the other languages in Ghana as at now, have lost out to Akan.
What the Ga should do if my advice is worth anything is to take measures to protect their language within themselves. Problem of course is that in the 1970s the Ga elite in particular made fun of Ghanaian customs. Their children spoke English in public, and if you spoke Twi you were bush!
Today those who kept faith with their identity have an upper hand. They are prosperous, and trade within their groups and marry themselves. If you want to penetrate it seems to be better if you speak their language while they need not bother with yours. Sad but true. Gas should organize; invest in their own radio stations; set up their own schools etc instead of finding fault with Akan speakers as here is not where the solution is.
Your comments on filth coinciding with the influx of Asantes is strange. The history of pre-colonial Ghana is one of tidy villages. Bowdich and other scholars noted this across the breadth of the country. Chiefs were accountable to their people. Institutions to protect the environment worked. Then Ghana was created and one-man rule emerged, emasculating regional city and local government with the consequence that local service provision broke down.
One consequence is the filth that covers all of Ghana. Shift power back to the people and you will see people take greater pride in their localities, in addition to the efficiency that this brings in the delivery of public services. However we are held hostage to an anti-devolution of power way of thinking. Let anyone propose even much stronger powers for cities, regions and local authorities and he will be tagged CIA, Mate Me Ho (we should note here that Kwame Nkrumah was a strong supporter of Ivorian Mate Me Ho so perhaps it is not that much of an insult) and this will end the debate
I hope this helps
SENDERO
Ade Sawyerr 8 years ago
Sendero, Thanks for your enlightened contribution to my piece. It started out as a straight rebuttal to Asase and was not meant in anyway to cause offence. Indeed this is the first time that i have heard so many reasonable ... read full comment
Sendero, Thanks for your enlightened contribution to my piece. It started out as a straight rebuttal to Asase and was not meant in anyway to cause offence. Indeed this is the first time that i have heard so many reasonable Ga say that they are fed up with a lot that is going on in Accra and the cheek of it they are being iinsulted for the dirt in Accra. I know that there is another article in me about the Ga state but it will come later. let me dwell on federalism. Many Ga are republican in their outlook, but i am CPP and we fought for the Ghana Project rather than the Ga project, and rightly so. BUt our ederalism as i tried to explain is not based on a monarch or chief somewhere, it is based on a system of cooperation for mutual benefit and my view is that is the only way that the Ghana project will succeed. TVT and the plebicite was what put Ghana together in my view and yes regional assemblies though promised were never implemented for good reason. i do not think that the issue is about Ga radio stations and a propagation of the Ga language, Twi will always be a secondary language for most Gamei. as i have always argued, more people now speak Ga than they did 30 years ago because most people who have moved to Accra speak some Ga. I live in London and read a lot of black newspapers and watch some black television, i do a lot of Ghanaian stuff and also a lot of Ga stuff, but it will always be a secondary activity for me, my primary activity remaains communicating in English. I do not find fault with Twi speakers but as i have said, i resent the assumption that that is the language in which i want to communicate. Ga issues are too complex to treat in a rebuttal but i had to respond to some of the assumptions that Asase had made which in my view were false.
Jato Kaleo 8 years ago
1. You meant Trans-Volta Togoland, not Volta Region. You know they are very different entities. Ade's reply to you referred to the correct entity.
2. You mean the crown colony rather than "Gold Coast" in reality.
3. Is ... read full comment
1. You meant Trans-Volta Togoland, not Volta Region. You know they are very different entities. Ade's reply to you referred to the correct entity.
2. You mean the crown colony rather than "Gold Coast" in reality.
3. Is it true that Akans are more prosperous than most? What are the indicators? Are there more rich people per 100,000 Akans than there are per 100,000 Gas or Ewes? Do you have any statistics over that? On a prima facie basis, if Akans are the most numerous of any ethnic group in Ghana, then there should have an absolutely larger number of rich people than other ethnic groups. The way you put it gives the impression that the Akans are prosperous because of a certain positive quality that they possess, which quality is not possessed by members of other ethnic groups.
4. You develop argument 3 further by concluding that "[t]oday those who kept faith with their identity have an upper hand. They are prosperous, and trade within their groups and marry themselves" i.e. they are more prosperous than those who have not kept faith with their identity. Do the facts on the ground really support that assertion?
5. I don't think filth is so much the result of lack of devolution of powers to the regions/districs/local communities. There is still enough power at these levels to ensure a clean environment locally supervised. I think filth is basically the result of increase in population without an adequate increase in other resources. Accra's case is worsened by it stood for the largest increase in population (both natural and the influx). Someone suggested the development of other areas to decrease the pressure on Accra but it still boils down to limited resources and inefficient use of those limited resources.
6. Language: the spread of Twi in Ghana is a natural development and the direct effect of the dominant position of the ethnic group that uses that language. Trade and commerce may facilitate the process but it is not the cause of it. Ade Sawyer's complaint is the supposition of native speakers of Twi that the language is the "natural" language of Ghana to be used as an identity for Ghanaianness. This is unacceptable to non-Akan Ghanaians, even those who speak Twi very well. Ade belongs to the older generation of Ghanaians none of whom (including older native Akans) will assume that a person who calls himself Ghanaian must necessarily speak Twi.
But, SENDERO, yours was a good and very civil contribution. You always do that and you have also, in the past, shown a tremendous knowledge of the private life of Nkrumah, even though you are a "Mate meho" man... "Y'aatiii, y'attiii..." (ye ho).
Sumdom 8 years ago
I like your contribution.
I like your contribution.
Okonko Palm 8 years ago
Ade's rebuttal of Asase's ethnocentrism had solicited a long and meandering diatribe from Sendoro.Any objective reader will recognize that the rebuttal was not meant to placate tribal stereotypical superiority but it was a ca ... read full comment
Ade's rebuttal of Asase's ethnocentrism had solicited a long and meandering diatribe from Sendoro.Any objective reader will recognize that the rebuttal was not meant to placate tribal stereotypical superiority but it was a call to recognize that the various tribes and people of Ghana can live side by side and respect each others culture and tradition.
But Sendoro under the guise of Asante nationalism had unleashed an obvious long held view about the Gas.Certainly he had been looking for an opportunity to unleash this diatribe which he seem to have jotted down just biding his time to unleash.
What binds the various tribes together is our belonging and sharing a feeling of kinship, solidarity and unity. Citizenship is the key to the bonds within civic nationalism which glue us together in mutual respect.
But it seems to me that Sendoro is telling us that it is too much to ask that though Accra belong to all Ghanaian all the same, it is the home of a people called the Gas and their tradition deserves respect.And that they also have a culture and language that must be preserved if they are to survive as a people because when a language dies it dies with its culture and the Gas can hardly afford that scenario.
But it seems the likes of Sendero had taken our tolerance and traditional hospitality for for weakness.Instead of calling Asase to order he had join his perception of the Gas in his Ga bashing.I only hope he does not carry it too far.
As for his opportunistic attack on Nkrumah and his leadership I leave that to the judgment of Ghanaian and history. All I can say though is that it is laughable to compare a political titan and visionary leader with a pigmy like Danquah
SENDERO 8 years ago
My view is not pointed at the Ga ethnic group. They have along and proud history and more power to them. You have not treated a single point I raised. Maybe you should do so and then we can have a discussion about the matter
My view is not pointed at the Ga ethnic group. They have along and proud history and more power to them. You have not treated a single point I raised. Maybe you should do so and then we can have a discussion about the matter
khirsten 8 years ago
FOR THE FIRST TIME , I HAVE SAVED A COMMENT ON GHANAWEB. SENDERO, GHANA IS PROUD OF YOU
FOR THE FIRST TIME , I HAVE SAVED A COMMENT ON GHANAWEB. SENDERO, GHANA IS PROUD OF YOU
Sumdom 8 years ago
Thanks. I like to read your pieces. You always give interesting insights.
Thanks. I like to read your pieces. You always give interesting insights.
Yiadom 8 years ago
Thanks man. I'm really touched by your insightful comments. I couldn't help but save your comments in PDF. I hope you won't mind if I shared them with a few people.
Thanks man. I'm really touched by your insightful comments. I couldn't help but save your comments in PDF. I hope you won't mind if I shared them with a few people.
Rev.Jimmy 8 years ago
Opoku Ware,Prempeh College,Yaa Asantewaa.Asanteman,Osei Tutu secondary schools.Prempeh Assempbly Hall.Ejusu.Mampong,Konongo,Atebubu.Asantehene,Bamtamahene.Okomfo Anokye hospital.All these Asante treasurries are all intact.Why ... read full comment
Opoku Ware,Prempeh College,Yaa Asantewaa.Asanteman,Osei Tutu secondary schools.Prempeh Assempbly Hall.Ejusu.Mampong,Konongo,Atebubu.Asantehene,Bamtamahene.Okomfo Anokye hospital.All these Asante treasurries are all intact.Why the need to migrate to Accra or UK or the US ?We just have chase the Politicians who hide in Accra and chop the nations resources through schemes like judgement debt instead of fighting each other.
Nana 8 years ago
You are very brilliant, keep it up
You are very brilliant, keep it up
C.Y. ANDY-K 8 years ago
There is no way lack of time can prevent me from wading into this, brief though this is going to be.
Refreshing to read Ade's thoughts on this. He echoes a lot of we so-called "minoritifuo" feel about the overbearing attit ... read full comment
There is no way lack of time can prevent me from wading into this, brief though this is going to be.
Refreshing to read Ade's thoughts on this. He echoes a lot of we so-called "minoritifuo" feel about the overbearing attitude fictional "majoritfuo" Akans. The big secret is that they don't know that they are rather in the minority when it comes to the total population of Ghana, since they are still under 50%.
Just a while ago, I was once again assaulted with Twi when a Nigerian told the new client I was a Ghanaian!
Anyway, my main purpose of writing is to correct some major wrong information Sendero put out. Unfortunately, they define how some in his group think.
1. Claim that the VR joined Ghana upon independence, or last region. FALSE.
The VR was created out of the south-eastern parts of the Gold Coast colony proper comprising the coastal Anlo to Ketu to Peki areas and the southern part of the TVT. The rest of the TVT was added to the Northern and Upper Regions. So southern VR was many decades a part of the Gold Coast colony before 1898 and 1900 when the NT and Ashanti became protectorates respectively. That's why Torgbui Sri II became the unofficial member of the LegCo in 1916. He resigned in 1943 due to old age and sickness.
2. It is a lie that Kofi Awoonor's book, The Ghana Revolution, publishd in 1984, and actually written in prison in the mid-'70s, "told us about the Anti-Asante angle of the 31st December revolution."
He added only added a Preface to it but that didn't contain anything related to the distortions we have been reading about. That was in the book proper and sought to explain the anti-Ewe hysteria Busia and the PP raised during the 1969 General Elections campaign and its repercussions which saw him being imprisoned for helping Brig. Kattah evading arrest by the Kutu regime.
3. Ade did not write that Asante brought filth to Accra. He actually critcised Asase for distinguishing Asantes from the rest of Akans. So how could he target Asantes alone? Not even Akans in general in exclusion to the other ethnic groups!
Andy-K
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Nyebro Yao,
Good day.
This is another one of those insightful pieces I enjoy reading.
Just beautiful and educative, don't you think?
Thanks.
Nyebro Yao,
Good day.
This is another one of those insightful pieces I enjoy reading.
Just beautiful and educative, don't you think?
Thanks.
GA DADEKRAMA 8 years ago
No doubt we need to reform our system and devolve governance to the local and regional level in the context of unitary state. West Africans need a federal union to achieve our potential or else we will remain mere appendages ... read full comment
No doubt we need to reform our system and devolve governance to the local and regional level in the context of unitary state. West Africans need a federal union to achieve our potential or else we will remain mere appendages of the global system. True federalism wont work in Ghana or Senegal for that matter. Thanks.
Fred 8 years ago
Splendid ! This is a great piece that came at the right time . Infact , the Gas are the most tolerable and hospitable people in the whole of Ghana . Gas believe in humans and also do not discriminate . Can anyone prove to us ... read full comment
Splendid ! This is a great piece that came at the right time . Infact , the Gas are the most tolerable and hospitable people in the whole of Ghana . Gas believe in humans and also do not discriminate . Can anyone prove to us which of the tribes in Ghana holds a grudge with Gas ? They marry across all tribes and accommodate everybody in their houses . They leniency and hospitable life has been taken as their weakness and successful business ppl that make it in Accra later tend to spit on them .. God bless Gas! God bless Ghana
NANA BONSU 8 years ago
Fred. Asantes rank up there with the Gas or even more. People who settle in Kumasi find it goes against their expectations of Asante inhospitality. Asantes have a saying that goes to the core of accommodating immigrants: y3de ... read full comment
Fred. Asantes rank up there with the Gas or even more. People who settle in Kumasi find it goes against their expectations of Asante inhospitality. Asantes have a saying that goes to the core of accommodating immigrants: y3de Ohohoo na ekyekyere kurow: to wit, it takes immigrants to develop a town. Not only are they given areas to settle if they should request it. Among all Ghanaian traditional areas Asante allot seats to all the immigrant communities on the Asanteman Council which constitute part of the quorum. I stand to be corrected.
Talk to Gas who are long time residents of Kumasi for confirmation.
khirsten 8 years ago
Languages all over the world thrives with economic power, thus if a particular language becomes the major medium of economic transactions due to the pro activeness of its speakers in business, there is little one can do. Twi ... read full comment
Languages all over the world thrives with economic power, thus if a particular language becomes the major medium of economic transactions due to the pro activeness of its speakers in business, there is little one can do. Twi has credit to this in Ghana and we cannot do anything about it. It is growing like a wild fire in the harmatan.Its speakers are very confident, humble and business-minded and this has been the reason for the twi-colonization. Travel outside and when someone detects you are a ghanaian, the first language he/she speaks to you is twi. Kenyan airways welcomes its passengers to Ghana with twi and am proud of that. Whilst some tribes are busily teaching their children to hate, the twi speaking tribes are teaching theirs to be confident, courageous and aim higher.
Ade Sawyerr 8 years ago
Khirsten,
Either you did not read my response to Sendero well or you did not bother to read my article. i have absolutely no problem with people speaking Twi. When i am outside Accra,i try to speak it. It has never been a ... read full comment
Khirsten,
Either you did not read my response to Sendero well or you did not bother to read my article. i have absolutely no problem with people speaking Twi. When i am outside Accra,i try to speak it. It has never been an issue and it is not a big deal for mme if people decide that is what they want to speak, whether in Ghana or in Kenya or in the Bronx or in Germany or Italy. It is surprising that when someone objects to an issue, it is seen as hate. that was not the intent of my article since i do know that more people speak Ga than when i left Accra.
kweku trouble 8 years ago
ADE, THIS IS A BRILIIANT PIECE. WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT SOMETHING FROM YOU AGAIN? YOU FIGURED ASASE OUT.
ADE, THIS IS A BRILIIANT PIECE. WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT SOMETHING FROM YOU AGAIN? YOU FIGURED ASASE OUT.
Amanshianyebi Okoe 8 years ago
When I wrote on SIL about the good old 1960s in Accra before the advent of Kutu who opened the gates for every to trek to Accra, I knew those who would take offence. Ade, it's a shame in London how educated Asantes prefer to ... read full comment
When I wrote on SIL about the good old 1960s in Accra before the advent of Kutu who opened the gates for every to trek to Accra, I knew those who would take offence. Ade, it's a shame in London how educated Asantes prefer to chat with you in Akan than in English. They're so poor in expressing themselves in English, including preachers who prefer interpretation from English to Akan.
Well said Ade. Take it or leave it, Asase.
NANA BONSU 8 years ago
Okoe.
You make it sound like visa was required to visit Accra before Kutu. Accra is full outsiders because of vicious centralization. It is too late to correct it now. As the Asantes are coming down to Accra, the Norther ... read full comment
Okoe.
You make it sound like visa was required to visit Accra before Kutu. Accra is full outsiders because of vicious centralization. It is too late to correct it now. As the Asantes are coming down to Accra, the Northerners have also begun to take over Kumasi in a very quite way many don't realize.
Kofi 8 years ago
There is no reason why all the ministries are based in Accra.Why should anything to do with cocoa,mineral resources,interior etc be based in Accra.There are more Ga natives getting CoCobod scholarships than Kojo Mensa in Bank ... read full comment
There is no reason why all the ministries are based in Accra.Why should anything to do with cocoa,mineral resources,interior etc be based in Accra.There are more Ga natives getting CoCobod scholarships than Kojo Mensa in Bankye krom.As for the filth,it is the sole responsibility of the govt to build good drainage systems in all the major cities.
kweku trouble 8 years ago
DO YOU KNOW THE PROCEDURE FOR AWARDING COCOBOD SCHOLARSHIPS?
DO YOU KNOW THE PROCEDURE FOR AWARDING COCOBOD SCHOLARSHIPS?
Fly Bird 8 years ago
I just wish you would respond to my question. Have you ever heard Angela Merkel speak English. But she's the most powerful woman in Europe if not the world. In Europe people speak their language as a form of identity. And hav ... read full comment
I just wish you would respond to my question. Have you ever heard Angela Merkel speak English. But she's the most powerful woman in Europe if not the world. In Europe people speak their language as a form of identity. And have you also heard this saying, "the seller speaks the buyers language"
Kwaku 8 years ago
Ade, so mu ooo so mu kookoodua
Ade, so mu ooo so mu kookoodua
Ade Sawyerr 8 years ago
s? wan som na esu futaa gu fom a men tua shee
s? wan som na esu futaa gu fom a men tua shee
kweku trouble 8 years ago
HAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHA
kweku trouble 8 years ago
ADE, I CURRENTLY WORK IN BAMAKO – MALI. PLANS ARE FAR ADVANCED TO MAKE BAMBARA, A LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE, A NATIONAL LANGUAGE. OTHER TRIBES HAVE TO SPEAK BAMBARA TO BE MALIANS. AFTER SOME OBSERVATION, I F ... read full comment
ADE, I CURRENTLY WORK IN BAMAKO – MALI. PLANS ARE FAR ADVANCED TO MAKE BAMBARA, A LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE, A NATIONAL LANGUAGE. OTHER TRIBES HAVE TO SPEAK BAMBARA TO BE MALIANS. AFTER SOME OBSERVATION, I FOUND OUT THAT MAJORITY OF MALIANS, I DARESAY SEVENTY (70) PERCENT CANNOT SPEAK, READ OR WRITE FRENCH, WHICH IS THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE. SO MAKING BAMBARA THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE IS MEANT TO COMPENSATE FOR THEIR ILLITERACY AND UNWILLINGNESS TO LEARN. SO IN A FEW YEARS ALL ILLETERATES WILL BECOME SEMI LITERATES BECAUSE THEY CAN SPEAK THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE. I WONDER WHAT BENEFIT THE NATION WILL DERIVE FROM THIS? I ONLY SEE A WORSENING RATE OF ILLETERACY. SO I UNDERSTAND YOUR RESERVATIONS FIRST-HAND. PEOPLE MUST LEARN INSTEAD OF SEEKIING TO IMPOSE THEIR LANGUAGE TO MAKE UP FOR THEIR SHORTCOMINGS.
Ade Sawyerr 8 years ago
I work in race relations in the UK and always resist calls for translation services into the diffrent ethnic languages. My major reason is that that translation is wasted, the people still need an advocate to read the urdu a ... read full comment
I work in race relations in the UK and always resist calls for translation services into the diffrent ethnic languages. My major reason is that that translation is wasted, the people still need an advocate to read the urdu and the mandarin for them. the fact is that you are marginalised if you cannot understand a language. let me paint a scenario for you. I come Lagos Town and growing up, our favourite cinema hall, Oxford always showed Indian films on Fridays with English subtitles. 70% of the people at the cinema could neither understand the Hindi or read the english. that is how marginalised they were. Ever seen any serious story lines in Kumawood films? No!
kweku trouble 8 years ago
APTLY SAID. SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE, I HAVE BEEN SECRETLY LEARNING THE LANGUAGE WITHOUTH MY COLLEAGUES KNOWING. THEY STILL SAY THINGS IN MY PRESENCE THEY THINK I WON'T UNDERSTAND, SOMETIMES VERY INSULTING. EVEN AT THE MARKETS ... read full comment
APTLY SAID. SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE, I HAVE BEEN SECRETLY LEARNING THE LANGUAGE WITHOUTH MY COLLEAGUES KNOWING. THEY STILL SAY THINGS IN MY PRESENCE THEY THINK I WON'T UNDERSTAND, SOMETIMES VERY INSULTING. EVEN AT THE MARKETS THEY TRY TO CHEAT SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY THINK YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. I EXPERIENCE MARGINALISATION FIRST-HAND AND I FEEL SORRY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO DESIRE TO LEARN OR ADAPT; I PUT IT DOWN TO INGNORANCE. THE LEAST SAID ABOUT KUMAWOOD MOVIES THE BETTER. EVEN THE SUBSTITLES IN THOSE KUMAWOOD MOVIES ARE TERRIBLE, THEY GIVE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT MEANING TO WHAT IS SAID IN TWI. IT CRUCIFIES THE ALREADY NONEXISTANT STORY LINE. BUT THE PROBLEM IS, MAJORITY OF THE TARGET AUDIENCE DON'T EVEN KNOW IT BECAUSE THEY CAN'T READ. I GREW UP IN ASYLUM DOWN SO I USED TO FREQUENT ROXY AND DUNIA ON EITHER SIDE. I WATCHED SHAKAR AND SHOLAY AND CO. I GUESS THAT WILL BE AFTER YOUR GENERATION. ANYWAY I AM HAVING A PLATE OF DIBI SOGO WITH BAOBAB JUICE WHILES DRAWING ON MY PIPE; YOU ARE INVITED. YOUR ARTICLE MADE MY DAY.
kwaku 8 years ago
Kweku, don't you think there's an economic value in any language that's spoken by majority of people.
Kweku, don't you think there's an economic value in any language that's spoken by majority of people.
kweku trouble 8 years ago
Kwaku, please expatiate. so we can meaningfully engage on the point you raised. Indulge me.
Kwaku, please expatiate. so we can meaningfully engage on the point you raised. Indulge me.
francis kwarteng 8 years ago
Dear Sir,
I am in love with your masterpiece.
Please don't let this be the last one from you.
Thanks.
Dear Sir,
I am in love with your masterpiece.
Please don't let this be the last one from you.
Thanks.
Olu 8 years ago
My friend why all these words to appease these twi speaking arrogant people.
To me asidd from the fact that many speak twi they will not go back to the village they claim and throw into our faces. They love Accra and it's ... read full comment
My friend why all these words to appease these twi speaking arrogant people.
To me asidd from the fact that many speak twi they will not go back to the village they claim and throw into our faces. They love Accra and it's business. Will Asase even leave his spot abroad to come to Ghana? Imagine telling him togkto his village.
Don't waste time on dissapointed academics who cannot make it home and frustrated and sit abroad and write stupid things to appease their aching heart. Asase is a fool else he will see that thd very Ghana he insults daily as moron nation occupies his mind, thought more than anyplace yet he contributed very little in UprAising Ghana . I say fvck him and his asshokes arrogant brethren
patriot 8 years ago
Gas have no option but be tolerant. It is the most Ghanaian thing to do. Let the prejudiced Ghanaians know that Ghanaian cities share the same diversity as in Accra, and that it is nobody's fault that Accra was made the capit ... read full comment
Gas have no option but be tolerant. It is the most Ghanaian thing to do. Let the prejudiced Ghanaians know that Ghanaian cities share the same diversity as in Accra, and that it is nobody's fault that Accra was made the capital of Ghana.
Kofi, USA. 8 years ago
You are instigating troubles in a cleverly manner .hmmmmmm.don't go.
You are instigating troubles in a cleverly manner .hmmmmmm.don't go.
kwaku 8 years ago
Don't you people think there is an economic value in a widely spoken language
Don't you people think there is an economic value in a widely spoken language
Mr 8 years ago
da writer iz
da writer iz
Kwame Opoku-Agyemang 8 years ago
This is a well, written piece of article that I have enjoyed reading. First, I did not read any form of insult in this article. It gives me the sense that the author is knowledgeable and well-behaved. I venture to say that th ... read full comment
This is a well, written piece of article that I have enjoyed reading. First, I did not read any form of insult in this article. It gives me the sense that the author is knowledgeable and well-behaved. I venture to say that the author must have a good foundation in etiquette from his parents. They did well! Additionally, the author has argued his case well. I cannot speak to the person to whom he was responding, "Asaase" because I did not read his article. Whatever his case might have been, what I have just read is educative. Ghanaians must learn so we can exchange differing views to help educate ourselves because it will be healthy for the growth for democracy. I would like to state that I did not agree totally with this author, particularly with the statement that Asantes are causing the filth in Ga. Additionally, I do not think that Akans are trying to force their language on Ga. I personally feel bad that I could not have the chance to learn the language of Ga. The language rhymes beautifully in my ears and I wished I had learned the language. I meet with people who speak Ga language at church and feel left out at times during post church interactions. All of them do not have Ga ancestry yet, they interact beautifully around a common denominator - Ga.
It is my hope that we as Ghanaians will not allow subtle tribal sentiments to undermine the unity that we so far have as a nation. Yes, tribal differences will be there until the end of world. We should see the differences as motivation to live together peacefully. One thing that I can surely add to all that has been said is that we, as Ghanaians are blessed through the institution of marriage. I can only speak to Asantes on this issue because I am one of them. We Asantes marry into every tribe regardless of political differences that might exist. I have relatives who have married into different tribes. I am also married into a different tribe. At the end of the day, life still goes on. Let us take advantage of our cultural differences as sources of impetus to foster unity and develop strength as a nation.
May God bless Ghana
Kwame Opoku-Agyemang
Pumpuni 8 years ago
"The complaint of most Ga now is the filth and stench in Accra…"
Read this my friend.
General News of Thursday, 16 July 2015
Source: GNA
45% of Accra’s population engaged in open defecation – Nii Lante
Deputy Minis ... read full comment
"The complaint of most Ga now is the filth and stench in Accra…"
Read this my friend.
General News of Thursday, 16 July 2015
Source: GNA
45% of Accra’s population engaged in open defecation – Nii Lante
Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has revealed that about 45% of Accra’s population engages in open defecation.
Have you asked why Ga people speak Twi with their kids at home. Strange!
Y would a Ga speak twi at home with their kids? Is it to help them speak with people from other parts of the world?
great piece. akans must not force their language onto ghanaians.
Please, do tell. How are the Akans forcing their language onto Ghanaians?
If the vast majority of Akans who troupe to Accra can at least communicate in English, people will not be forced to rather learn twi to communicate with them. )mu nti shweeee. U come to Accra, u can't speak Ga or English, so ...
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If somebody comes to you and they cannot communicate with you in the language you prefer, you are not under any obligation to talk to them. You said "can't speak Ga or English, so ppl have to go and learn twi in the village n ...
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I disagree. No one is forced to speak Twi in Accra, especially the indegenes. If one responds to a Twi question in Ga The non Ga speaker will be forced to speak it. The excuse should not be that the indigenes are being nice. ...
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Great piece. I love it
There's nothing more to add to this article. The Ashantis know that language learning is a headache for them but will turn around n blame others. Even in the UK, the Asians in the local shops are trying to learn some twi ju ...
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"Even in the UK, the Asians in the local shops are trying to learn some twi just to communicate with the Ashantis because they can't speak well in simple English, the same way other tribes in Ghana try to accommodate their la ...
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Twi for good business? are the Asians also going to speak twi with ppl from other African counties?
Akans especially Ashantis don't want to learn any other language. Even common English they re reluctant to learn. u will be surprise to know even their educated folks are shy of the English
Be surprise? But you have the audacity to talk about the inability of Akans to speak the language.
Akans especially Asantes not Ashantes are proud to speak their language if communication can be done in Twi unlike some of ...
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THIS IS WHAT WE CALL INWARD LOOKING PEOPLE. YOUR TYPE WHO ARE NOT PREPARED TO LEARN ANYTHING NEW. JUST SHUT UP. DID YOU SAY MORONS? I THINK YOU JUST DESCRIBED YOURSELF IN ONE WORD.
only few asanthiefuo can speak without insults.so don't be surprised
by their insults
Don't mind them, enviness and hatred of akans is killing them. Akans have been ableto sell their Twi language to the extent that Twi is a course in Fordham university. The Chinese and the Hispanics in the USA haven't thrown o ...
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Idiot,it has not occurred to you that Spanish is also a colonial language that the South Americans mastered to bring them together.
Languages of Mexico
Official languages None at federal level
Main languages Spanish
...
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in the sight of God there is nothing like ga,twi,ewe,etc...humans are one people so please articles like this which are meant to divide us as people should not be allowed.what are we fighting over,what are we fighting for.the ...
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no is not like we dont want to learn english . is it because we rae proud of our language that is it when you are not proud of your language you will Always choose somebody language. here in europe the turks Always speak turk ...
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Twi is not written on the forehead of every Ghanaian. Do not expect the person from Paga to understand or speak Twi. As an Akan I always approach other Ghanaian nationals with English.I do not start with the nonsensical stuff ...
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Nobody is forcing you to speak Twi. DO NOT EVER SPEAK it to anybody if you do not want to!!!!!!! If anybody tries to speak Twi to you PLEASE WALK AWAY!!!!!!!
Stop using the word AKANS when in fact you are referring to a particular Twi-speaking tribe. The Fantes, Ahantas, kwahus, Akwapims speak Ga like Akoo.
Mr Sawyerr, that's brilliant. The truth must be told. Asase's xenophobic feeling is a sign of his personal inferiority complex. Gamei are just tolerant but complex. Nothing more than that.We are all Ghanaians.
Gamei are tolerant of what? What can Gamei do about other people coming to live in Accra? Can you lazy beach shitters who have sold your lands do anything?
Accra is an Akwapim land and you dirty Bukom fools should know tha ...
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IDIOT ARE YOU EVEN GHANAIAN KOKUASE PEOPLE COME TO ACCRA AND DEFECATE ON THE BEACH. BACK IN THE DAY THE BEACH DEFECATIRS WERE ALWAYS RECENT MIGRANTS TO ACCRA. I WAS BORN AND BRED IN GA-MAN AND WATCHED THOSE REFERRED TO AS MUN ...
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Language learning is not by force. Who is forcing you to learn twi. When you were selling your lands to non Gas what were you thinking? You never thought of your culture and traditions. I speak my Frafra proudly where ever I ...
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Don't mind these beach shitting lazy fools. What natural resource comes from Accra? Accra is what it is today because of natural resources from other parts of Ghana.
Gas are now banished to Bukom and Nima. They are a lazy ...
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If I may ask, did the Gas come along with any land when they migrated from Nigeria? I know the Accra lands belong to the Akwapims, so which land are the Gas talking about.
Fool. Did akwapims come to ghana with any land from Mali or did your dog eating frafra come to Ghana with land from Burkina Faso . Gas did not migrate from Nigeria . Has have owned the land for over 600 years and there was no ...
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Very stupid to see ppl say Gas are from Nigeria. Are Akans from Mali? Are Ewes from Togo and Nigeria? When Gas migrated to what is now Ghana through what is now Nigeria over 600years ago there was nothing like Nigeria so only ...
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You fool
GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND JOIN YOUR LIKES BUTCHER EACHOTHER OVER COW MEAT AND DOGS. FOOL.
THE ISSUE ON DISCUSSION HERE IS DEEPER THAN WHAT YOUR MIND IS USUALLY CAPABLE OF. IT IS NOT ONE OF THOSE ISSUES YOU JUST START COMMENTING STUPIDLY ON. ANYWAY THAT IS YOUR LEVEL. WHILES YOU ARE AT IT LET ME COME DOWN TO YOUR L ...
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Aboafunng. Wu na Wu y3 jimi mi GAMEI bubuu mu kwa 3w) KATAMANSU )mu humu m)b) maamu ma NANA SIKA DUA KOFI su gidigidi butubutu tumereka dwani dzai min mpaboa w) kwanso di k)) OSEIKROM!!! ABUA NKYI WU NWI. Wu s)RIA Wu ka nkw ...
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Kwaseasem are you suggesting GAMEI should have practiced LAND APARTHEID? SHEGE
true that ma brother, Ga m3i needs to wake up to the reality of this century and know that we can move forward as a people.. truly the Gas has found their voice...tswa tswa ni omany3 aba...
oshiapen from dc...
the writer is right but the article looks like rebuttal attack on Asaase Asante xenophobia.However, the writer made some comments whuch is more of a denigration on Ashantis.He should u
nderstand that Ashanti is not only a re ...
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"He should understand that Ashanti is not only a region but a nation within a nation. That is why if you move to outside they percieved every Ghanaian as Ashanti. ."
Bro that is a huge mistake. That is one of the reasons ...
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The other regions needs development.There is no need for tribal competition .We still have our lands and chiefs intact.The Accla,Accla,Accla migration must stop.
Good piece by all standard. Good write up. After all, nobody prevented them from going to school. Theis primitive Ashanti's are nothing than rats who think they are superior to other tribes. We know how they forged certificat ...
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Inferiority complex on display!!!!!!
Stop shouting and crying . It is too late now. The writer wants to force Ga on others ? The problem with the Gas is , they never appreciate their proximity to the sea. If Asantes had the sea , they would make money out of it ...
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Make money out of the sea. when u came to Accra, u thought the sea is boiling but now u want to make money out of it. Good idea. Just get the sea to ur Kookoase village n charge ur village chief to see it then.
MbraaFrank Tsui anaa oo, Ming kpa fai ooh.ake you no do wanna brothers like dat. I sabe plenty I go say majority no dey so. Also traditionally apart from Katamanso and a some minor battles, relations between Asanteman & Ga- ...
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Ade
Your piece is an interesting one which provides critical insights into aspects of ethnic differences and tensions in Ghana. In some places you soar to great heights in exposing the problem but in others you fall flat a ...
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Sendero, Thanks for your enlightened contribution to my piece. It started out as a straight rebuttal to Asase and was not meant in anyway to cause offence. Indeed this is the first time that i have heard so many reasonable ...
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1. You meant Trans-Volta Togoland, not Volta Region. You know they are very different entities. Ade's reply to you referred to the correct entity.
2. You mean the crown colony rather than "Gold Coast" in reality.
3. Is ...
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I like your contribution.
Ade's rebuttal of Asase's ethnocentrism had solicited a long and meandering diatribe from Sendoro.Any objective reader will recognize that the rebuttal was not meant to placate tribal stereotypical superiority but it was a ca ...
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My view is not pointed at the Ga ethnic group. They have along and proud history and more power to them. You have not treated a single point I raised. Maybe you should do so and then we can have a discussion about the matter
FOR THE FIRST TIME , I HAVE SAVED A COMMENT ON GHANAWEB. SENDERO, GHANA IS PROUD OF YOU
Thanks. I like to read your pieces. You always give interesting insights.
Thanks man. I'm really touched by your insightful comments. I couldn't help but save your comments in PDF. I hope you won't mind if I shared them with a few people.
Opoku Ware,Prempeh College,Yaa Asantewaa.Asanteman,Osei Tutu secondary schools.Prempeh Assempbly Hall.Ejusu.Mampong,Konongo,Atebubu.Asantehene,Bamtamahene.Okomfo Anokye hospital.All these Asante treasurries are all intact.Why ...
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You are very brilliant, keep it up
There is no way lack of time can prevent me from wading into this, brief though this is going to be.
Refreshing to read Ade's thoughts on this. He echoes a lot of we so-called "minoritifuo" feel about the overbearing attit ...
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Nyebro Yao,
Good day.
This is another one of those insightful pieces I enjoy reading.
Just beautiful and educative, don't you think?
Thanks.
No doubt we need to reform our system and devolve governance to the local and regional level in the context of unitary state. West Africans need a federal union to achieve our potential or else we will remain mere appendages ...
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Splendid ! This is a great piece that came at the right time . Infact , the Gas are the most tolerable and hospitable people in the whole of Ghana . Gas believe in humans and also do not discriminate . Can anyone prove to us ...
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Fred. Asantes rank up there with the Gas or even more. People who settle in Kumasi find it goes against their expectations of Asante inhospitality. Asantes have a saying that goes to the core of accommodating immigrants: y3de ...
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Languages all over the world thrives with economic power, thus if a particular language becomes the major medium of economic transactions due to the pro activeness of its speakers in business, there is little one can do. Twi ...
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Khirsten,
Either you did not read my response to Sendero well or you did not bother to read my article. i have absolutely no problem with people speaking Twi. When i am outside Accra,i try to speak it. It has never been a ...
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ADE, THIS IS A BRILIIANT PIECE. WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT SOMETHING FROM YOU AGAIN? YOU FIGURED ASASE OUT.
When I wrote on SIL about the good old 1960s in Accra before the advent of Kutu who opened the gates for every to trek to Accra, I knew those who would take offence. Ade, it's a shame in London how educated Asantes prefer to ...
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Okoe.
You make it sound like visa was required to visit Accra before Kutu. Accra is full outsiders because of vicious centralization. It is too late to correct it now. As the Asantes are coming down to Accra, the Norther ...
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There is no reason why all the ministries are based in Accra.Why should anything to do with cocoa,mineral resources,interior etc be based in Accra.There are more Ga natives getting CoCobod scholarships than Kojo Mensa in Bank ...
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DO YOU KNOW THE PROCEDURE FOR AWARDING COCOBOD SCHOLARSHIPS?
I just wish you would respond to my question. Have you ever heard Angela Merkel speak English. But she's the most powerful woman in Europe if not the world. In Europe people speak their language as a form of identity. And hav ...
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Ade, so mu ooo so mu kookoodua
s? wan som na esu futaa gu fom a men tua shee
HAHAHAHA
ADE, I CURRENTLY WORK IN BAMAKO – MALI. PLANS ARE FAR ADVANCED TO MAKE BAMBARA, A LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE, A NATIONAL LANGUAGE. OTHER TRIBES HAVE TO SPEAK BAMBARA TO BE MALIANS. AFTER SOME OBSERVATION, I F ...
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I work in race relations in the UK and always resist calls for translation services into the diffrent ethnic languages. My major reason is that that translation is wasted, the people still need an advocate to read the urdu a ...
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APTLY SAID. SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE, I HAVE BEEN SECRETLY LEARNING THE LANGUAGE WITHOUTH MY COLLEAGUES KNOWING. THEY STILL SAY THINGS IN MY PRESENCE THEY THINK I WON'T UNDERSTAND, SOMETIMES VERY INSULTING. EVEN AT THE MARKETS ...
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Kweku, don't you think there's an economic value in any language that's spoken by majority of people.
Kwaku, please expatiate. so we can meaningfully engage on the point you raised. Indulge me.
Dear Sir,
I am in love with your masterpiece.
Please don't let this be the last one from you.
Thanks.
My friend why all these words to appease these twi speaking arrogant people.
To me asidd from the fact that many speak twi they will not go back to the village they claim and throw into our faces. They love Accra and it's ...
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Gas have no option but be tolerant. It is the most Ghanaian thing to do. Let the prejudiced Ghanaians know that Ghanaian cities share the same diversity as in Accra, and that it is nobody's fault that Accra was made the capit ...
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You are instigating troubles in a cleverly manner .hmmmmmm.don't go.
Don't you people think there is an economic value in a widely spoken language
da writer iz
This is a well, written piece of article that I have enjoyed reading. First, I did not read any form of insult in this article. It gives me the sense that the author is knowledgeable and well-behaved. I venture to say that th ...
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"The complaint of most Ga now is the filth and stench in Accra…"
Read this my friend.
General News of Thursday, 16 July 2015
Source: GNA
45% of Accra’s population engaged in open defecation – Nii Lante
Deputy Minis ...
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