Mental Slavery & Used DE-SAA-NA [Designer] Panties

*By Akadu Ntiriwa Mensema, Ph. D.

I. DE-SAA-NA THEOLOGY

Ghanaians are dressing up

Peacocking, strutting

Like ebullient vultures

In a camp of carcasses

Carcasses of used items

Carcasses of second-hand grandeur

Splendor of used bodily items

Of DE-SAA NA

Used clothes, second-hand items

Used and worn-out by OBURONI

Ghanaians love it all used

Second hand from OBURONI

From gods with white skin

User-friendly white-used items

It is called DE-SAA-NA

Using used and being used

Second hand items recycled

Ghanaian theology of second-hand

Anomalous faith

Neocolonized

Disempowered

Impoverished

Ghettoized

Hegemonized faith

That all whites wear DE-SAA-NA

Encased in mental slavery

Our locally made clothes

All our locally made goods

Lack the superiority of OBURONI

Lack the supremacy of OBURONI

Of OBURONI’s used DE-SAA-NA

II. HEAD/NECK IN DE-SAA-NA

DE-SAA-NA

Used hair, scarves, hats

Used ear-rings, nose-rings

Used necklace for women

Used neck-chains for men

Used bowties

And so we kill our local industries

Scrambling for used DE-SAA-NA

Used by our white gods

III. TRUNK/BODY IN DE-SAA-NA

DE-SAA-NA

Used shirts, lacrosse shirts, T-Shirts

Used panties/underwear

Used brassiere, lingerie

Used VICTORIA’S SECRET

Used shoes, socks

And so we kill our local industries

Scrambling for used DE-SAA-NA

Used by our white gods

IV. OTHER DE-SAA-NA

Used toothbrush

Used sponge, towels

Used nail polish, lipstick

Used hairbrush, combs

Used wedding rings

And so we kill our local industries

Scrambling for used DE-SAA-NA

Used by our white gods

V. RITUAL BUYING OF DE-SAA-NA

Ghanaian noses

Burrow into colonies of armpit

Of OBURONIS’ used DE-SAA-NA

Ghanaian noses

Explore provinces of genitalia

Of OBURONIS’ used DE-SAA-NA

Ghanaian eyes

Search for priceless white buttons

Ghanaian eyes

Look for strands of blond hair

Yes, scientific methods

Of looking for traces of whiteness

Of verifying whiteness

In colonies of armpit

In provinces of genitalia

VI. MENTAL SLAVERY & DE-SAA-NA

DE-SAA-NA

Worn by gods with white skin

Who have no body scent

No hair scent

Clothed in perfumes

To hold stench in check

No sweat, disease-free

Machine-washed

In purified water

Dried with artificial heat

Mental slavery is our bane

VII. DE-SAA-NA KILLING US

Oh! Our Ignorance

Oh! Our Dependency

Of killers of the dream

Of killers of independence

Of killers of local industries

The poverty of our minds

And our dearth of inventiveness

It is all in DE-SAA- NA

Of cradled in used clothes

Smelling it, loving it, wearing it

Using used and being used

The poverty of our minds

And our dearth of inventiveness

They are all in DE-SAA- NA

DE-SAA-NA

*Akadu N. Mensema, Ph. D., is a nationalist Denkyira beauty. She is a trained oral historian cum sociologist and Professor in the USA. She lives in Pennsylvania with her great mentor and teaches Africa-area studies at a college in Maryland. In her pastime, she writes what critics have called “populist hyperbolic, satirical” poetry. She can be reached at akadumensema@yahoo.com