‘Yɛfri Tuobodom’ re-visited

The Yɛfri Tuobodom song sung by Nkasei carry within its womb an implicit suggestion of denigration. The lyrics and the video of the song with somebody knocking at his refrigerator before he enters is a clear message of a rustic ignoramus who is awed by the sight of a refrigerator.

History is full of examples where people seeking to dominate other people reduce them to non-entities. This has happened in this region (Brong Ahafo) before, until 1959, when the people of this region reasserted their essence.

The indignation of the people assumes several dimensions according to the times. In every proactive society, the purpose of lamentation is to get rid of lamentation. You do not allow life to happen to you, you do not seek refuge in history. You take control of your life, as it is often said, lack is an incentive to the foil of it. This is happening right now.

The ongoing renovation of the Sunyani Coronation Park attests to this. The Brong Ahafo Region can boast of famous footballers, it has five football clubs as of now and can boast of longer periods of captaincy of the Black Stars or National team in the persons of Kwasi Owusu, Kwasi Appiah, Asamoah Gyan and Alex Opoku of Black Starlets fame.

The Sunyani Coronation Park is owned by the government. The proceeds of the usage of the park go to the government yet it is neglected. During the last AFCON that was held in Ghana in 2008, Brong Ahafo was denied a befitting stadium with the excuse that it is a few hours away from Kumasi according to the authorities.

Bofoakwa and other teams risk being refused to play in the Coronation Park through no fault of theirs. The citizens have been compelled to take up the renovation of the park themselves. We are seeing the rare collaboration of BA United and Bofoakwa, thanks to the integrative effort of Mr. Ransford Antwi and Willi-Wise Kyeremeh.

This rare feat of the rival cross is positive but carries within its womb, self-denial, self-negation, and lethargy. The region has the right to the National Cake, it is over qualified to be given a befitting stadium judging from its contribution to football and other sports including a world boxing champion in the person of Nana Yaw Konadu. It is said that, if you make yourself a worm, you will get a duck to hunt for you in the gutter as its meal.

Perhaps the quest has not generated the necessary and sufficient dynamism that will galvanize the people's desire for the masses to make their position clear so that leadership cannot do otherwise. That is why the Kotokrom debacle still remains.

Already the psyche of the region is beginning to rekindle, the two recent “Meko Bono” demonstrations in Sunyani and ongoing attempts to reduce the Bono language into writing confirm these. The claim of ownership of Adinkra designs in a book written by the Omanhene of Sumah bespeak of a people rising to assert and claim what is theirs. The creative work of its artist like Kooko is worth recalling in this assonance; “Ɛyɛ bono, Ɛyɛ mono, Ɛnfono”.

This resilience attests to minds waking up. Society has various facets of leadership, it has spiritual leaders, politicians, philosophers, etc. It is now the duty of the intellectuals and philosophers to synthesize the mood and bring out a clear direction for people to move. The ball is in their court now. It is time Brong Ahafo woke up and negated the “Abono Pakyie” Syndrome.

It is not enough to recite romantic anecdotes bereft of a clear sense of purpose, urgency, logical link and direction. Duty bearers owe it a duty to provide this service as a clear direction for the people to follow.

Every society has the resilience and capacity to correct its mistakes in the course of history and Brong Ahafo region is no exception. This comes with the passage of time but the passage of time itself is neutral. It is man imbuing it with purpose and a sense of direction that brings about progress. Brong Ahafo your time is now.