Omanhene criticizes Ghanaians for blind imitation of foreign culture

The Omanhene of Essikadu Traditional Area, Nana Kobena Nketsia V, has decried the wrongful imitation of foreign cultures by Ghanaians thereby adulterating our cultural values.

He therefore entreated Ghanaians to be proud of our cultural heritage and preserve them for generation yet unborn.

Nana Nketsia was speaking at a dialogue session of the ongoing regional policy fair at the Essipong Sports Stadium on Friday on the topic: “Culture as an Accelerator of Development”.

Nana Nketsia, a History lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, said our colonel masters imposed their cultural values on us in order to exploit our natural resources to their advantage.

He pointed out that even though the British rulers oppressed Ghanaians to exploit our resources, yet “we are continuing their oppressive agenda through blind simulation of their cultural values though we tout ourselves as an independent nation.”

“Whenever someone defines your will, that person controls your future and perception, but we need to define our problems and diverse strategies in solving them ourselves instead of depending on others”, he opined.

The Omanhene observed that the Westerners introduced capitalism as a system of governance that eventually enslaved us on our own land, adding that, any culture that capitulate another culture is not worth practicing.

Nana Nketsia said dynamism of culture is the reflection of our thought and therefore we must develop our culture for our benefit, not blind imitation of other people’s way of life.

“The British celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen of England to showcase to the whole world how they valued their culture and that also attracted tourists from all over the world to England, which fetched them huge foreign earnings, the Omanhene observed.

Nana Nketsia charged Ghanaians to value their cultural values and cited the colourful festivals, music, dance and clothing as well as the inner qualities that defines Ghanaians, are worth emulating by others.

The fair being organized by the Ministry of Information, in collaboration with the Regional Administration, is aimed at enhancing public understanding of government policies, programmes and activities to enhance policy formulation.

The four-day fair created a platform for the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies as well as Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the Region to educate the public about their works and mandate.**