They Are Not From Tuobodom

I don?t know whether it was unique to those of us who went to school in the rural area or, shall I say, grew up in smaller communities. But at least I do remember that in my childhood days, more often than not, whenever you saw two young friends fighting it may, in all probability, have started with some name-calling or mockery-making of some sort. In the Twi Language this is known as ?ahuro?.

In other words, the mere mention of just one word, whether carelessly or intentionally, could instantly turn two giggling friends into Jomo Jackson Vs. Joe Tetteh i.e. the boxing version of Kotoko Vs. Hearts. ?Ahuro?, whether it is about wrongful or inappropriate use of a ?guy name? or ridiculing your friend by saying for example ?je sui tomb?? (to remind him of his failure to woo that girl), can result in a sudden test of which of the two has the harder jaw. My father therefore, always warned me about ?ahuro? and its consequences, and I?m happy to say I took him seriously.

Whenever I think of ?ahuro? there is always one particular childhood case that readily comes to mind. It is about Agya Onyame of blessed memory. His nick-name (?mranee?) was simply ?kiti-kiti? and anyone who said so to his hearing did so at his own risk. So the really die-hard ?ahuro? people devised a way to cheat by stamping their feet four times in staccato rhythm whenever Agya Onyame was around. And of course, his reaction was the same whether you drummed your thighs or clapped your hands to call his nick-name. He would attack you with anything he would lay hands on. And the irony is that the more you attempt to fight against ?mranee? the more popular it becomes.

Enough said about my youthful experience with ?ahuro?. Right now what I wish to use the benefit of this medium to do is to discuss one classic case of modern-day ?ahuro? going on today in Ghana, not about one person but rather about a whole people, and the potential I believe it has to disunite us as a nation and disturb our peace. Incidentally I know that it is the good habits we picked and the bad ones we ignored when we were children that eventually shape what we become as adults.

To say the least, and frankly, I must say I?m very disappointed at the way this issue of a com?mercial song with the title ?Yefri Tuobodom? has been handled generally and especially by some personalities at the highest levels of our society. People are simply saying that ?we are in a democratic society therefore if some?body has composed his song we should not worry ourselves about it.? I for one don?t see it that way because I don?t think it is as simple as that. On the contrary, I see the song as a rather misguided attempt by a group of musicians to make busi?ness at the expense of our national unity, and it is shameful we appear to be ignoring this plain truth. It may be true indeed that the original intention of these guys was not to hurt the people of Tuobodom and through that make their money. The fact though is that as they make their money people are being hurt.

I chanced to listen to a radio phone-in interview of a highly respected M.P. from Brong-Ahafo on the issue one day, and I must say I was very disappointed with his comments. Apart from clarifying the fact that by simple geographical fact Jinijini cannot be the capital of Tuobodom, the Hon. MP simply played down the harm the lyrics of the song are doubtlessly causing the people of the town. He in fact went even further to say that he personally enjoys the nice rhythm of the song. Of course I have no problems with anybody?s right to decide which song he/she likes. My dis?appointment rather stems from the fact that the gentleman is not only a Member of Parliament but also from a region whose citizens are by and large, being ridiculed by the lyrics of the song i.e. Brong Ahafo, and he doesn?t seem to appreciate this.

Just the other day, I heard a radio presenter referring to Berekum Arsenals Football Club as the ?Tuobodom Boys?. It would have been understandable if the Berekum boys had been called ?Kwasi Owusu?, ?Agyemang Gyau? or ?Kwadwo Mfum? Boys in recognition of the contribution of these sons of the region to the development of football in Ghana. But what is ?Tuobodom? supposed to symbolise here as an appel?lation for Berekum Arsenals or Sunyani Tano Bofoakwa when neither of them is based there? No doubt, the intention is clearly to project the people of Brong-Ahafo just as the lyrics of the song describe the Tuobodom school children i.e. some bush boys over-excited about seeing a ?tarred? road. This is certainly not acceptable.

Again, is it in fact, not obvious from the language used in part of the song that the artistes are making mockery of the Brong dialect? So why are we pretending that there is nothing wrong with it? I recall that when I was a young boy there was a song: ?Jinijinifo behye ntaade koo, benkoto, bensore?? part of which incidentally, is used in this song. This of course, was not used to ridicule only the people of Jinijini but people from Brong Ahafo generally, and no one can deny this. Fortunately, this was a little song used only by naughty children to ridicule people from that region, usually from a safe distance. What we are talking about today, however, is a song which has apparently become popular because of its controversial lyrics which do not in any way help the pro?mo?tion of national unity. It is a delicate and potentially divisive issue and we shouldn?t pretend it is not.

Another time I also listened to another highly respected traditional ruler equally playing down the negative effects of the lyrics of the song. What neither of the gentle??men said was whether or not they recognise the fact that the contents of the song are causing discomfort to a section of the people. Could it be that in our desire to show the world how democratic we are we have forgotten the need for national unity?

The Case of Mfum

And please let?s be honest with ourselves as a nation. If instead of ?Tuobodom?, the lyrics of this song had been about another town in a different region of Ghana the public reaction would certainly have been different. True or false?

Former Kotoko and Black Stars hero, Wilberforce Mfum, will be the first to tell how it feels to be careless with comments that have the potential to endanger national unity. Ahead of the last Hearts Vrs. Kotoko league match officials of the latter protested against the choice of Fifa Referee Agbovi to handle the game. It was a similar protest made by Mfum last season that cost him all his reputation and position on both the Kotoko and Black Stars management boards. So what exactly did he do differently from his predecessors? It was because instead of protesting against a particular referee he generalised his statement to include all referees from a specific ethnic group. So if this is how sensitive we are when it comes to ethnicity why isn?t anyone telling ?Nkasee? anything?

The Arrogance of Nkasee

According to a Ghanaweb publication of 18th October of an interview Nkasee granted the BBC?s Network Africa they are quoted as saying: "We don't find anything in the song which should make them (the Tuobodom people) mad." Their reason, according to the story, is that ?the song referred to events some 80 years ago and was not about the inha?bitants now?. Therefore ?the video had to show how the town might have looked back then", since "We can't sing a song about a town 80 years back, and go and shoot the modern place." What an insult borne out of arrogance! You would think they had been contracted to compose a song about Tuobodom of the 1920s and for which they needed the video. For all I know, you may be excused if you kill someone?s pet by accident, but there can not be any excuse when you make a feast of the meat. Nkassee have done exactly that and are telling Ghanaians it doesn?t matter. And sadly, by our inaction, we appear to be supporting them.

Where Did The Story Come From?

Since the story-line of their song is not documented anywhere the question that readily comes to mind is why on earth they didn?t make a song about how their own villages since after all, in the 1920s not many rural Ghanaian communities had seen ?coal tar? before. They would do well to tell the whole world the name of that school which was in Tuobodom in the 1920s and perhaps the name of the School Teacher who had the privilege of taking his pupils to Kumasi for a ?congress?. They should also tell Ghanaians where in the country, ?some 80 years ago?, there was television or a disco.

I gave a specific example of how aggressively an otherwise normally behaved gentleman reacted to taunts earlier in this piece simply to draw attention to the fact that even the most gentle person may find a way to react when cornered. As a society, therefore, we would be behaving irresponsibly if we should remain uncon?cerned for the ridicule and taunts among playing children to degenerate into blows and stone throwing before we attempt to separate them and in the process accuse the one who was first to throw a punch as being ?Fuguyama?. To quote Einsten, ?The world is a dangerous place to live not because of those who do evil, but because of those who watch let it happen." As I had feared, in the Ghanaweb story referred to above ?students who come from the town (Tuobodom) are said to be keeping their birthplace to themselves at campuses across the country for fear of ridicule. And teachers from the village who are working in other parts of the country are reported to have asked to be sent home because students have been making fun of them?. So far, no problem yet. But the trouble will start if a handful of them who will not allow themselves to be harassed out of their school or workplace decide to stand up and fight. And this is exactly what we should do our best to prevent.

We may indeed be living in a society where the rule of law is well respected. I believe the law will take its course if any person causes harm to another who has called him names. But what benefit would we derive as a society if we sit uncon?cerned for our youth to take the law into their own hands and in the event disturb our peace only to hope that the law will take its course later? Should we sit down for a conflict to erupt before ?Nananom?, ?Men of God? and the Honourables start preaching the virtues of peace?

Indeed I am not one of those who may be calling for a ?ban? of the song since after all, no one can control what type of music people may listen to in their homes. I also, in fact, recognise the fact that the numerous FM stations in the country are privately owned and no one can dictate which songs they may or may not play. I do sincerely believe, however, that we can all play a part in ensuring that citizens of no part of the country are made to feel uncomfortable in any part of the country.

At the very least, leadership of society could express its disapproval of the song by publicly con?demning it. I would also like to plead with our radio presenters and DJs to demonstrate their concern for national unity by not playing the song on their programmes. Regrettably, some of them, from their comments and the frequency at which they play the song, give me the impression that they think it is funny if a section of our people make fun of others. I bet those guys are not from Tuobodom. Not surprisingly, I once heard that a radio presenter somewhere in Brong-Ahafo was given a slap by his boss for playing the song on air.

I do not think this issue is too insignificant for our Parliament to make an official declaration of condemnation on. And separately I am hereby humbly appealing to our honourable MPs from Brong-Ahafo Region to issue a statement condemning the contents of the song. The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) should also make a public declaration to distance itself from the arrogant defence being put up by Nkassee. Even if all of the above do not help to diminish the popularity of the song I believe that the message it would carry would go a long way to reassure the people of Tuobodom in particular and Brong-Ahafo in general that at least responsible Ghanaians do not approve of a situation where a section of Ghanaians ridicule others for a living.

It would be a great shame if no such action is taken before a Tuobodom citizen decides to take the law into his own hand in defence of the dignity of his people resulting in the breach of public peace. For as the saying goes, the old man who does nothing to stop the young ones from eating unwhole?some meat is also regarded as someone who eats unwholesome meat. Meanwhile, I can bet that Nkassee are not from Tuobodom and they may need police protection to visit there. And just in case you wish to know, I am not from Tuobodom either.