By Hon. Kosi Kedem, Former MP
Ewe, word and tribe, is enigmatic. It attracts and repells.
I have been asking myself why Ewe, word and tribe, should be anathema to some people in Ghana. The Ewe language has been described by the German missionary, Dr. Jakob Spieth, as a most beautiful language.
Certainly, it is and it’s culture too. But now in Ghana Ewe(word and tribe) has become an anathema. It was not like that during Dr. Nkrumah’s time.
In the 1960s when I was a student at St. Augustine’s College, Cape Coast, Ewe(word and tribe) was well respected, accepted and accommodated. At St. Augustine’s you could hardly tell who was from this or that tribe, unless during cultural shows.
We embraced each other as Ghanaians.
At that time we knew all the Ashanti students were from Kumasi (laugh) and the Ga language was the students’ lingua franca on the compound.
In those days if someone in Ghana were looking for an honest, hard working artisan, teacher or white colour employee one was likely to search for an Ewe. Of course, there were a few unpleasant remarks and comments about Ewes taken in its stride
Things changed drastically or began to change during Busia’s regime. Suddenly, it was the Ewe who was the accomplished coup maker(Kotoka and Harley).
If you were looking for aliens it was Ewe(Busia alien compliance order) if you were looking for workers to be sacked it was Ewe workers(Apollo568). If armed soldiers should be despatched to a place to keep the law and order during national elections it is the abode of the Ewe, Volta Region, etc.
Admittedly, these things cannot happen in isolation! So it is time the Ewe sit up and do a serious self-introspection. They must ask themselves why, of all Ghanaians they should be targetted and discriminated against.
But even before they do that there is something I want to say about Ewes.
They do not seem to care about what happens to them. They just accept things as they happen to them.
The most amazing thing is that they tend to defend and hold brief for their oppressors and detractors as it happened only yesterday when the “Queen” of Tongu loudly defended H. E. Amazing stuff!
They look down upon themselves to speak and accept other peoples’ languages and cultures. It is most striking that even in the midst of disaster Tongu people were speaking in an alien language to the newsman covering the scene as if they did not have their own language! The second thing about Ewes is that they do not seem to have a united front; common interest or leadership. They lack leadership.
They behave like an acephalous or non-stratified society. They seem to have left common interest and leadership behind at Nortsie!
Of course, when other tribes know you cannot unite, have no cohesive leadership or common interest they will always target and bully you to achieve supremacy over you. True or false?
I must admit that all that I have said here about Ewes is mere perception. However, If anyone has the reality let him produce or publish it. No offence is intended
