Editorial
‘Oobakè’,‘Akwaaba’ brouhaha: Why re-invent the wheel?
Dear Editor,
I HAVE followed with a concerning interest, the ‘Oobake’ euphoria in recent weeks among a section of Ghanaians, particularly and dangerously on social media, and I dare say that may be misguided right from the outset, risking to polarize our tourism terrain.
Rather than improve our tourism [even within the Ga -Dangbe enclave], that move for me, may lead to a wane of interest in Ghana’s tourism.
It is worth reeling back to the period between mid-1990s to early 2000s when similar banter between Bonwire (Asante) and Kpetoe (Volta) over an unnecessary claim as to who were the originators of kente in Ghana.
That development almost tore apart the kente industry in Ghana as far as tourism was concerned. I believe the likes of Messrs. Frank Kofigah, W. Nkunu Akyea, E. Komla, among others will be too willing to attest to that.
So, what about Oobake? Is it relevant? Certainly yes. But, it must be complementary; it cannot forcibly replace the trade word, – call it the catchword or the golden word – “Akwaaba”, that for all these years, has been synonymous to Ghana, the world over.
‘Akwaaba’ is more of a generic word of welcome in Ghana. The whole world knows that word and its pertinence to Ghana, next to Nkrumah.
Therefore, in an effort to brand, does it take replacing completely what resounds so much about Ghana in every part of the globe? How difficult would that be?
More importantly, will it inure to the benefit of national and sectional interests, overall? Again, won’t such a move rather open a Pandora’s Box that will only end up in balkanizing Ghana’s cultural tourism, and negatively affecting the nation and its people as a whole?
I may be a novice in marketing. However, we may dare make this analogy of the oldest surviving brewery [company] in Ghana: Accra brewery.
With all her attempts to re-brand, re-set and introduce new products, they (ABL) have never taken out (and cannot make the mistake to replace) ‘Club’ or superimpose any other name or brand/or slogan – be it Shandy or Charlie How, etc., on the popular Club; all those would rather be popularised under the ‘house-name’: ‘Club.’
Likewise, “Oobake” (Ga) – and by extension, others such as “Woezò” (Ewe), Maraaba (Dagbani), etc. – can only be used in appropriate contexts.
For example, in my practice as a tour guide and also as a master-trainer of tour guides, I, like most professionally-trained tour guides, use ‘Akwaaba’ as the generic word of welcome, but also know when to introduce the guests to other local vocal forms of welcome such as Oobake.
Thus, we move from the generic to the specific, in this case, making both words relevant in our tourism and expression of our identity in particular.
So much has gone into our tourism industry to this point, and we cannot afford to lose it.
Cosmos Ata Sracooh
Tour Guide and Master-trainer in Tour Guiding
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Dear Editor
I wish to use your esteemed platform to welcome Mr Carlos Queiroz, our new coach for our senior national male football team, the Black Stars.
We have read a lot about him and I think looking at his CV, he represents our biggest ‘catch’ in this business.
When his name came up initially, some of us doubted whether we could land him considering our scarce resources.
A coach with experiences with Real Madrid, Manchester United at club sides and national team romance with South Africa and Iran speaks volumes of what he brings to the table.
However, we must not forget that CVs don’t play football. Football is played on the pitch and it is therefore the reason why the noise about his arrival must end and watch out for what he brings to the table.
Currently, we don’t have players we could call world class. Those that comes near that label like Mohammed Kudus and Mohammed Salisu are injured.
The only player making waves in Europe at the moment is Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City.
Carlos Queiroz is not coming as a magician. He would need players who are committed and very good enough. At this moment, we should be praying and supporting him to get the best out of our players.
Directly, I want to appeal to him to take a serious look at the players in individually and access their qualities before bringing them on board.
Some of the players are very good but have just failed or struggled to perform in the Black Stars jersey. One of his task must be to break that ice.
We need nothing bust the best for the World Cup. As Ghanaians let’s support Queiroz to get the best out of the players available.
Andy Muller,
Accra
Dear Editor,
The visit of the president, John Dramani Mahama to the construction site of the La General Hospital was one that provided hope for Ghanaians, especially those within the La and Osu areas.
The project was started under the previous administration but grinded to a halt. Several demonstrations were carried out in a bid to get government to speed up work on the facility.
When this new government took over, that cloud of uncertainty persisted owing to how projects started by a particular government were abandoned by incumbents.
But we have seen something different this time. The government of John Dramani Mahama has shown commitment to complete the project.
The crowd that gathered on his inspection of works on the project clearly speaks of how important the project is for them.
It is my prayer they speed up work on the facility and complete it on time for the people to travel shorter distance to access healthcare.
Atswei Rosalind,
La
