Features
Confusion in Tema
TEMA is a city of mysteries. When someone dies, chances are that the person will resurrect and shame the devil. Come to the harbour city and you’d meet a few Jesuses of Nazareth and of course Kwame Korkorti.
Because people in Tema are used to dying and resurrecting after three days, when someone dies, it is important that the person himself go round town to announce his obituary before people can believe he is really dead and wouldn’t wake up and cause commotion.
When the infamous, spine-chilling Madam High Heels died in Tema a few years back, she announced her death in a rather grand style. She toured all primary schools in Tema, wearing a white dress and high-heeled pair of footwear. For more than eight weeks she terrorised school children. “I saw her with my own eyes,” one kid swore. “She wore high-heel shoes and her walkings was very stylish.”
“She entered into our classroom and then vanished when we screamed,” another recounted.
It was rumoured that only children could see the ‘ghost on strike’ because they are ‘holy.’ So they could see the celebrated ghost which was on tour allegedly searching for its lost daughter among school children.
In one of the schools, one male teacher nearly defecated when his class children began screaming in terror. A stampede was in progress and the terrified teacher who did not see the ghost apparently because he wasn’t holy, did not know which direction to flee. And if he had the misfortune of meeting the Madam right in his way, it could be disastrous for his health and future.
“Where is it?” he cried out to the kids. “It is near you!” they shouted back. That was enough to loosen his bowels.
The next stop was Teshie where the Madam visited. It was a real challenge to both staff and pupils. It was a real race as both teachers and kids defied all odds and took off in different directions. But it was the head teacher who impressed everybody. No one gave him a dog’s chance but he outran both his contemporaries and the younger generation.
Actually, he proved to all that he was not headmaster for nothing. He also proved that under certain circumstances you have to abandon the school children and seek your own salvation. Each for himself. Man no fool!
Apparently one kid had heard something like someone walking with high-heeled shoes and raised the alarm. That was enough for the speed.
Soon after the Madam rounded-off her tour came the era of the Black Cat. Don’t get scared, Black Cat isn’t really a cat and does not intend to be. The Cat is in fact a human being. He was commissioned by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to arrest floating drivers.
The emergence of floating drivers became a phenomenon when the lorry station which was first located near the Community One market was relocated remotely beyond the Mankoadze roundabout.
It caused great inconvenience to travelers because getting to the new station demanded some miles of walking in some cases. It turned out that some LT and mini-bus drivers took advantage of the situation, turned coat and began floating like butterflies picking passengers by the roadsides.
The GPRTU executive lamented the new development. The floaters were getting all the jobs and weren’t paying station fees. They were also allegedly dodging tax because they had turned renegade and were under nobody’s control. They complained to TMA and the Black Cat was hired to solve the problem using strong-arm and red-eye.
Black Cat is a strong, burly, barrel-chested fellow who has quite a reputation in the city. He seemed just right for the job. He headed a task force that moved silently around Community One in a taxi or a minibus targeting floating drivers and catching them for disciplinary action.
Sometimes, it resulted in a real chase when the recalcitrant drivers took off in escape. It was always a spectacle; dangerous sensation of screeching, weaving, dodging and aponkye braking as they raced, one escaping, the other furiously pursuing.
It was just miraculous that accidents did not occur in the misadventures. Sidewalks were trespassed by the offending drivers who either swung precariously to the left or to the right to avoid the Cat, with pedestrians screaming in terror and taking cover.
Residents of Tema became concerned about the dangerous pursuits and complained. Nobody minded them. Then one day Black Cat caught one driver but the man decided to resist arrest. Apparently he was too “tough copper” and decided to defy the might of the human cat.
A fight ensued and soon a capacity crowd gathered to witness it. In the course of it, it became clear that the driver was a poor match for Black Cat, and sooner or later the Cat’s back would touch the ground in defeat.
Sensing danger, it was alleged that Black Cat drew a knife and whum! whum! whum! Adzeiii-i-I!
News of the death of the driver reverberated the length and breadth of the harbour city. The rumour came in different versions. “Black Cat stabbed the man twice in the neck, twice in the stomach and once in the nose,” someone told me that day. Others said different things about the incident. What was, however, certain was that the driver had died.
The news incensed fellow drivers who stormed the offices of the TMA and ravaged it, burning a bus (allegedly belonging to Black Cat), smashing windscreens and causing pandemonium and destruction. The quiet made residents from all the communities converge on Community One to see what the hell was going on.
The death of the driver had precipitated a disturbance and the security agents had a tough time calming frayed nerves. Then something happened. The dead man was seen roaming in town and feeling good himself. He had resurrected.
What! Tema really is a mystery city.
This article was first published on Saturday May11, 1996
Today, I focus on the Apostolic Church International in Finland, as I continue with my description of institutions and personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland.
The Apostolic Church International, Finland (or, Apostolic International Association Ry) was established in October 9, 2023. The Church in Finland has seen significant strides and accomplishments within the short time that it has been established in Finland, which must be highlighted.
History of the Church in Ghana
The Apostolic Church Ghana originated from the 1904–1905 Welsh revival, officially established in Ghana (then called Gold Coast) in 1935 following connections between a local prayer group in Asamankese (a town in southern Ghana), led by Peter Newman Anim, and the Apostolic Church, UK. There were historical splits in 1939 and 1953, but the Apostolic Church attained autonomy in 1985.
Today, the Church is headquartered in Accra. Last year (2025), it dedicated its new 10-storey headquarters, “The Apostolic Church Tower,” in Frafraha, Adenta West in Accra.
Activities of the Apostolic Church in Finland
The Apostolic Church in Finland conducts church service on Sundays. The service starts at 11a.m. in the morning and closes by 1 p.m. in the afternoon. There are no other activities during other days for now.
The Minister in charge of the church in Finland is also the Area Head of Italy Area. He is Pastor Daniel Kofi Addison who is the new Italy Area Head, and has just been transferred from UK South Area to Italy Area during the just-ended Council Meeting in March this year. Italy Area comprises Italy, which has 13 Assemblies, Germany, one Assembly, and Finland, one Assembly.
Elder Ebenezer Amoaning-Coffie is the Presiding Elder in charge of the Assembly in Finland. A Presiding Elder is responsible for day to day activities of the church (Assembly) and reports to the District Pastor, or in the absence of the District Pastor, reports to the Area Head.
Achievements
The Apostolic Church International, Finland was officially registered under the Finnish Law, guaranteeing freedom of worship and providing legal foundation for future growth. The church service is conducted in both English and Twi.
The church opens its doors to all people of every nation, especially Ghanaians who are in Finland and other African nationals. Now, the membership comprises Ghanaians, Nigerians and Sierra Leoneans.
The Church and the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland
The Apostolic Church in Finland plays a prominent role as a religious group that serves Ghanaian migrants and others in the Finnish society.
Thus, the Apostolic Church is a religious body for Ghanaian migrants in Finland and other nationalities who want to worship with them for diversity and better intercultural and multicultural understanding.
Elder Amoaning-Coffie said that the main and primary aim of the church is to bring people closer to God. “We aim to win souls for Christ. We aim to preach the gospel to the world. By propagating the gospel to the people, we are hopeful that they will turn away from any ungodly ways and be good individuals in the community and in society in general”, he stated.
He said that everything is going well so far. A key challenge, however, is how to get more members especially the youth. As a new Assembly, we are in need of instrumentalists, for example. We pray to God Almighty to help us do His work, the Elder disclosed.
Integration
By its activities, the Apostolic Church is helping to ensure integration of its members well into the Finish society. This is important since social interaction and citizens’ well-being are an important part of the integration process in Finland.
As I mentioned some time ago, the role of migrant associations and groups such as the Apostolic Church acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
The landscape of the Ghanaian palate is shifting, and not necessarily for the better. In our bustling urban centres, from the streets of Accra to the suburbs of Kumasi, a quiet culinary revolution is taking place; one where the mortar and pestle are being replaced by the pizza oven and the deep fryer. This transition from traditional staple foods like fufu, banku, akple, kenkey, tuo zaafi, and ampesi toward “continental” dishes is more than just a change in appetite; it is a reflection of a deeper social struggle with identity and prestige.
The illusion of modernity
For many, “stepping out” for a meal has become synonymous with consuming foreign cuisine. There is an unspoken social hierarchy where a bowl of Abunuabunu is relegated to the village category, while burgers, pizzas are branded as prestigious choices. We have reached a stage where we equate foreign with modern and local with primitive.
This perception is a dangerous illusion. Our traditional dishes are marvels of culinary engineering complex, nutrient-dense, and deeply rooted in our history. When we choose a processed foreign import over a meal made from local tubers or fermented maize, we are not just changing our lunch; we are eroding the indigenous knowledge attached to our local ingredients and foods.
We need to turn the consumption of indigenous grains and tubers like millet, sorghum, and plantain into a statement of self-worth and national pride.
The cultural and health erosion
Every time a local dish disappears from a restaurant menu to make room for foreign fast food, we lose a piece of our cultural fabric. Traditional Ghanaian cooking is an art that requires patience and skill. By choosing the convenience of foreign fast food, we are raising a generation that may know the taste of a pepperoni pizza but cannot identify the rich, earthy profile of Prekese or the subtle tang of well-fermented dough dishes like corn porridge, banku, etew, abolo, agidi or kamfa, and kenkey.
Furthermore, we are at the crossroads of a nutrition transition. Replacing high-fiber, indigenous crops with calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foreign fast foods is driving a rise in lifestyle diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and liver disease. We are trading our longevity for 15-minutes convenience or unhealthy diet.
A call for culinary patriotism
It is time for us to appreciate, preserve, and promote our indigenous foods and culinary traditions. We need to be proud of our local dishes, ingredients and cooking methods, rather than relying heavily on foreign or imported foods. We must stop viewing our local delicacies as low-class and start treating our culinary heritage as the high-end gastronomy it truly is.
True sophistication does not come from imitating Western fast food; it comes from innovation and adding values to our own resources. We see glimpses of this potential in the rise of branded Sobolo and the creative use of gluten-free plantain flour in modern baking of flour-based dishes such as bread, cakes, biscuits and others. This is the path forward. We must elevate our local dishes, making them as accessible, affordable, presentable and trendy as any foreign alternative.
To the hospitality industry: Innovate or stagnate
Our hotels and high-end restaurants must lead the charge. They must stop relegating local dishes to the “traditional corner” of the buffet, and apply the same culinary finesse given to imported dishes to our Fante Fante, apapransa, aborbi tadi, fetritoto, akple, abolo, yakayeke, fufu, ampesi, kokonte, wasawasa, tubani, apapransa, mpotompoto, kelewele, aliha, brukutu, pito, and other local dishes. The industry must enhance customer experiences making eating local dishes the ultimate luxury experience for both tourists and residents alike. We must elevate the presentation of our foods by using modern plating techniques to show that a bowl of light soup can be as visually stunning as a French consommé. We need to reclaim our Ghanaian plate before it is too late.
To the policy makers: Let us encourage buying of local ingredients to promote the local food industry and economy. There should be educational programmes and talks about the nutritional and cultural benefits of local foods so that people understand their value.
We need to encourage serving traditional dishes at school programmes, parties, and celebrations instead of only fast foods,
To the Youth: Let us value and appreciate our traditional dishes instead of always choosing foreign foods. There must be balance in our choice of local and foreign dishes. Confidence in our culture encourages others to respect it too. Our local dishes can also be promoted by sharing pictures, recipes, and videos on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp to make them attractive and trendy.
Young citizens must learn from their parents and elders how to prepare local meals to keep the knowledge and cultural relevance alive. Local dishes can be modernised to appeal to younger generations and tourists.
Conclusion
We cannot afford to trade our heritage for foreign cuisines which are gaining grounds across the country at an alarming rate. We must disabuse our minds of the perception that anything foreign or imported is better than those locally made. Our health, economy, and identity are tied to the soil. It is time to stop apologising for our local flavours and start celebrating them. It is possible to embrace modernity without losing ourselves and our cultural identity. Let us make the Ghanaian kitchen the heart of our modern identity once again.
By: Marilyn Gadogbe
