Efiya Otiwaa Demands Public Apology from GMB’s Ampomaa Over Mislabelled Song “Nananom”
US‑based Afro‑spiritual Ghanaian musician Efiya Otiwaa, originator of the song “Nananom” released under Asaase Records, is calling on TV3’s Ghana’s Most Beautiful contestant for the Ashanti Region, Ampomaa, to publicly apologise for misrepresenting her work as a folk song.
According to Efiya, the issue goes beyond the contestant’s performance. Her primary concern is that the song was allegedly used without permission and later described as a folk song when Ampomaa was asked to identify its origin.
Efiya insists that proper credit must be given on the same GMB stage where the misrepresentation occurred.
She believes Ampomaa should use the platform to clearly acknowledge Efiya Otiwaa as the owner and creator of “Nananom” and correct the impression that the piece is a traditional folk composition.
Beyond the immediate incident, Efiya highlighted a broader challenge facing African creatives: original works from the continent are often stripped of proper attribution and wrongly credited to traditions or individuals who did not create them.
Her advice to performers is straightforward — before using someone’s creative work, find out who created it, understand its origin, and obtain the necessary permission.