Chest Out Your Bling bling Mr. Hip hop President. Its In The Blood

VooDoo Child
(By Dzifah Hiatsi)

2nd Half
Being a show and source of power, one is sure to pause and say, "aaah, thatʼs why;" the chieftaincy disputes in Ghana. Everybody wants to control the bling that accompanies that office.

Just imagine yourself the guardian of the great Sika Dwa Kofi, the famous tradional power source and you think about Okumkom Nana Agyeman, the former mayor of Kumasi. People knew him to be of royal blood but whaaat, in line to the throne too? When the time came to choose a new Asantehene, Okumkom made an about turn in his appearance and suddenly became the clean shaven, genteel person that he as a royal was groomed to be. The kingmakers may have muttered under tone, "tweakai;" and the mother of mothers, Nana Kobi Serwa Ampem, "otwea, se me kaa ye". Thatʼs right, "aye ka," seemed the most appropriate thing to say, as, that assertion that royals remain apolitical was proven right.

Bling Validation

Then there is also the proof of power or bling validation. Where is your proof? The answer really comes out in that statement from the Presidency. The gold chain was an accoutrement to the State Sword. It serves like a silent announcement when one entered a room full of dignitaries. Canʼt you see me wearing all these bling. Why, you think I borrowed them. So some of our kings and royal go to the consular sections to have their passports stamped with "rejection" after waiting for eternity sitting as if in state on a bench with the commoners; even after displaying their proof of authority. The too know visa people, aah, they knew everybody was chief in his hometown. But we knew Naa Poku Chiiri was never seen waiting at any consular section when he wanted to travel outside.

The Most Practical Use of Bling

Yet the most practical use of bling was for insurance policy in times of great need. After exhausting all avenues including seeking the help of your uncle thrice removed from you, the bling hidden in that tipple wrapped polythene bag with the nice smell that never left the side of your uncleʼs bed was opened and you smelled half a century old air, trapped in that bag along with the gold all those years. When you passed your Common Entrance or gained admission to the university and you thought you could not possible make it and were rather going to your uncle twice removed to learn carpenter, bling power saved the day. A piece of that bling was pawned or became collateral for some money to be mobilized quickly and off you went to the big school to become somebody too.

Did not Togbe Gbagbladza emplane to a hip hop land in full bling along with his entourage that time? On his return, wait a minute, was that Togbe wearing a double breasted three piece suit with a bowler hat and stick to match? We naturally assumed all that bling that went along came back in that locked chop box. Not long after his return, Togbe released a new Beemer with bling alloy wheels thus pushing his status among peers up a notch.

So Rather?

But to my friend Andrew Awuniʼs statement about the chain being an accoutrement, to the state sword, is enough to make one pause. A heavy state sword in the right hand, then a heavy gold chain hanging around the neck while the left hand struggles to adjust the kente cloth wrapped around the shoulder of the new president elect. Everybody say hear hear, not bad for a bling nation. Chest out your bling Mr. President but then, a whisper of correction and you say aaaah oooh, so rather? Thatʼs why, the gold medal, he did it like GBCʼs then director, Anaglate.

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