Has Volta Star Radio Betrayed Ewes In The Diaspora?

Admittedly, communication especially good communication is an agent of development. When Ghana's airwaves became characterised and saturated with a legion of radio stations, the general view has been that the oportunities being created for discourses and information sharing can advance the course of the communities in particular

In the various regions of the country , the local radio stations filled in the void created by the then radio Ghana in terms of the lack of adequately providing space in meeting the needs of local people in their participation in the discussions of matters of local interest

Programmes and news items are delivered in the specific local languages, which address the concerns or what matters to the local people ,as the indegenous local languages are used to drive the agenda

Indeed there are more than one local radio or FM stations in all the other regions but for the volta region, which can only account for the Volta Star FM

Initialy, Star radio provided programmes in the local Ewe language and was reflecting the cultural richness of the language of the people ,their music ,traditions and way of life

Undoubtedly, Ewes living in the diapora have had something to listen to ,eespecially in their own Ewe language , providing them with the missing link far away from home

Star radio was a good source of local news ,music ,culture and programmes which was educative ,entertaining and informative ,just as those many others in the various regions aimed specifically at their people

The station like those in the other regions , provided the space in promoting the language and culture of its target audience- its people

Sadly though ,the important opportunity Star radio had offered our brothers and sisters living in the other regions and in particular the dispora, who had found solace in identifying with their mother tongue has shamelessly got lost if not buried

For clearly, the Ewe language and programmes have been thrown into the dust bin of history , much to the detriment of the values ,relevance and importance of such a rich language which is widely spoken in the international arena

The worrying trend and development concern ,,presents a tacit silent grand agenda to undermine the Ewe language and its culture so as to achieve its extinction and hegemonise another Ghanaian language.

May be the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education should be in the position to explain why only so little or nothing is done to promote the teaching of Ewe language in the Basic level of teaching and learning at the expense of other local languages within the region.

Clearly the story is far different in some other regions, where people from other regions are assimilated into the learning and speaking of the language of their hosts.

For now, most Ewes living outside their regions and especially the diasporians who treasure listening to local news and programmes in their indegenious language have been short changed given the betrayal of Star radio ,the one and only FM station that hitherto made it possible for them to identify with their language, music ,culture and heritage.

The proprietor(s) and management of Star radio owe us a duty of explanation to the secret and coy agenda of a betrayal and subjudication of our Ewe language

The writer lives in the diaspora.