Are Krobo Girls/Women Promiscuous?

I'm sad about how the Krobos, led by their chiefs, have reacted to the lyrics of singer, Sarkodie’s ‘Jennifer Lomotey’ song.

According to the Kloma Hengme Association, a Krobo advocacy and heritage association, and chiefs of Krobo, a line in the Jennifer Lomotey song which translates as “a noble Krobo lady with beads around her waist who has been cursed by Okomfo Anokye with promiscuity” is disparaging to them.

I hate ethnocentrism. I can’t convince my own self that my ethnic group is better than any other group, hence no one can convince me that their ethnic group or another ethnic group is better than mine or any other.

The diversity of our ethnicities, languages, culture and values combine to make us proud Ghanaians and proud people. It is based on this my strong personal belief that I have very good friends and close colleagues from almost all the different ethnic groups of Ghana and beyond.

Every Ghanaian knows that almost all the ethnic groups have a kind of a myth around their people. Many of them seem derogatory yet we all know that they remain myths and nothing more serious. We have heard many of them in songs, stories, and sometimes proverbs and no one shoots anybody for that.

How many times haven't we heard people say "wonnim ɛsrɛ mu a, whɛ zongo" (literally: if you don’t know the northern part of Ghana, just visit a zongo). All that this saying tells me is that, generally you can learn the lifestyles (food, songs, language, etc). of people living in "ɛsrɛ mu" (the north) when you go to the zongos. Many people have learnt the Hausa and other northern Ghana languages without setting foot in the north, but living in or around zongos. I usually tell friends in Accra that if they wanted to know how Gomoa people live their lives in cities, they should go to Odorkor (that’s where majority of Gomoa people settle when they arrive in the national capital).

Each time one uses the saying “there are many ways to kill a cat” we direct our attention to people from the Volta Region, yet no Ewe who appreciates the jovial way we all Ghanaians tease ourselves, takes offence. Many would usually laugh over it and return ‘fire’ by bringing out an equally funny myth depending on the ethnicity of the one who teased first.

We usually accuse people of making themselves ‘Konongo kaya’ when they refuse to execute a duty and would also not allow others to do it. We also usually refer to some elderly people or some leaders who don’t respond to issues as ‘Simpa Panyin’ (Elderly persons from Winneba). We even say Ashantis can’t speak English, when the Asantehene speaks English like the Queen of England. All these seem derogatory, but to the true Ghanaian, these are some of the myths and jokes we all share without any offence. Have we heard the chiefs of Winneba (Simpa) or the people of Konongo taking their arms to chase and shoot anyone who repeats these myths?

Women from some Ghanaian ethnic groups are usually referred to as not knowing how to cook, yet as Ghanaians we know that is not true because Ghanaian women are good cooks, irrespective of their ethnicity.

Have we forgotten ‘Kwayanko signboard’, or ‘Oswedru abue’ which people use to mock the people of Agona Kwayanko and Gomoa, yet they never take any offence?

This myth about Krobo girls/women being promiscuous is as old as the Krobo ethnic group itself. But who in their right senses would believe that all Krobo women/girls are promiscuous? If there are promiscuous girls/women among the Krobos, there are equally promiscuous girls/women in all the other Ghanaian ethnic groups. I have worked and related with a lot of Krobo girls and women and I can say that they are as refined and dignified as any women who respect themselves.

What I expected the Krobo chiefs, who are leading their people in expressing their concerns and displeasure about Sarkodie’s ‘Jennifer Lomotey’ song to do, was to publicly express their unhappiness and take the opportunity to educate the modern society that these sayings are mere myths and Krobo women/girls are not promiscuous.

Asking Sarkodie to pay GH¢2 million is nothing short of outright exploitation, more so, when Sarkodie has a child with a Krobo woman and has proudly spoken publicly about his Krobo lady and daughter.

I’m not a lawyer, but I can’t see the Krobos winning this case in court, hence their threat to sue sounds empty to me, and breeds hatred among our ethnic groups while undermining our peaceful co-habitation.

I have on many occasions heard this myth or joke that when Krobos grow old, they turn into Ewes, and when, as Ewes, they grow old, the then turn into crocodiles and enter the Volta River. Why haven’t the Krobo chiefs and the people gone to court to sue all those who say that? They know these are all centuries-old myths which don’t mean anything offensive.

In 2005, one Ghanaian musician, Nkasei, faced the wrath of the chiefs and people of Tuobodom in the Brong Ahafo Region for merely capturing the old sayings of the people of Tuobodom and Gyengyene area in his song “Yɛfiri Tuobodom”, some of its lyrics went like this:

Yefiri Tuobodom, bɛ capital town ne Gyengyene

Bɛnko Kumasi da o
Yɛrekodi congresse
Adeɛ bi tumtumtum, bɛnfa so yooyooyoo
Bɛnko Kumasi da o
Yɛrekodi congresse
Bɛnkoto, bɛnsore, bɛmma Kumasi so (hey hey)
This song irked the people of Tuobodom making their chiefs to call for compensation from the artiste. Interestingly this song which Nkasei adapted had been sang by the Brongs themselves many years before without anyone expressing anger.

We also remember another song, “Me R Ne Me L Ne Me Ploblem” which mocked Ashantis because they are known to have a serious problem with pronouncing ‘R’ and ‘L’, but no Ashanti felt offended but rather saw the fun of the song.

As a people, we need to shun all tendencies of ethnocentrism if we are to build a cohesive society where we see ourselves as the same people with diverse languages, cultures, and beliefs.

In 2004 names of both the Accra and Kumasi sports stadia were changed and named after prominent Ghanaians who had contributed to the country’s sports. The Accra station was re-named after Ohene Djan, the country's first Director of Sports, but the Gas (the people of Accra) objected to the naming of the stadium after a person who was not an indigene. On June 16, 2011, the government removed Ohene Djan’s name from the stadium.

In the same 2004, the Kumasi sports stadium, which was rebuilt in 1977, was renamed after Baba Yara, who though was born in Kumasi, was from northern Ghana and thus was not an Ashanti indigene. Graciously, the Ashantis did not see anything wrong about naming a national asset (only) situation in Ashanti after a Ghanaian who was not an Ashanti, unlike the Gas, who regrettably and disappointingly thought that the fact that the stadium was situation in Accra, it couldn’t be named after a non-Ga even when Ohene Djan was acknowledged to have contributed so much to sports in Ghana. This remains an unfortunate scar on all Gas.

The position taken by our Krobo brethren against Sarkodie, including their threat of court action and a demand for GH¢2 million is rather unfortunate. I wish opinion leaders including political and religious leaders from Kroboland would prevail on their chiefs and people to desist from what they intend doing because this would be a very bad precedent for all Krobos. This could, in a way, endanger Krobos living in other parts of the country, as they may court trouble if they should poke fun at people of other ethnicities.

Sarkodie, as an international artiste, should have known better and not to have used a centuries-old myth, which we all know is not a reality in his song. He definitely has offended the sensibilities of the Krobo people, especially the girls and women. However, the Krobo people should not overact to this and use a hammer to kill a fly.

Having publicly condemn Sarkodie should have been enough and rather use the occasion to show the maturity of the Krobo people for others to learn from.

Will Krobo women run from their bathrooms naked after mad men who had gone to collect their clothes while they bath? No, I don’t think so, because I know they would show their maturity and restrain themselves from doing that, otherwise no one would see the difference between them and the mad men.