The President of the Ga Dangme Council, Nii Ayikoi Otoo is peeved by the description of a Ghanaian delicacy. The popular food is made of cooked beans and gari garnished with fried plantain and red oil. Some people call it ‘Yↄ kɛ gari’ while others term it ‘Gobɛ’.
However, the one-time Attorney General and Minister for Justice’s concern is with the latter. Mr Otoo fumed that ‘the name of my favourite food: ‘Yↄ kɛ gari’, to wit beans and gari in the Ga language, has all of a sudden been turned into gobɛ.” “Our foods were prepared and sold widely and we all knew ‘Yↄ kɛ gari or Yoo kɛ tatale’. Today, we hear the same food being referred to as gobe.”
He was venting on JoyNews’ Upfront on Thursday, April 13. The former diplomat told Raymond Acquah that “changing the local name for this staple food is dangerous.” Atikoi Otoo fears that the supposed renaming of the food formed part of the gradual dissipation of the Ga Dangbe culture.
“I have throughout my adult life witnessed the shedding off of the beautiful flowers from the Ga Dangme tree we came to meet. Ga Dangme language was widely spoken and taught in our schools; Ga Dangme books were in abundance; church services; singing and preaching were all done in the GaDangme language and interpreted in Akan.”
