“That is so true”
Then the news started drifting in, trickling onto my twitter timeline, my whatsapp messages, even in normal conversations. I don’t know how true this is but the news was that those in the Northern part of the country were unhappy with this new campaign from coca-cola simply because the names were Akan names. I was told there was a boycott of coke products or something like that. All I could say was “Like seriously, even the Gas aren’t complaining, hoh”
Before you storm my blog with pitchforks and torches dear keyboard warriors, hear me out. We live in Ghana, there are so many ethnic groups we cannot begin to list them all, you do not expect a company hoping to make profit to use ones a lot of people don’t know about or can relate to. I mean the first time I saw the billboards was in Accra and that is Ga land the last time I checked. I was actually waiting for the Gas to say something but it never came, or maybe I didn’t hear them. I understand that everyone wants to be recognized but all this because of a coke? In the end are we not all Ghanians?
What am I trying to say? We Ghanaians need to learn to chill out. There are much more important things to fight about than whether your name was put on a bottle or not. Better infrastructure for schools is something off the top of my head, we need to get our priorities right. P.S: Saw a Nii and Naa (for my Ga brethren) billboard so I guess slowly but surely, everyone will be included, so again I say
“Chill out, it’s just a coke”
Or better yet, join me as we share a Brukina
3 comments:
Lol..these Northerners should cut us some slack..but seriously dat brukina pic's got me rolling..hahaha
I have seen now some Arabic names have made the label. As much as that’s some progress made its very disappointing to think that (in this modern day of Google an the internet) coca-cola actually misunderstood Arabic names for Northern names. Who cares about Arabic names anyway? What we are calling for is the inclusion of Northern names but not Arabic names, and that’s why Northerners are still boycotting coca-cola products. I wouldn’t also be surprise if coca cola management are among those ill informed people who regard Arabic names as synonymous with Muslim names, that’s if any such thing as a Muslim name even exist.
Meanwhile, I don’t blame coca cola that much; how many Northerners even use their tribal names anymore. Most if not all, simply adopt Arabic names if they are Muslim and those who happen to be Christian take on English or European names, as if you can only be Muslim or Christian if you have an Arabic or European name. In contrast, the Qur’an honors traditions and cultures of local indigenous people, and regards them as sacred once they do not contradict the basic monotheistic tenant of Tawheed.
If Coca-cola had done their homework well they would have found out that more than 90% of the population and languages in Northern Ghana (Northern, Upper East and Upper West) are mutually intelligible, and so are their names. All it would have taken would be to use just a single name and everybody but a few would have been represented. How easy this would have been. Unfortunate they chose to do shoddy work and come out with ridiculous names like Fati and Fataw.
This might help their research team.
1. Muslims are not a tribe.
2. Islam is not a language, and it knows no tribe.
3. Hausa and Fulani people are tribes from Nigeria.
4. Zongo people are not Northerners.
5. There are more Zongo people in Southern Ghana that in the North.
6. Hausa is more widespread in Southern Ghana than in the north.
6. Northerners are not one tribe, neither do they follow one religion or speak the same language.
7. Theres nothing like Muslim name, such names like Amina and Fataw are Arabic names just like Charles and Hilda are Anglo-saxon names but not Christian names.
8. Finally Northers have their own indigenous names aside the Arabic names they’ve adopted for themselves out of reverence for the Arabic speaking companions of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Most of these Northerners maintain the wrong perception that such names have a place in Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Ghana
Just a follow up about the "Ga people" bit of the text.
Just because Ga's don't complain just about anything doesn't mean "not speaking up" is anything worthy. The last time I checked Ga kids now in Accra speak twi at home wither their Ga parents whiles a lot more write BECE in twi rather than their native Ga. Radio station are cutting back on expenses by dropping Ga language programs in place of Twi, all because of an ever dwindling listener base. We Northers have no intent of emulating Ga people and that might never change.
We are complaining and still boycotting coca-cola because their marketing strategies sound insensitive and disregarding. there's a lot they can learn from MTN.
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