Tsoo Boi published by Tampered Press is an anthology highlighting conversations taking place in the real world, social media, and traditional press in Ghana. Protesting has long existed in Ghana. There have been protests to resist colonial rule, to demand independence, change military rule. In recent times, protesting revolve around unemployment, high standard of living, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, climate change and unemployment among other things.
This anthology by 17 Ghanaian writers is tool to contribute to the important conversations and influence change. The book opens with the poem Tsoo Boi by Fui Can-Tamakloe. Tsoo Boi is word widely used by demonstrators – It is a shout for action and change. Ghanaians have this laid-back Fa Ma Nyame – Give it to God attitude but the poem Tsoo Boi encourages us to fight
Ghanaians don’t like to fight. Everyday we fight for our lives! Ghanaians love peace. What is peaceful about hardship
Beautiful Rain by Edem Azah says we need to fight
Because all the rage needs somewhere to go in a country that’s begging for blood
Ivana Akotowa Ofori’s Golden Rings is an amazing short story on the LGBTQ community in Ghana. It is an important contribution to the #killthebill and #releasetheho21 protests.
Another nonfiction “Rules are Rules” by Nahaja Adam analyses the Ghanaian rules are rules syndrome, how harmful this rhetoric is, and what we should do about it. The nonfiction critically examines the Tyrone Mahguy and Oheneba Nkrabea case. These teenagers became the center of national debate because they were denied admission to Achimota Senior High School on the basis that their dreadlocks needed to be cut before they gain admission. Nahaja Adam writes
The Ghanaian society we live in is not very tolerant of other people. Othering is a principle or mindset that allows people to create hierarchical groups of them and us with the us obviously being superior to the others…Ghana is as much for them as it is for the us. Ghana belongs to everyone, and we should make sure all live in it are treated with respect and dignity.
I liked that the writers tried to describe and examine the Ghanaian Dream. In The Ghanaian Dream by Eev,
the Ghanaian Dream is memory of Easter Jollof and Fanta, Seasoned meat on Sallah…The Ghanaian reality is a bad dream, a nightmare of unspeakable proportion, inflation, pollution and political corruption, Sleep paralysis from which you want to break free
Najat Seidu in “Living in the Dreams of our Leaders” writes
It’s time for the Ghanaian people to rise up from sleep and get their dreams to work. We must not leave the destiny of our country in the hands of our politicians…We must rise and fight, for the future of our country rests on our shoulders like the two eagles rest on the coat of arms of Ghana
The book goes ahead to talk about climate change in “Lost Home” by Akuvi, Tribalism and identity in “Swagger Gait by Mighty Yaw Apasu, the building of the national cathedral in “Synonyms of Cathedral" by Henrietta Enam Quarshie, fix the country in “Fix the country” by Ago Serwaa among others.
This book is an important protest tool in these times, and I highly recommend it.
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