So Long A Letter

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

So because you haven’t checked on me in a while I seem to have totally forgotten that you exist but that is very bad. As family we are supposed to be checking on each other and looks like we’ve fallen for the social media illusion that once you see a person online or you  don’t that person is okay. I’ve learnt over the years that it’s an illusion because some of our mutual friends passed on and we mok realised their demise when social media friends started writing their usual rest in peace and that’s when we are forced to asked what happened to them. Quite a sad and unfortunate way to find out about a person.

Well here I am writing you a letter after so long though a lot has happened in every sphere of our lives.  Religiously our head of police clamped down on false prophecies which led to some popular religious leader turning our country into Achebe’s fictitious Umuofia to save himself the backlash in case the prophecies don’t pan out. Several others just shut up and wont say anything at all. The year in review also saw our occult turncoat evangelist being found out for the opportunistic chameleon she was and being sent to prison for defrauding people. Remember her all night service to usher in the new year that she took even people’s coins for transport and left them locked in and stranded in her church premises? Wow she even had a stint with the newly appointed government appointee for the Gold Board where she was seen receiving some amount of dollars as a gift. Heh! That woman used social media to good use and her content was just on point. Netizens even sent a petition online that she should be allowed to create content from behind bars. She always went viral with her gimmicks.

On the political scene we now here for new government headed by your uncle the returnee President with his agenda of resetting the nation.  His policies have so far shown how far the country was bent like an atrophied spine needing a very good chiropractor. Your midget President really did the country dirty making citizens believe that the country will be taken aback if his economic genius of a driver’s mate was not at the helm of affairs. Kweh! We have suffered.

Kpakpo on the educational front I resigned from running the school but I still remain a consultant in the system and teaching individual teachers how they can make their jobs more fun and shape the future leaders of our beloved country. Hey me and you both know  that the internet and technology has replaced reading culture so I’m still on the war path of promoting reading culture in children and towards this end I’ve had some wonderful friends help fight this cause throughout the year.

Anyemi, our little social group that I helped gather up north has become a Savanna Business Group which is actually a group of companies monde by individuals in the group not only having businesses to make profit but also having several causes to make the world a better place through philanthropic activities periodically. Our network her expanded considerably in all fields of life in the Savanna and beyond through mentoring, voluntary activities and even sponsoring programs that cut accross several fields  

Kpakpo, you remember the kind of parties we had in Accra that some time ago I was saying we wish we had same up north. This group has also facilitated such parties and it’s made it extremely difficult for any of us to miss Accra that much because whatever fun or thrill we would seek for in Accra is right here in Tamale.  The parties have become well known and people look forward to these parties.

Talking of entertainment in the Savanna there have been quite a few concerts of some very popular and even well renown artistes up here in Tamale and its not just the locals anymore.  A few local artistes have gone international and even a guy like Ayisoba has relocated to Europe and comes down once in a while to have a homecoming concert. It’s no more just local music but international music and some few awards have come our way in various fields of endeavor not only entertainment.

Nii Kpakpo the only thing that hasn’t changed and even got worse with climate change is the weather. I was privileged to have been involved in some environmental awareness programs including the clean air campaign and it was really an eye opener. Heh my people are so steeped in their ways it’s like they’re crystallized habits.  You still find grown men, even community leaders taking a walk early at dawn still carrying their transistor radios going and coming from the bush areas early in the morning after morning prayer and from greeting the dawn breeze with their bare bottoms chattering like they were still children.  People still build ultra modern housing units with water closets but still prefer to feel the early morning breeze on the hairs on their butts. Apart from that we still burn our waste and it is still difficult to get people to separate their waste for recycling purposes. We keep praying that we’ll get there. Oh add a planted some trees too. 

The weather here has remained the same and it’s both extremely hot and cold depending on the time of year but as usual we don’t have a choice but to get used to it. Depending on what time of year a person visits, the weather determines whether they want to stay or leave longer or shorter.  When it rains it pours and when it’s dry the dusty mist in the morning is a brown fog that clogs the nostrils. But it’s all good.  We move!

My brother, a whole lot has happened up here and I’d be surprised if people still think the North is still the backwater that they think it is when they visit. I know people who have visited and went back and got their families to come for vacations. Others have visited once and have yearned for relocation. Some have succeeded and others are still trying to get to relocate here. There are some areas when you even take a walk through you’d think you’re in one of the affluent residential areas in the capital. People have invested heavily in infrastructure up here and it has paid off.

Chale Kpakpo,if I talk plenty I’ll write plenty because plenty has happened. Maybe in another letter I’d give you national highlights of a review of 2025 with the aid of Kumase based popular musician Amerado’s song as a foundation. That will probably include his idol and the legend Daddy Lumba’s passing on to eternity and the “hoola balloon” surrounding his funeral. I’m sure you read all that online but peerless reactions to it were myriad.

Nii Kpakpo Thompson, I guess I’m back to my letter writing with a vengeance this year.  Mark Zee has upgraded my Facebook profile to a content creator and I guess I should start creating content more seriously as I used to back in the day before I fed my muse Indomie and she became a fat old lady who couldn’t sit on a broom to go witch hunting.

Till I come your way with the next letter I still remain

Your Cousin in Law,

Savanna Boy

Sankofa Food Festival

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

Anyemi I know it’s been long since I wrote you one of these notes. Please forgive me huh.  There’s been loads on my mind and sometimes I’m overwhelmed by how to put it all down and send to you.  Maybe I should just write it all in a book for posterity to see what we’ve been up to up here and not just you.

It is an election year and the politics has seeped so into our fabric that now we explain everything,  even belching,  politically.  There are so many issues to deal with that I wont even go into it. You know I don’t really like talking about politics.  But hey as our former minister of culture told me personally that I can’t say I’m not political because everybody is political. But I can say that I’m not partisan because then that’s why I can bash any political party without fear or favor.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the pollutants of our water bodies because of the effects of strip mining in the middle of the rivers. Well the foods are contaminated according to a report circulating on social media which I’m sure is propaganda being spread by the Chinese because they’re producing the things we do here and they intend to take our market. They’re now producing some of our cash crops like cocoa and cassava and thus now making our favorite student companion gari. Hmm it’s hard oh. 

Kpakpo, in the face of this and with the emergence of foreign foods and imported grains,  there is a clarion call for us as Africans to go back to the indigenous foods of our forebears. It is important to study these grains and how they were used by our forebears that made them use food as medicaid and herbs for growth and development. We indeed have to go back to these indigenous foods.

Remember in Accra we have various food festivals like Kenkey, waakye, fufu and even angwamo which have become annual events but ever heard of any such festival up north. Well we have now.

Last weekend a local woman,  Amina,   who’s become quite an internet sensation with her northern culinary skills and preparation of northern traditional foods in her Duduhgu Kitchen,  catching the attention of even foreigners visiting the North,  took it upon herself to hold the first northern traditional foods festival dubbed  Kali Bindira Chugu,  which literaly means going back to our roots.

Kpakpo, like everything else up north any event outdoors is an occasion to display the rich culture and heritage through music and dance and this was no exception. The cultural troupe that were present really did well in keeping the guests edutained on northern culture with music and dance.  The energy was amazing and I tell you this people are strong. For hours on end they just kept going.

Some traditional rulers also passed through the event to greet the host and that was another level of seeming traditional rulers greet each other.  Let’s not forget that the event was being hosted in the palace courtyard of l’d Chogu Naa. All protocol had to be observed.

Kpakpo,  to say the event was a success is an understatement because media houses were around to cover it,  and the international community in Tamale were not left out either. Lot rod Americans and Europeans were seen milling about enjoying themselves and trying out the various local foods. It was also pretty obvious that it was a meeting and networking point for some of them and they had a pretty good time.

Well,  like I said in the beginning,  all this GMO foods and foods prepared with fertilizer are affecting us. It is high time we went back to preparing foods as our forefathers did and they ate healthy and lived long disease free lives. Some companies based up north are doing well in preparing local products with same old recipes but packaged for value added. B _Diet breakfast brand is one of such made right here in Tamale trying natural organic ingredients into their breakfast cereals and biscuits.

It is not too late to go back to kid old ways because our health depends on it and I’m sure it will improve our lifestyles too. 

Anyemi think about it. What do we have to lose. Eating healthy and local is even cheaper and healthier.  Let’s do this.

Till I come yo way again with another letter, it is me.. 

I’ll always remain,

Your Cousin in Law,

Savanna Boy

The Heated Ramadan

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

It’s been so pretty long since I wrote you a missive but as usual I’ll just attribute it to laziness. It is not that nothing is happening but that there are plenty things to talk about but I’ve just been lazy in telling you about them.  The post pandemic era in the northern hemisphere has been so pregnant with issues that I wouldn’t evenknow where to start. 

Kpakpo it is the period of Ramadan, the Muslim fast, which is mandatory to all practicing Muslims and it looks as if Tamale has ground to a halt. Charley, this year the fasting is on a whole new level because of climate change.  It has never been this hot since I relocated here and the heat season coinciding with the Ramadan fast has made it look like this is really a test of any Muslims faith. With temperatures sometimes as high as 36 degrees by ten am in the morning that will rise to 43 degrees by mid afternoon, itis obvious that dehydration sets in by noon and then the last few hours to breaking the fast at six pm becomes like torture.

Anyemi  to this effect the town square is practically empty and you enter shops and people have become like sloths. There is no sudden movement or any sign of hard physical activity because the exertion will take a toll on a person’s physical being and make it extremely difficult to go through the day during the fast. People are seen lounging in offices whilst casual labor personnel like cleaners etc are seen falling asleep at the least chance to while away the hours till six pm.  There are relatively less people moving about in town because if you have no important business in town, folks will rather opt to stay home and indoors or in airy areas, to conserve energy.  This is a time to be regionally lazy and even people of other faiths are seen behaving like they’re also fasting.

But hey, until Easter, Christians also had an excuse to also join in the fray because it was Lent and also a fasting period.  But now Easter is over, what next. As a friend will say “Dada nuaa” (the same old thing), we are still in it.

Nii Kpakpo, now that I’ve mentioned Easter, lemme tell you about the annual Kamina picnic. Honestly it used to be the only function that happened in Tamale and the whole town converged at the barracks on Easter Monday to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.  It wasn’t only exclusive to Christians because it was a public gathering but open to all.  This time, it is not the sole event in Tamale because having become a fast expanding cosmopolitan town, several groups of people and organizations have come up and designed other programs for this day. Churches now do their own events, youth groups organize fun days for networking and relaxation, organizations organize meet ups and some individuals just gather a few friends, meet at home and have a barbeque or the other.  All these events run concurrently on the Easter Monday. Even in the evening pubs organize live band music or other planned programs and promotions to ensure that the day is well spent.

This year there was one event that practically stood out and it was a mini food festival ike we organize kenkey, waakye, etc fest in Accra and it was an elaborate event with food and games and mainly patronized by the youth because it was organized by a young man and his team who saw the need for such an event in Tamale.  Zuk’s food fest got revelers buzzing and it went so well people are craving for more events like that.  Those who missed it heard the stories and are clamoring to be part of the next one. Not only was there food and games but it was also a showcase of local drinks and cocktail mixtures and best of all it was an opportunity to network.  Indeed kudos to the organizers.

Anyemi, we are still in the Ramadan and it ends next week.  Charley even the pubs are dry because people don’t want to be seen having a cold drink after work else they be seen as evil people. So for this period we are all Muslims just groggily going through the motions and behaving like sloths until this period is over.  I don’t know whether to say thanks to the sun for blazing as high as it does or who did you put on sunlight duty up in the great beyond. Whoever it is is not sparing us up here at all but how for do, we take am like that.

Nii Kpakpo Thompson, how is the former Queen’s land and what is it we hear about a cancer pandemic in the family she left behind since it became a kingship?  Well if you ask me I’ll say the Queen was there for so long and now that she’s joined her contemporaries in the spirit world, our African ancestors are dealing with her for the thievery she supervised for over half a century on the African continent.  They’re bestowing it on her family to the tenth generation and they should brace themselves cos there’d be more. Unfortunately it wont touch the administration because those Indians occupying № 10 also have a history akin to ours and it’s pretty iconic that they’re now at the head of the Commonwealth administration. Very iconic!

It is early morning here and as usual, I don’t know if you heard but our lights misbehave and go off at the least provocation. The short bald man and his we-have-the-men cohorts say its not dumsor but localized faults so we’d take their word for it.  As to how they’re taking us for granted and treating as badly is a story for another letter.

For now I started writing this when lights went off around midnight and it’s morning and already the sun is yawning awake. Your sister is preparing for work and I guess I should head out too. Will write to you as soon as I can.

Until then I still remain

Your Cousin in Law,

Savanna Boy

Gold Digger Syndrome

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

Bruv there is a system creeping into our society which is pretty alarming and what’s even scary is that it is getting here in the Savanna too. Chale, have you heard about what the young ladies now call The Soft Life? That they all want a life that is relatively easy with as least hardship as possible.

Anyemi, lemme try to go into it. I think social media has created a kinda lifestyle for people who look at others and covert what they have. In our days, heh we’re pretty old oh, we called it fake life because me and you knew most of the people on social media and we know them in toto that they couldn’t bluff us with what they didn’t have.

These days the young ones are different. They see the lifestyles of people like Hush Puppy, Hajia 4 Real, these two serving prison sentences for fraud and not to mention the influencers living lavish like Moesha, Hajia Bintu and several others. These people are on social media flaunting stuff, whether themselves as products or products and acting as motivation speakers and people to the young ones who wanna be like them.

Kpakpo the social apps like Tik Tok, Facebook, Twitter, etc are awash with people flaunting themselves as products because hitherto when skin was considered as dirty and porn is no more. Oh! There is one site self that is pay per view and it’s Only Fans. The things on that site. There are more sites we don’t even know about but people are using even the regular WhatsApp biz to get customers in quote.

With the digitalization approach by the driver’s mate here in Ghana, it has become easy for these social sites to be monetized and as such in the comfort of your room people can do any sort of transaction and get paid for their products, goods, production and services all online. This has replaced what it takes for going to work 9am -5pm everyday and that’s what we are gradually refering to as soft life. No need braving the hot sun and the other vagaries of they weather, in this hash climatic conditions, to make some money.

Nii Kpakpo, I however think that our young ladies are taking this soft life to a new level. Heh! I’ve been watching some dating shows online lately and it has become a major criteria for choosing a woman to date, not even to court. Most young women are choosing men based on the man’s ability to give her that soft life. Young ladies lately are hoping to snag a self made man who will be more or less an ATM machine for them providing for their every need. You remember in our time we called this Abin wor ha (ready made). Practically every young lady has now become a gold digger unashamedly.

Chale, him watching the dating show you started and left to our other brother, he has become fat like a toad, Gio in vain, and the young ladies will blatantly ask the potential dates what they do and if they can take care of them. Some other shows I’ve seen some of these young women even suggest an amount of money for upkeep per week. That one ticked me off. Weekly upkeep money? Before he came into yo life what were you doing for upkeep?

Bruv honestly I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it. A lady asked for a thousand ₵ a week as upkeep money and according to her she can easily make that money on any of the social apps. I found myself asking how much her parents made a month and if she knew how much some bankers make in a month and what they have to do, the work they have to put in for that amount of money. My next question was what is she doing to be worth that amount weekly apart from looking good as yo date. Is that all there is to it. Honestly Kpakpo I don’t want to ask the most obvious question that comes to mind lest the feminists reading this come haunting me. What does she bring to the table to be given that amount as upkeep money?

Heh! My head self dey bash me!

Now this is why this trend is worrying for me. Living in the Savanna being predominantly Muslim and you know how Muslim gals are brought up, this trend is getting here too where gals are looking to date self made men, not chosen by their parents but by themselves. The social media influence has permeated the society so much that the Muslim ladies take a good look at you and your assets before they even respond to your hello. Remember when we were younger we thought no matter how rude a gal is she can never be Muslim and be rude. Please Kpakpo, feel free to throw that thought out of the window. Heh! If you fork up, you will get a dressing of your life from a hijab wearing Muslim gal and it will be a rude awakening.

Kpakpo not to hold brief for them but there are some liberated Muslim ladies now and those ones are pretty interesting to get to know. Society is rapidly changing and as men we also need to choose our battles wisely. Women’s Lib is here and we have to recognize its proximity to us and figure out how best to leverage on it for our existence too.

Tamale is growing and fast becoming cosmopolitan with all the people moving up here and social media is a global phenomenon that we can’t ignore. The soft life generation are here and now most young ladies are not ashamed to have the gold digger tag because they own it proudly and say that is how they are, take it or leave it, mostly leveraging on the products and services they provide which is usually to look beautiful at your side when you date them. Well, they also have to “pepper them” refering to other young ladies on social media and flaunt a lifestyle that depicts the soft life. Social media pressure as we called it.

Anyemi, things are fast changing and a lot of things that used to be taboo in our time is now normal to these Gen Zs. If we start a list now I’m sure our generation will be shocked but that’s a topic for another letter. This one is long enough.

But I can’t end without surprising you with a few shocking ones. Now obesity is not a disease, it’s a personal choice whilst a person’s sexual preference is now a crime to even talk about it. Yeah they passed the alphabet law in Ghana. It is not uncommon to walk into a brother man’s house to see different woman every week wearing his large singlet playing wife duties same way not uncommon to see a married man pounding fufu in a compound house for a young lady he came to spend the weekend with having told his wife he’s on a business trip. Our time such married men hid their nefarious activities but now he’s blatantly sitting out in the compound house.

Should I go on? Well this letter is long enough.

Nii Kpakpo Thompson, well let’s all pray that we can get enough money to provide the soft life to those we think deserve that soft life like our children and dependants, plural. Things are fast changing around here due to social media influence.

Well, until I write you another missive, hope its not this long, I still remain..

Your Cousin in law,

Savannah Boy

Jakpa

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

Somebody actually brought it to my notice that I haven’t written to you in a very long time. Well, I don’t really have an excuse except that I’m lazy and moreover you’re not here to read my letters.

With the way the economy is going I also hear I could be saying taxes for sending my letters to you. Considering the fact that you’re not here on mainland anymore but in the Queensland that transitioned to Kingsland where most of our nurses find themselves nowadays.

Oh that a brings to mind why I chose the title of this letter. Jakpa simply means finding greener pastures abroad and recently I head one minister of this pretty callous government saying that it was shameful how the nurses were leaving the country. But Kpakpo imagine that you train nurses and then you have them sitting at home for two to three years before they’re posted when there are several outposts in the hinterland needing health services. They’re frustrated and then somebody tells them that there is a chance for greener pastures out of the country. Sharply, they jump to it.

Kpakpo it’s not just the nurses but people in corporate are leaving by the droves, even army officers are resigning their commissions and leaving for Canada, a country that used to do emigration is now doing immigration. European countries are using African trained workers to fill in positions in their economies. And for Ghana folks it’s tell a friend to tell a fried that there’s a vacant position here and within a few weeks another person leaves .

Nii Kpakpo Thompson it is a good thing you left and relocated before it got this bad. The government keeps tolling up that everything is going well but the President during his party primaries was caught saying that he was very confident the next government will come fix the economic mess. Heh! As if he forgot he was the current president thus being the one who caused the mess.

Up in the Savanna we’re feeling the impact of the economy very much. A commodity that you purchased at a certain price today, within a month when you go back cost three times the original cost and its the same product. At first the excuse was the dollar rate but the dollar has been stable for a while. For some of us, I think it’s the greed of the sellers and partly due to the uncertainty of prices, sellers try to buffer against their next supply.

Anyemi as for transport, air fares have skyrocketed and gone crazy. The cost of taking a flight one hour to Hustle City will make you swoon but I guess we’re all not the same cos people can still afford return flights. Buses are still traveling up and down the road and it is still twelve hour rides but as we are growing these bus rides are becoming tiring.

The business scene is still growing here. Apart from agriculture based businesses, real restate is also visiting since more people are moving out of the capital and greater Kumasi and moving up here. With all the movement, we are becoming more cosmopolitan in our life and tastes as such the North has become as closer to the capital as can be. With the right network and socialization, one doesn’t miss out on anything fun that exists in kid South.

Kpakpo imagine that now we have our own Eco resort with jet skis, a cruise boat, quad bikes in addition to horse riding and a place for campfires. Yeah I’m not describing Ada but a new place harnessing the power of an old irrigation dam for entertainment and tourism. People troop there just to have a relaxing day and its like a fun theme park for individuals, groups and family.

Anyways man, no matter how the economy goes some of us haven’t got jakpa on our mind. No matter the situation in the country we believe this is our home and we can make it here. So we’re staying put. If others are making it we can too. RJ

Please stay safe with your beautiful wife in London and we’ll be here. Hope you guys out there hook up and make that place homely so you survive those too because Obimanso abrabo is no joke I hear. The systems work but its not as comforting as being in your own system flawed or savory. I

Dude, I’d end my missive here but let’s pray for each other be keep in touch. Jakpa and homeland. You get some coins pls send for beer wai na man is never was (nipa nse shwee)

Bless you loads and I stil remain,

Your Cousin in law,

Savannah Boy

Wearing New Underwear

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

You remember that back in the high school and on the hills in the university, we only used to wear new underwear when we had special occasions or were going to Mansyte to see the gals or just passing by Gey Hey to see how the dadabee chicks were doing.  Fresh designer clothes and fresh underwear which we discarded right after we came back, to wait for the next event to go get another fresh pair.

Heh I remember paa that as for me I couldn’t afford the designer clothes so since the visits were mostly on Saturdays and this was the washing day for most students, I will just wear my fresh underwear, singlet, briefs and socks and then come scour through the clothes on the drying line or on the lawns and choose any designer white shirt that I thought would fit and off I went with friends to see the gals or attend a function. I already had this black corduroy trousers from pierre cardin that was only worn on such occasions. The shirt was returned to exactly where I found it when I get back from wherever I had taken it to and if the owner had already taken his clothes off the line or lawn, I still left it there.

Anyemi, this tradition has stayed with me since the college days, through to the city on a hill, and now into adult life. The only difference is that now I can afford the clothes on my own so no need to borrow from the line. I just borrow from my own wardrobe. Heh! Indeed, adulthood is something else.

Nii Kpakpo, in recent times I have only broken into new tear rubber underwear when going to church usually for communion and I like to feel that I’m clean right down to my skivvies. However, one rare occasion on the Tamale calendar precipitated my resorting to this action once more for something other than church and meeting a new gal.

So news got to us that the renown Kenyan lawyer, Pan Africanist and inspirational speaker Professor PLO Lamumba, will visit the Savanna International Academy as part of his Northern Ghana Tour to inspire and motivate students with his powerful message. The motivation was for the youth to inspire them to take action and make a difference in their various communities.

A few days to his coming and Tamale was agog for those who knew but were all kinda aloof about his coming. Anyemi, myself I went about my daily routines but I knew a part of me was in anxious anticipation. At first thought it was gonna be a hush hush thingy so you know how we are shy to intrude on other people events. Come and see me telling the boss madam, the founder of the school, that with her kind permission can I invite a few people. Heh Kpakpo, the way I wrote the English madam laugh me proper and says I should come for a knock cos this brofo dieh it is thick too much and she knows me too well that I will do what I want anyways.

Kpakpo, then that our protégé and mentee on social media, who has become a big time Ghana police officer also sent me a text that he wants to do kokonsa to see if I had heard that the speech maestro was coming into town. Heh your son is now in the position of who details security to where and for what in the northern region oh. Small boy big man. That boy will go places. Oops! He’s a man now and when he reads this I’m sure he’d call me to say but why. Ah I get filla too. Boy go prepare stew by contract wey he burn the whole stew. Left it on the fire and forgot about it. I’m sure he went to sleep or was busy texting some fine babe. The way the babes be fighting over him huh. crushing left right center and then with some spillage. *laughs*

Nii Kpakpo Thompson, I had gone to the school to play some games with the children and saw that they were preparing for the grand entry of the professor. Boss lady takes me to lunch and informs me that we have to go to the airport to pick the man up. Initially wanted to decline but boss lady instincts be sharp on the point and well, she’s always fun to drive around because she’s full of deep insightful convos. Off we drove to the airport.

First time I get to see the vip sectionn of the Tamale airport. This is me I had just come from playing with the children, just toweled town a bit to clean some sweat but in shorts and tee shirt. The chiefs were there to meet him and holding bitter kola in a calabash in a posh grocery bag. Some children were brought from the school to welcome him. They rehearsed their lines over and over at the airport and the whole scene was set to play out simple.

Anyemi the plane lands and the wardens head out to the tarmac to get our guest of honor. We are allowed to meet him right there on the tarmac and the formalities are dispensed with. It was obvious that Prof was excited with his reception as shown by his moving to the beats of the drummers. Man has come interesting dance moves and pretty astute at observant participation. He had observed the dancers and just mimicked a few moves he picked up with relish.

Heh chale Ghana police when they put their minds to it can be pretty efficient, I tell you. Security was pretty impressive to escort him into town. But not before the traditional drummers accompanying the chief amidst beating their drums and dancing sing appellations.

Nii Kpakpo, come and see me just traipsing the vip lounge up and down in my shorts and tee shirt and at a point in time I saw one female airport officer concerned about my freedom of movement. I see a door I pass through and happens to be a side kitchen that leads outside. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and face again to ensure that at least I looked presentable.

Oh, did I tell you that the arrival coincided with our own papa giant Alan Cash, presidential hopeful who also was at the lounge at the same time obviously to take a flight back to Accra after a campaign tour in Tamale. Man is pretty affable and I said hello to him shook his hand and he allowed us to take a photo with him but at the last minute I didn’t want to be in a photo with him, so I declined in taking the selfie. He just smiled and walked on, there were others waiting to talk to him and take photos with him. He is pretty friendly though.

After about an hour at the lounge amidst traditional dances and welcome speeches, time for prof to go to his hotel and we also went home to get ready for the next day event. When I got home, it occurred to me that this was one of those rare occasions that deserved an overhaul of new underwear. Thanks to your sister I have a few in stock that haven’t been touched at all. It has been years since she acquired them but since they are mostly white, they have remained untouched for that long. So got briefs, a singlet and even socks all tear rubber. Finding a neat jeans and a jumper that bears the African colors with a star somewhere in it, was ready to meet the Prof and get ignited for Africa’s rebirth.

Kpakpo, early morning we were there waiting for the prof. we cleaned up and made arrangements and set up. Parents and the public arrived and took their seats because the time given was 8am. The traditional drummers were on hand to provide escort service from the gate to the venue grounds. Chale, when the drummers escort you to the grounds, they expect some notes in appreciation and that’s why some of these drummers relish the opportunity to be at such events. Some people, knowing this, totally ignore them because when you show interest then you will have to show appreciation.

The students also had their cadet corps on hand and a protocol team to usher guests to seats under the canopies mounted on the grounds. The entire school body now took their seats to wait and apart from the photographers testing frames and angles and a few last minute touches here and there, everybody was now waiting for the arrival of the prof.

And boy what an entry it was. As soon as the convoy drove in, the drummers were the first to usher him in, then the cadet flanked, the protocol led him to the officials who welcomed him and continued to walk him through the school for an inspection of the classroom.

Heh Kpakpo this school dey do things. Instead of a cadet guard of honor, they showed him their ultra-modern classrooms and obviously the luminary was impressed since he mentioned it in his speech to the public later.

He was then led into a meeting with a section of the student body mostly the senior school. He was presented with three questions. Anyemi, the questions these children asked was like they had had a roundtable discussion and put all the global problems in those three questions. They asked him about leadership in Africa, the role of service and also the importance of integrity. This was framed in a question of how there has been plenty talk of tackling corruption in the Africa we all love and that it was now time for action so what was the role of the youth in tackling corruption.

Nii Kpakpo, the prof took a deep breath and gave an exposition on what it was to be a pan Africanist. He mentioned some of his mentors and obviously not without Nkrumah, his namesake, sheikh Anta Diop, Kenyatta and several others who have fought for Africa in various ways. Uthman dan Fodio the jihadist featured amongst other scholars and in essence he admonished the young students to keep reading on the history of Africa. He reiterated that if Africa didn’t know where it was coming from, how would we know where we were heading, thus the study of history is important. All learning began from Africa and it is important that we tell our own story from our own perspective and not from the perspective of the colonialist. It was important that we learn about Africa using the colonizers tools and develop African our own way. Prof admonished the young ones to spend time alone meditating on Africa because it was only in solitary moments that God and the truth has been revealed to man. As future leaders, the global positioning of Africa was in their hands. Even us the adults there were moved and inspired by his words. There were nuggets of wisdom to pick up.

Anyemi, honestly, I’ve always wondered that a man like that hitting hard at the political leaders of the continent will have protection and it was surprising that he had a personal bodyguard. But what was really inspiring was to learn that he has a black belt in taekwando and the students had him to a few steps in the martial art to the delight of everybody. Man is pretty light on his feet.

He then went off to meet the general public and that too was even more exciting. Prior to his visit I was in a discussion with a friend who believed that people like prof are only talkers and don’t have the power for advocacy. It was my argument that when the awareness is created, then folk can work towards advocating for the right thing to be done. Creating awareness in the young ones, the future global leaders, meant that they knew exactly what to change when they get there. If even one of these young ones gets it, that is good news enough and his work is done.

Nii Kpakpo, but I’m afraid for this generation when they become future leaders. Eh! The loans they are coming to pay huh, it resembles your eyes, as my middle belt fufu loving people will transliterate.

Prof Lamumba however said that he had hope that we were training the next army of leaders to go toe to toe with the rest of the world because the battle will no more be a physical battle but a battle of wits and ideas. It will take intellect for Africa to survive in the future global events and schools like savanna academy, in the savanna were leading the charge as a training ground for such young minds.

Prof got a standing ovation for his oratory, something I’m sure he’s used to but then the students surprised him with a gift of a painting of him drawn by one of the students and the school SRC declared 24 February as Prof PLO Lamumba Day every year.

Anyemi two coincidences shook us. On this same date in history, the leading African pan Africanist Osagyefo was overthrown in a coup and the notion the Nkrumah Never Dies has been perpetuated.

Kpakpo the other thing is that we are neglecting the obvious, I had worn new underwear so every PLO Lamumba Day will also be the anniversary of my wearing full set tear rubber dross, singlet and socks in Tamale.

Seriously, it was a good day and I left there feeling like prof has tickled my brain with a spoon like your auntie does with the big ladle to the palm nut soup when it is the homowo season for kpoikpoi. With all that plenty proteins she still manages to stir the pot with the thick soup. Same way I felt.

Kweh! it is ok onu. I am even drained just writing this to you. Consider this self the abridged version.

Anyemi, please don’t come back and ask me what happened to the underwear. I won’t know what answer to give you unless you ask your sister.

Lemme go find some food for thought.

I still remain..

Your cousin in law,

Savanna Boy

Bolt Savanna

Dear Nii Kpakpo,
I’m sure when you heard about Bolt in Tamale it definitely crossed your mind that I was excited because the fastest man on the planet has arrived in this arid savanna region. Apuu! For the where? That one will not pass by here for anything unless he is compelled by some external forces and exigencies to see the motherland and see these parts. You know from his stature self he could be a Moshi from parts of the burk land. A land of milk and millet.

Anyways anyemi, who would have thought years ago that a ride hailing up could succeed in these hinterlands. We were so far flung from civilization that southerners thought that anybody coming from here had a dusty appearance. Well, that is the image in some older folk’s mind still when they think of people of this region. Hey but who can blame them for such perceptions when all they see when people of the north arrive in Accra was the dusty clothes and faces due to the bad dusty roads and the rickety nature of the cars that carried these passengers.

Furthermore, these young boys riding also show how the law is lax in these parts. The highway laws says that anyone operating any machine that will ply our roads should be an adult 18 years and above.  But we see these barely legal boys being commercial drivers conveying passengers in these yellow yellow aka mahama camboos all over the place. Seeing some of them and how they behave on the roads clearly shows why the law says anyone driving one of these contraptions must be an adult. The state of mind of these kids, and sometimes seeing them racing each other in the middle of a busy highway is frightening.   But on talks with some policemen, they tell you that when you arrest them and seize their machines, some big shot political bigwig will pass by your office to issue some threats to your livelihood and as such it is just prudent to let them go and hope that they get what is coming to them.

Kpakpo, well I digress. Lemme come back to the issue. So now the ride hailing app Bolt is in Tamale. Yeah they are. Interesting that they didn’t have to do a pilot to find out how successful a ride hailing app will be in a place like savannah and much more cosmopolitan Tamale with its growing southerner population. This is because for almost a year now we have had a ride hailing app Yez Drive that has been pretty successful. Nobody gave any of these a dog chance but Yez Drive proved that a ride hailing app can be successful. What it failed to do however was to start with plenty cars so that they are easily available wherever you wanted to go. The demand on the 5 cars that they have and also coupled with the fact that whoever created the app for them did them a disservice in the sense that getting the app online is an arduous task. The best way to get a Yez Drive in Tamale is to have the driver’s number on your phone and call each of the five drivers directly to see who was close to you and then hail him to pick you up. This practically defeats the purpose of a ride hailing up online.

Anyemi, I think the main target for Bolt now is for those who already know the app from living in the south and elsewhere it is available and also to get more people to sign on so they can get access to more cars. As it stands now it is easier to access Bolt online than Yez Drive and it is likely that Bolt could easily overtake them in the market and when the market is good  it wont be too surprising to find Uber showing up here too.

The pace at which Tamale is growing it is not surprising that all these big businesses are coming here. It will only be sad that the local people will not cash in and be left behind in the development of their own city and homestead as we gradually bridge the gap between the north and the south. From what I hear from the non governmental circles, it is looking bright that a couple of social interventions, especially to do with women are going to be happening in Tamale. Well it is about time.

Nii Kpakpo Thompson, well I am now seriously grooming some future leaders in some obscure capacity but that is a story for another day. Will tell you all about it after a meal of my favorite dawadawa jollof or local rice balls and a mixture of the various soups available that I call ‘united colors of covid’. That cocktail of soups is so much of an immune booster that when I give you the ingredients you will understand why it is so. It is a bit of dawadawa, bra soup, palm nut, okro, groundnut soup, ebunu ebunu green soup and anything else that’s a specialty at the local joint. It’s a potpourri indeed of soups and each of these soups have their own individual health benefits. 

Oh! I forgot the egusie self..

Bruv, anyways, this is all I have time to do kokonsa for for today. Until I come to you next time with another filla.
I still remain,
Your Cousin in Law,
Savannah Boy

CosmoTamale

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

Anyemi it has been quite a rollercoaster year this year in Tamale. heh the way things have happened to change not just the landscape in Tamale but also the general living conditions and way of life in Tamale huh. at a time when they said a pandemic was ravaging the world and there was a credit crunch and money was hard to come by, folks were just building up mansions and edifices all over the place. well that’s the savanna region for you. it is the last place you will look out for some of these stuff.

Kpakpo so early this year The Magnolia was started and it took roots as one of the places for meeting and networking on the Tamale landscape. Old friends in Tamale met up to play sports especially enthusiasts of soccer. The location hitherto was plenty bare land and a few houses in the area. All of a sudden mansions have started springing up in the area because the place is now opening up and more attention is going into the place as a sporting complex with a kiddie playground complete with a bouncy castle and labyrinth games and now the swimming pool is open and there are plans for a health center, spa and restaurant and a cinema and ice cream palor all in one space.

Kpakpo did I tell you about Sugar and Spice, the patisserie shop in Tamale where you can treat your sweetened palate to all the frivolities of a sweet tooth that hitherto we could only get in the Lebanese eating houses. You know the waffles with honey, the pancakes with syrup, the exotic apple pies and ice cream not to mention the spicy chicken and bread rolls we only eat once in a while and after the consumption we don’t visit the loo for about three days because we didnt want the food out of our system. (laugh laugh) heh! those were the days of national service when we had started earning our own money and didn’t have to ask our parents for trotro money. we chill the money rough. Auntie Fati, the owner and chef, is a lively person and has a broad knowledge on several issues especially in the history of Tamale of her life growing up in the city.

Anyemi, there was a time in Tamale that the live band concept was hardly known because when the band was live the people almost didn’t see it’s relevance and didn’t enjoy it that much. Live bands were reserved usually for Christmas holiday parties or occasions where somebody organized an event or somebody was starting a pub. The live band was such a rare experience. Today in Tamale there are resident live bands for entertainment. with more and more people from the south relocating up north and choosing especially Tamale, it is important that their needs are met and live band entertainment is one of them. On weekends, the King David Pub and entertainment centre now have a live band every Friday and Saturday evening. it has caught on so well that another new entertainment place Bernard’s Grill house, has also introduced live band sessions at their place to draw customers.

I wish I could talk about some of the names given to some of the places of entertainment in Tamale but that will have to be a roundtable discussion on how the names are usually what the proprietors have in their heads but fail to translate it into the place of business.

With Tamale opening up more, transport systems have also improved considerably. Back in the day one couldn’t stay out for too long because depending on the location of your house it was probably impossible to get home and as such for a long time I even hanged out at places where I knew it would be easy to walk home after having fun. Thus it was easy to hangout at Gidipass for example because it was a twenty five minute walk from home at Lamashegu SDA. With the advent of the yellow yellow tricycles, some of the boys work late at night and hangout and around the entertainment places so they get to do a little business on the side. This ensures that there is a chance that a commercial transport can take you home for the right price.

Nii Kpakpo Thompson, there is good news, seriously good news. Hitherto we were saying a ride hailing app like uber will not work in Tamale since most people have their own motorbikes or are driving their own cars or have access to means of transport. But we realize that some people will still need to get access to transport especially for those of us who live in the ever expanding suburbs of Tamale. The good news is that now there is a local ride hailing app, the Yezdrive, launched to cater for the needs of people who want to do quick moves in and around town and also to get picked up from one location to the other. Now we don’t have to walk to the roadside to get a cab or hail one but you get online and you can get the car picking you up right from your doorstep. yes bruv, this is in Tamale.

Kpakpo, have you noticed that I have not said anything about the KFC and Chicken Republic and all the various franchise places that are rushing for business in Tamale. Well i guess you know why cos these one are normal for everyone. Business in Tamale is growing and interestingly more people are making the northern regions their headquarters because especially for the companies that are into agricultural services and production, like Qualiseed Company Limited, that is where the main action is. Interestingly there are even hubs like HopIn Academy, that support startups and provide training and resource guides and workshops for entrepreneurs in Tamale. Hitherto this was a concept only available in the capital but now it has become necessary to raise the right crop of entrepreneurs and give them the needed foundation and support for local business and the international market.

With all this going on, Kpakpo, it is obvious that Tamale is becoming a prime cosmopolitan location in the savanna regions of Ghana. Interestingly however, the local people are steeped in their indigenous culture and are not too susceptible to the change that is happening all around them. Some cultural practices that need to be modified and made marketable to the world especially with the festivals and daily cultural practices go unnoticed to the world. The ones that are pretty popular just happen out of the blue and before you even realize that it’s happening, it’s already over. Chieftaincy and ethnicity are a big issue and the interrelation between this carries several historical stories and lessons, but you will hardly hear them. The culture is gradually getting lost in the landscape of cosmopolitanism.

Anyemi the other side too is that the political administration of these developing communities need to realize the fast paced developments and also move in equal speed to provide social amenities for support the growth. For example, with more people relocating up north, it is only prudent that local administration enforce that more buildings in the regions have portable water system, lighting and even more important toilets and waste disposal amenities. Chale, will you believe that in these times, open defecation is still publicly practiced in Tamale and it’s interesting that there might be a beautiful edifice situated in a particular area and the edifice is only beautiful to see in photos. Woe betides you to go and see where the building is located and that whole area could possible be a place where the local and surrounding people openly defecate around the land next to the building thus causing a smell in the area when it rains. It is pretty sad. The district assembly needs to clamp down also on indiscriminate buildings and as much as possible even provide public places for the local people all over the place.

Nii Kpakpo, well today I have spoken much on the growing nature of my adopted city. Indeed we are on our way to greatness and it is pretty interesting that we hardly come to the capital anymore because life up here in the savanna is gradually becoming like life down in the capital without the daily stress that comes with it. Who doesn’t want this laid back life. You know you still have an open invite to come try our CosmoTamale one weekend. You might not wanna go back.

Anyways, I’ll end my letter here by telling you that your sister is doing pretty well. I keep saying i owe your auntie and her husband a balance of bride price cos she is indeed a Godsent and has stood by me and my nuances all these years. heh! I think she took medicine foe stubborness, cos i can be stubborn like how, she will just gimme the eye and ignore. she will just pray for me. God bless her for me oh.. Indeed Grace abounds.

Fare you well in obimanso Nii Kpakpo Thompson and greet our sweetheart for us.

I still remain,

Your Cousin In Law

Savanna Boy.

The Magnolia

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

Remember those times when we used to close from school and hang around and play ball ⚽ for hours before going home especially on Fridays. We’d go to Korle Gonno from Shalom Shalom and go play soccer either at the Presbyterian ⛪ park or gutter to gutter in front of Victor’s house and his grandma will always comment that we were just a bunch of happy children 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 when his mom and aunties complained that we were unruly children.

Or remember the times we’d go to Chorkor at Dela’s place and play small poles with the area boys and by the time we were ready to head home our cream colored shirts 👔were now brown with dirt. Sometimes I’d pass by Indadfa park or the adjacent Fataa park and watch the King Harrison babies train. A team I later joined, where the erstwile Tornado Black Star Captain Steve played too, but dad and mom will say soccer was for riff raffs and not for smart boys like me. Heh! We do some oh.

Remember too that in my first five years in Tamale I had hardly played soccer because the one time I tried to go play couldn’t stand the zongo soccer they play as we know it. Their style of play hates skillful players and opponents might be offended that you dribble too much. That is the reason why I’ve stuck to my basketball 🏀 and the occasional volleyball 🏐all these while.

Back in the day the only places to play soccer were at the Kaladan park and then the new stadium and other fields dotted around. On these fields if you weren’t well known it was pretty hard to get to play with the locals. Imagine they let you play and you had a bad day, that was the end of your trying to get in. Happened to me in volleyball when they’ll only let me play if someone was injured and even learner gals got a first place chance though I’d just come back from an international tournament in Benin. Heh! When they put me in the game one time, I was so angry I took it out on the ball just as I always do and I was a beast on the court.

Well anyemi all this is changing. Tamale is growing and there are more sports centers and activities now. Well remember the badminton 🏸club, the chess ♟️club, the scrabble club, the tennis 🎾 club and several others and now Tamale folk have a variety of leisure to subscribe to.

With the growing leisure spots in Tamale the latest one is the state of the art Magnolia Sports Complex right in the heart of Tamale. The sports complex when it is completed will be an ultra modern state of the art leisure centre that will rival any in the world. It will boast of a standard size swimming 🏊pool, a sports bar and restaurant 🍗, a gym 🏋️, a children’s theme park playground, a soccer field, volleyball, basketball and tennis courts, a cinema, an ice cream 🍧parlor , a coffee ☕shop amongst others. It is intended to as much as possible cater for the leisure needs of as many people as possible. Nobody is gonna be left out.

Nii Kpakpo what this means is that those week nights when after a hard days work we need to get some exercise in and on the weekends where we meet friends at those astro turf stadiums in Accra that we love so much is replicated right here in Tamale. Yes bruv! Right here in Tamale.

Kpakpo we can organize meet ups and boys boys can just organize and play any sports with each other. Currently the fields are in use and so far it’s been interesting how Tamale is growing because the quantum of networking conducted on these fields week in and week out cannot be measured and over emphasized. I’ve always told you that in places like this it is the levels of social network that one has that will ensure that you have a very comfortable life and enjoy life up here which was hitherto the marginalized savanna but hey Savanna no more. To borrow an old song and slogan “we are moving forward !”

Nii Kpakpo Thompson, I’ve been telling you that you need to visit soon. Honestly I feel like if everything was fine in this country, folk will be moving to places like this and not abroad ✈️like you have done yourself but hey I understand. This our nation needs to be fixed and it’s not about waiting for government 🕴️to fix it but inasmuch as we are fixing it we need places like this so we can live the comfortable lives that we want. Not just hunting for money 💰to be rich but hey health is wealth too and with the availability of such facilities around, you’re ensured a one stop shop for both health and leisure.

Anyemi, for now the leisure market in Tamale is growing at a rapid pace with franchise places like KFC, Chicken Inn and others recognizing the growing market too and wanting to cash in. Tamale is moving forward and it’s beautiful to see it happening when you’re in it. You better come and see it soon. You know you’re always welcome as are your friends.

For now I gotta go tell The Director of The Magnolia that I wrote to tell you about his place and I’m sure he’d have a good laugh over it. Quite an affable personality he is and I’m sure you’d just hit it off when you meet him and his staff at Magnolia. Till next time then.

You know I’ll always remain,

Your Cousin in Law

Savanna Boy

Still Corona

Dear Nii Kpakpo,

Chale this thing that we don’t see is worrying paa oh. The Covid 19 virus is indeed a pandemic and not just a physical one but a mental one. A virus that has exhibited kaakamotobi skils like that to confound scientists and medical personnel.

Anyemi just imagine a virus that.can be killed by soap and water on the outside but when it gets inside behaves like a crusader to join your body enemies, hides behind them to fight you. Thus it’s like a Trojan virus and this is the virus that has got the world on reset.

Kweh! COVID 19 OGBOO!!!

But we will indeed survive. Man is very resilient as a race.

Take care.

Your Cousin in Law,

Savanna Boy