JDM, Wode yen ka - Occasional Kwatriot Kwesi Yankah writes
This publication suffered three successive power cuts while in preparation. Happily it looks like laptops were generally manufactured with Ghana’s Dumsor in mind.
When it first struck, dum, I quietly un-plucked and allowed my laptop battery to seamlessly take over, hoping the automatic switch had been enabled by my Dumsor Levy.
It was when the lights bounced back sor and off again dum in ten minutes; sor and off again dum that I was compelled to blurt out in frustration, ‘Haba! JDM, Wode yen KA.’ I said rocking my head, eyes flaming, eyeballs rolling.
And why not? Since childhood, I have lived in communities where highly indebted people carefully decide which gatherings to attend and which to ignore. That way they avoid public confrontations with landlords or drinks sellers, who may whisper in their ears: ‘Krakye, wode yen ka; kindly finish your funeral donation and come and settle it quietly.’ If this happens at a funeral, it could instantly choke a weeping mourner who has been warned by his creditor to ‘pay as you cry.’
In all this, pray that debts you owe don’t include church tithes, of which many countrymen are in default. It is for a good reason the church congregation steals glances at you anytime Pastor refers to ‘robbers on the way to Jericho’. Your Pastor may not mention names; but please advise yourself, considering the new name tithe evaders have been given of late: they are called ‘armed robbers,’ ‘pickpockets’. What are the offense particulars? Stealing from the Almighty property that belongs to Him! ‘Wode Ewurade KA,’ (You owe a debt to the Almighty), if you haven’t paid your tithes, it is said. Happily the Omnipotent in His magnanimity may have decided to extend debt forgiveness to the highly indebted since these are hard times, and cocoa farmers themselves have been victims of pickpocketing. But divine debt forgiveness may also mean ‘I have authorized no pastor nor preacher to collect debts in my name: indeed blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, ….!’ Agbena.
If the issue of debt is trending of late, it is because of a new slogan released during a mid-April farmers demonstration against Government: ‘JDM, you have shortchanged us; pay us a fairer cocoa price,’ they fumed. One protest march spotlighted a dark gentleman with lean looks, flaming eye balls, and a distinct dental formula. He pushed his way through the crowd, grabbed the microphone, and gifted the singing throng with a formidable slogan: “Mahama: Wode Yen KA,’ (Mr President, You Are Indebted to Us), which he comically rendered with protruding eyeballs and a head jerk. Who was this man? Jones Amoako-Attah his name.
Overnight the skit went viral, and made Jones an instant celebrity with a huge following across the country. With a simple jingle, he had also succeeded in raising the tempo of anti-government protests, especially those advocating improved emoluments. The government had shortchanged them and needed to pay back moneys owed. Teachers protesting 14-month salary arrears summed it up: ‘Mahama Wode Yen KA;’ nurses starving from unpaid salaries got a new street voice: ‘Mahama Wode Yen Ka;’ and workers appointed as unemployed by Government effective January 2025 started their new jobs singing: ‘Mahama, Wode Yen KA.’ The slogan naturally turned protestors into debt collectors who in our childhood days, could jostle the indebted by the hip leaving one leg dangling mid-air. In the midst of sporadic public protests across the country, however, the President still continued a nationwide tour underway without reports of harassment by debt collectors.
For those who rely on office calculators for the state of the nation narrative, all was well on the book shelf. A wobbling cedi currency had gained 40% strength over the dollar, tossing Trump into protective custody. Interest rates were crawling on the ground floor; and inflation had dived from 24% in 2024 to only 3%. To this, skeptical observers said tweaaaa, and would rather wait for the state of the stomach narrative. Here was one: “When the level of inflation was 14% two years ago, Accra to Kumasi was 90 cedis. Now that inflation has been humbled to 3%, Accra to Kumasi is rather 150 cedis! Is it still the Russian-Ukraine war?” As for rumors of price drop here and there, market women from Techiman, Pru, Tepa, Bono, Kintampo North, Kintampo South retorted: ‘The country is only enjoying paper prosperity; what is the use of a bumper harvest when there is no money to buy our goods? If you visit my farm today, you will understand my plight… I am a widow with five children, how do I pay their school fees?”
Was the nation then being fed on imaginary mathematics? Is it the national lotteries that should tell us Ghana has hit the jack pot, prospering as a nation? For once Ghana stands the risk of being mistaken for Guyana, one of the World’s fastest growing economies driven by oil. In that case, make sure an absent-minded doctor has not given us the wrong lab report. For all you know, we just celebrated Mother’s Day; and Daddy may well have been assigned the lab report of a pregnant woman!
It should be clear then where the buck stops in a democracy, and whose hips should still be jostled by debt collectors. Not surprising that days after the famous protest march, the farmer behind the slogan was seen on social media being served by a cocoa buying agency. After collecting his cash, hear his final word:
‘Mahama, wotwe wo mu taeeeennnnnn WODE YEN KA.’
Come and see my swollen eye balls as I conclude this piece!
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