Kwaku Ananse, the Spider, is a character in Akan folklore. Agya Ananse, as he is affectionately called, is unarguably the most popular of all the characters in Akan folklore. Ananse is known to be a schemer and chief trickster who is capable of getting whatever he wants by outwitting others. He is regarded as an extremely bad character to the extent that many regret that he is seen as a folk hero.
One of my favourite Ananse stories is the tale that is now known worldwide as ‘Ananse and the Pot of Wisdom’. The story has it that Kwaku Ananse had gathered all knowledge and placed it in a gourd pot. He then declared that he would climb a tree and hang it, so that all wisdom on earth would be finished. He then took a string and tied it to the gourd, and hung it in front of him as he readied to climb the tree.
He climbed, and climbed, and climbed; in vain. It took his son, Ntikuma, who was standing by to tell him it would be easier to climb if he turned round the gourd and put it on his back. He did as his son said and climbed swiftly without any difficulty.
Soon he reached where the branches began to spread out from the stem. It was then he realized he was engaged in a foolhardy exercise. If Ntikuma could teach him how to climb a tree with a gourd, then it is impossible to collect all wisdom in one place. Out of anger, he dropped the gourd for wisdom to spread to every nook and cranny of the earth.
The moral of the story is that no one is a repository of all knowledge. But the character under my microscopic lens today tends to think otherwise. Just like Ananse, he is very clever and cunning. It is his cunning nature that has helped him greatly in his investigative works. One of his best works, in my view, was the procurement exposé involving the then Public Procurement Agency (PPA) boss, A.B. Adjei. As I said before, it would take a miracle for the beleaguered Public Procurement Agency (PPA) boss to untangle himself from the corruption web because the ‘Militant’ Ananse had tightened all loose ends.
And his worst work so far was the ‘militias in the heart of the city’ documentary. Many, including colleague journalists, agreed it was a waste of their precious twenty minutes because what they saw in the documentary did not come close to the word ‘militia’. There was consensus that only a mischievous journalist would describe the ladies and gentlemen they saw in the documentary as militia. Indeed, we only saw nicely-dressed ladies and gentlemen who wielded no guns, knives or spears. Not even a catapult for bird hunting. And he referred to such a group as ‘militia’? It was such a great joke!
But the Ananse in him wouldn’t allow him to accept his mistake and apologize. He vehemently maintained that he was right. Not even a ruling by the National Media Commission (NMC) could make him eat humble pie.
As the debate for or against the compilation of a new electoral roll rages on, Mr. Ananse has also joined the debate. He spoke with such authority as he questioned the wisdom in the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new electoral roll and virtually described the commissioners as jesters.
Interestingly, Mr. Ananse had a very different view of the same issue in 2016. Just listen to him: “There are issues with the EC but they are not as bad as the NPP want us to believe. The voters register may have issues but it is far more credible than the register that brought the NPP to power in 2000. So what are their fears? Being overly antagonistic is not a way of solving issues with the EC? Discrediting the EC is not the way to come to power. Even if Bawumia is made the EC chair and you don’t work hard enough, you will lose this election. We vote and count at the polling stations, not in Charlotte Osei’s office.”
So what has changed, Mr Ananse? Your hypocrisy is very glaring. By insulting the current EC and anyone in favour of a new register; it is obvious you now believe being overly antagonistic is the way to solve issues with the EC. It is also obvious you now believe discrediting the EC is the way to come to power.
Mr Ananse, what has become of your assertion that making Bawumia the EC chair could not guarantee victory for the NPP? Are you now saying making General Ntontom the EC chair could guarantee his party a win, even without any hardwork? And since when did we start counting votes in the office of the EC chair, and not at the polling stations?
You see, the bird may think it is the most cunning creature; but it is mere plantain fibre that is used to trap it.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!
Kwaku Ananse, the Spider, is a character in Akan folklore. Agya Ananse, as he is affectionately called, is unarguably the most popular of all the characters in Akan folklore. Ananse is known to be a schemer and chief trickster who is capable of getting whatever he wants by outwitting others. He is regarded as an extremely bad character to the extent that many regret that he is seen as a folk hero.
One of my favourite Ananse stories is the tale that is now known worldwide as “Ananse and the Pot of Wisdom”. The story has it that Kwaku Ananse had gathered all knowledge and placed it in a gourd pot. He then declared that he would climb a tree and hang it, so that all wisdom on earth would be finished. He then took a string and tied it to the gourd, and hung it in front of him as he readied to climb the tree.
He climbed, and climbed, and climbed; in vain. It took his son, Ntikuma, who was standing by to tell him it would be easier to climb if he turned round the gourd and put it on his back. He did as his son said and climbed swiftly without any difficulty.
Soon he reached where the branches began to spread out from the stem. It was then he realized he was engaged in a foolhardy exercise. If Ntikuma could teach him how to climb a tree with a gourd, then it is impossible to collect all wisdom in one place. Out of anger, he dropped the gourd for wisdom to spread to every nook and cranny of the earth.
The moral of the story is that no one is a repository of all knowledge. But the character under my microscopic lens today tends to think otherwise. Just like Ananse, he is very clever and cunning. It is his cunning nature that has helped him greatly in his investigative works. One of his best works, in my view, was the procurement exposé involving the then Public Procurement Agency (PPA) boss, A.B. Adjei. As I said before, it would take a miracle for the beleaguered Public Procurement Agency (PPA) boss to untangle himself from the corruption web because the ‘Militant’ Ananse had tightened all loose ends.
And his worst work so far was the “Militias in the heart of the city” documentary. Many, including colleague journalists, agreed it was a waste of their precious twenty minutes because what they saw in the documentary did not come close to the word ‘militia’. There was consensus that only a mischievous journalist would describe the ladies and gentlemen they saw in the documentary as militia. Indeed, we only saw nicely-dressed ladies and gentlemen who wielded no guns, knives or spears. Not even a catapult for bird hunting. And he referred to such a group as ‘militia’? It was such a great joke!
But the Ananse in him wouldn’t allow him to accept his mistake and apologize. He vehemently maintained that he was right. Not even a ruling by the National Media Commission (NMC) could make him eat humble pie.
As the debate for or against the compilation of a new electoral roll rages on, Mr. Ananse has also joined the debate. He spoke with such authority as he questioned the wisdom in the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) to compile a new electoral roll and virtually described the commissioners as jesters.
Interestingly, Mr. Ananse had a very different view of the same issue in 2016. Just listen to him: “There are issues with the EC but they are not as bad as the NPP want us to believe. The voters’ register may have issues but it is far more credible than the register that brought the NPP to power in 2000. So what are their fears? Being overly antagonistic is not a way of solving issues with the EC? Discrediting the EC is not the way to come to power. Even if Bawumia is made the EC chair and you don’t work hard enough, you will lose this election. We vote and count at the polling stations, not in Charlotte Osei’s office.”
So what has changed, Mr. Ananse? Your hypocrisy is very glaring. By insulting the current EC and anyone in favour of a new register; it is obvious you now believe being overly antagonistic is the way to solve issues with the EC. It is also obvious you now believe discrediting the EC is the way to come to power.
Mr. Ananse, what has become of your assertion that making Bawumia the EC chair could not guarantee victory for the NPP? Are you now saying making General Ntontom the EC chair could guarantee his party a win, even without any hard work? And since when did we start counting votes in the office of the EC chair, and not at the polling stations?
You see, the bird may think it is the most cunning creature, but it is mere plantain fibre that is used to trap it.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!