The 2017 piece, “Susuka” by Kofi Kinaata, was featured in a national speech delivered by the 16th Occupant of the Golden Stool, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on Monday, during a dinner with the Ghana Bar Association (GBA). The hit song, which conveys valuable lessons and wisdom about self-worth, was referenced by the King while counseling Ghanaians to appreciate the judicial system they have and collectively work towards its perfection, as he condemned efforts to denigrate it.
The reference to the song came when Otumfuo noted that many countries monitor Ghana’s judicial system with envy. “My earnest plea to the people of Ghana, especially our political leaders, journalists, social commentators, and civil society advocates, is to think deeply before denigrating the system. We have a judiciary that may not be perfect, but it deserves credit for the positive efforts. I can think of many countries which look at Ghana and concede: Yerenya mo ayɛ. Sometimes, listen to the wisdom of our musicians, and reflect on a piece like Kofi Kinaata’s ‘Obi renya wo ayɛ’. Or listen to what my minstrels are saying: ‘Obi nya saa bi anka obɛyɛ bi’.”
He therefore advised political leaders, journalists, social commentators, and civil society advocates, saying, “The evidence I see from the Judiciary service is that no stone is being left unturned to enhance its capacity to deliver justice without fear or favor, affection or ill will. Let us try to accentuate the positive and give the noble men and women we have ennobled in the Judiciary the space and the impetus to stand up and be counted.”
Kinaata is known for releasing masterpieces that have qualified for study and assessment in academic fields. His song, “Things Fall Apart,” featured in an exam by the University of Ghana, Legon, in 2019, and was approved for academic study by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 2022.
