The Chief Executive Officer of KACSTONE Records, Duriyem Wenawome Aborah, has expressed deep concern over what he describes as the rapid erosion of Ghanaian languages and cultural identity.
Mr. Aborah lamented that many Ghanaians, especially the youth, can no longer speak their mother tongues fluently without mixing foreign languages, a trend he believes threatens the very foundation of Ghanaian identity.
“Our identity has been taken away from us, and it is time we return to the basics. The basics are the learning materials of our language,” he stressed. “If I have to speak my local dialect, I must add a foreign language to complete a sentence. Likewise, many others, and this is not good.”
He cautioned that foreign influence has overshadowed Ghana’s own cultural expressions, including music, food, and traditional knowledge.
“The white people control our food, our music, virtually everything. What we used to produce, they repackaged and brought back to us. We want to use music as a tool to change that narrative.”
He made these remarks when he led musician Michael Adangba, an artist under the record label, to donate 260 Kasem language books to basic schools in the Kassena-Nankana Municipal and Kassena-Nankana West District.
The donation forms part of KACSTONE’s corporate social responsibility and aligns with the Education Minister’s directive for the Ghana Education Service to enforce the use of mother tongue instruction in basic schools. Speaking during the presentation, Mr. Aborah said the initiative is intended to create nationwide awareness about the urgent need to protect Ghana’s linguistic and cultural heritage.
“We embarked on this exercise to create awareness that it is important for us to protect our heritage,” he said. “These are learning materials for the Kassena-Nankana people. We deem it necessary as a record label to support because we seek to promote the culture and traditions of our people.”
He noted that the gesture goes beyond a regional effort, explaining that KACSTONE Records intends to extend similar support across the country. Mr. Aborah revealed that the record label has multiple projects lined up to support cultural growth and education in the region.
He disclosed that KACSTONE Records recently supported cultural activities in the Kassena-Nankana West District with canopies, plastic chairs, and public address systems to help promote cultural events. He emphasized that corporate social responsibility is not about the size of the contribution but the intention behind it.
KACSTONE Records is also preparing for a major event—a music festival in honor of legendary musician, Michael Adangba. The event is scheduled for December 21 at Paga, near the Ghana-Burkina Faso border.
Mr. Aborah said the festival will showcase traditional instruments and authentic Ghanaian sounds to demonstrate their richness and superiority over foreign imitations.
“This is one of its kind in the region. We want to show the world what Adangba has achieved using traditional instruments to produce quality sound. We want upcoming artistes to go back to our roots because that is where true quality lies.”
The festival will feature artists from across the Upper East Region as well as performers from Burkina Faso, a collaboration Mr. Aborah hopes will promote unity across borders.
He urged individuals, institutions, and cultural organizations to support initiatives that promote local heritage, noting that the survival of Ghana’s cultural identity depends on collective effort.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Navrongo
