Only Stonebwoy, Blakk Rasta can rival me in Ghana when it comes to speaking patois – Tamale Central MP

The members of Ghana’s Parliament, coming from many different walks of life, also have backgrounds as diverse as can be.

One of the unique elements in the skill set of one such MP, Murtala Mohammed, was highlighted today on the AM Show on Joy News when the Tamale Central legislator spoke some good Patois during a discourse with Benjamin Akakpo on matters of national concern.

Starting the conversation off on a jovial note, Mr. Mohammed described Patois as a language of black people, adding that all black people are ‘rasta.’ He went on to explain that one does not need to have locked hair or smoke marijuana to be Rastafarian.

Going on to expatriate on the origins of Patois, Mr. Mohammed stated that the language was developed after the slave trade, when many Africans were taken from the continent into the diaspora.

For most of them, depending on where they were taken, English (and for some, too, French) was the only language they were exposed to; but English was not their mother tongue.

They were thus forced to find a means of communicating with one another, which led to the creation of this common language, patois.

He added that anyone who is a Pan-African must make an effort to learn the language. He also mentioned that there are two types of Patois: the Babylon Patois and the rude man Patois.

myjoyonline.com