Renowned Ghanaian actor, Alex Kofi Adu, popularly known as Agya Koo, has responded to the backlash by some critics on the drama staged by some actors at the Black Star Square last Monday, 6th March, 2017, on Ghana’s 60th anniversary parade.
Speaking to citifmonline.com, he stated that he personally developed and wrote the concept of the sketch. “It is my own concept. I wrote it by myself. At least we had a very good message that we should try to send the girl-child to school and we achieved our aim,” he said. When asked if they had a challenge with the directing of the play, he indicated that, everything about it was on point except for the few technical hitches with the microphones.
“We have had calls from Holland, Germany and other places around the world that we did well. We did not have any bad directing. It went well. We only had problems with the microphones,” Agya Koo added. Agya Koo strongly believes that most of the people who are badmouthing the play are supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who are bitter that he campaigned against them.
He noted that in 2016, he was part of a group of comedians who marched at the 59th Independence Anniversary parade, dressed in old military apparel, and that at the time, people saw nothing wrong with it. “I have heard Asiedu Nketia has said that what we did was unnecessary. Why did he not say same last year when we played old military personnel at the parade?” he asked.
Principal among the concerns by the general public about the drama is the use of the Twi language, which according them could not be understood by most of the dignitaries and the international audience. However, Agya Koo believes that those saying the drama should have been done in English are part of Ghana’s problems. “You see why we are suffering? Twi is my language.
Go to Italy, you have to speak their language. I was speaking to Ghanaians – they were my target. So what is the essence of speaking English?” he asked.
According to the actor who is well-known for his comic roles in movies, the argument that the sketch was unnecessary and should not have featured at the parade is misplaced. “We did not just wake up to do what we did. We had done a couple of rehearsals in the presence of some leaders of the country. If it was useless, they wouldn’t have allowed us to stage it,” he further noted.
On 6th March, 2017, Agya Koo and a couple of other Ghanaian actors including Akwesi Boadi aka Akrobeto, Clara Benson aka Maame Serwaa and Matilda Asare, put up a sketch of about eight (8) minutes on girl-child education at the parade of the 60th Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence.
