It offered savoury delight in the golden ages, and was prized with tenderness before the Europeans made landfall. Then, the civilised (as if they were formerly benighted) and the sham-show nouveau riche came to look lowly upon the fish as cheap chow.
Money began to drip into the doddering economy in the 90s. The condescending gentrified or dolarised saw their indifference curves shift right. Demand hit the ceiling overnight, outstripping the Volta supply, and now poor men cannot buy the 'poor man’s food'. The rich like it so long as it is too expensive to be bought by just anybody.
One day soon, roast plantain (called Kofi Brokeman) will also be priced out of the average purse.
Back at your caustic best. How true! Is this how fake a people can be or simply how the times change perceptions?
ReplyDeleteI don't really know the answers, Devlin. My writing usually comes from questions.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think that Koobi, the very very poor man's salted fish, is factually TILAPIA. Now the price of Koobi is doing a Zimbabwe style inflationary gig.
ReplyDeleteIt goes to show the rich have the power to decide what's fashionable and what's not. And, even worse, they have the power to take anything that belongs to the poor man and to 'class' out of the league of the poor man.
ReplyDelete