Ogyakrom live! Oily tales & Afrika united!

Mother of all ironies … … I went through some old newspapers in order to dig up the Daily Graphic issue that came out around the time when I was sojourning in the Pearl of Africa. That was when we discovered oil in Ogyakrom! Well, I came across a May 11^th Daily Graphic in which the finance minister promised that “in the short term, I can assure you that Ghana is on track in ensuring that we increase our power generating capacity to end the current energy crisis by the end of the year,” he said. Ooh boy, I’m waiting for 12/31/07. You see, one thing I have become sick and tired of, is all the talk-talk that goes on in this country – forget it … this continent. Each time I watch TV or read the newspapers, I see nothing but meetings and deliberations, and it makes me question why we waste our time talking and doing nothing. Talk-talk is easy and cheap, and we don’t hold ourselves accountable for action, so we go on and on babbling and babbling. If we use the hot air we generate from all our talking, I tell you, we’ll have enough energy for the entire continent, and I bet it’ll last for generations to come! Anyway, the overly broad and overarching goals set by the nation, NGOs, the world financial institutions etc, are nice on paper – look like they’re moving us forward. However, we never seem to get any closer to these great goals. What’s the problem? The problem is simple – Africa is too bloated with theorists who do nothing but run their mouth with no practical steps. Okay, so you’re moving us forward on energy – how? By discussing nuclear energy? Ha!

Like I keep saying, … I’m full of great ideas, and I’m about to unleash one, so if you have money to invest, please holla at a sista, and let’s work some miracles! Okay … how about a community-based approach that will start looking into energy issues. Step one – the government and all well-meaning institutions commit to put up a laboratory – the Ghana (let’s dream big … ) the African Energy Laboratory. Step two - we import primarily African scientists and engineers (to build the equipment needed) on the continent and beyond to this laboratory (and of course, we’ll bring in the non-Africans we can learn from), and we all contribute to fund it and equip it to the max. Yes, we DO have the money to do that – just cut down on the entourages, the travels and perks of our politicians, and voilà! Step 3 – we get research going - on all possible types of energy sources – ethanol from our beloved ‘borla’ that chokes our gutters, wind energy, solar energy (ironically seen as too expensive, when it is the cheapest option – do we pay for the abundant sunshine we have south of the Equator? No!), geothermal energy (hot springs), etc etc etc….. Step 3b – while all this lab work is going on, we get some of the scientists to visit randomly selected communities to evaluate which energy source would be the most efficient, effective etc…. Step 4 – we test our lab solutions in real life communities. As we discover viable solutions, we find similar communities and spread the energy. Not every community must be powered up the same way – each one takes what works in that given context. Yes, there may be risks involved, but we have to at least take them! What do we have to lose anyway? Damned if we do, damned if we don’t, so we have to tread along, just treading cautiously. I won’t continue talking about solar energy – really passionate about that, but have said a lot about it lately in previous postings, so I’ll give it a rest for now.

Anyway, so they say we have found oil eh? Walahi! I remember my father used to say if it were not for the witches in a certain beloved town along the coast in the central region, we would have oil in Ghana, but alas! These witches used it all to fry kelewele by night. Hehehe. After 20 years, foreign experts – Kosmos Energy (U.S) and the GNPC dug till they hit light oil! Ei! God must have been smiling down at the drillers when they hit the jackpot. I thought we’d been drilling at this same Cape Three Points in the past? Well, it’s great news. We join Uganda in becoming new oil ‘superpowers.’ Hehehe. Open your eyes. Here comes Uncle Sam! Projected 600 million barrel deposit, in just one of the multi-well West African sites that Kosmos is exploring – not bad huh? Yeah ... not bad at all for Kosmos, I tell you. Ha! Okay, my nosy little self has a barrage of questions amidst all the euphoria …. What were the details in the contract that licensed the drilling? Driller-takes-all? After all, according to the June 19th Graphic, out of the 126 workers, only 16 were Ghanaians. Will we plan on using home-grown experts, or even our own migrated experts? Was there one contract for the exploration and another for the actual drilling? Where does the money go from there? Are we planning on refining the oil here and selling it on the world market at a higher price than crude oil? … or perhaps we’ll do what Africans always do – send the raw materials elsewhere to have it refined and sent back to us in processed form so we can buy our own oil all over again? So far, all I’ve heard is about extraction, not refining. I see African myopia still has us in its grips. God have mercy on us! If you know the Minister of Energy, please forward these questions to Him, and I’ll be grateful.

Ghanaians are jubilating, and it’s a good thing. What we can start doing is praying that we will learn to manage our resources properly and not be like Esau, exchanging the intangibles (drilling rights, control etc) in exchange for the few tangibles dangled before our eyes. Yes, we have oil now, but we must start praying over that region – see the nonsense that is happening in Nigeria more and more often? Remember Ken Saro-Wiwa as well, and how the lack of any kind of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the industrial practices of Shell in Ogoniland led to unrest and murder of the 9 Ogoni martyrs. May they rest in peace. Let’s learn from our continental neighbors – learn from their mistakes, and watch out for the big boys in the yard – China, India, Russia, and then the traditional bullies too – Uncle Sam and co. Be wary, Ogyakrom! Be wary of your friends!

You know what just came to mind … hmmm, is it mere coincidence that a US-based company did the drilling in the Western Region, and the US is trying to draw closer as friends of Ghana and is seeking to establish a military base in the Western Region? Hmm … … Perhaps there’s no connection whatsoever, but I don’t trust Uncle Sam ooh, abi; I no dey trust am one sef. Hmm. Remember Ogoniland, Viequès in Puerto Rico. Remember also the island of Diego Garcia. If you don’t know about these places, go to news.google.com and look them up. Just keep an eye on the witches in the oil region, lest they decide to fry atwomo or ewur’efua (fish) with this newfound oil. I rest my case.

Okay, I wanted to keep this entry short, but the AU – union government dream is biting me, and so lemme get it out of the way for now. Here’s my stand on this united states of Africa business. First of all, our leaders should all be deeply ashamed that they have no original dreams and visions for this beloved continent and it’s only dreams and visions from Nkrumah and co. of yesteryears that continue to stand. You know, I have deep respect and admiration for the likes of Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and a few others even including Castro (the sidelined-pillar firmly planted in Cuba). You see, here’s what these leaders have in common – they dared to dream and to have their own visions, regardless of what was going on around them. They had visions, and sadly, since we don’t have visionaries leading us anymore, we only rely on old dreams. Thank God those are sound dreams, and so are eternally worth following.

You see, this idea of a united Africa was good then, and is still good now, but it was more feasible then than it is now. And mind you … it doesn’t have to be a replica of any other body such as the EU, as Prez. Kuf-kuf said, or like the US of A, our beloved Atlantic partners. It must be framed within the African context by Africans with a vision for Africans. What about the United Federation of Africa? The Union of African Republics? … we don’t have to carve our reality based on other people’s reality and history, you know … You see, the idea is good, but now let’s consider how this will work out in practice. I actually wonder whether given our context, Nkrumah would still maintain his vision the same way it was in 1957. One fundamental problem we have is that we have come too far away from the formative stages of nation statehood to pursue the dream of the single African state the same way it was conceived by Nkrumah. That is where you have the likes of Qhaddafi (I’m never sure of the spelling of the dude’s name. Please pardon me, Brother Muammar) advocating that we proceed as we should have, about 50 years ago. I recognize the reality that newly independent states may not have been willing to cede their independence to a single state back then, but that was the ideal time to unite, and then begin crawling together bit by bit, and then as more countries gained independence, they would also join the single state. That era is gone. Fast forward into the present >>> There’s been a lot of talk-talk about this union government business, and that is what makes some like Big Brother Muammar want to see some action now! However, teaching an old dog new tricks is difficult. With that logic, I’d say get a new dog, let it learn and gain wisdom from the old dog, and then eventually ease the old dog out of the system, and teach the new dog new tricks before it becomes an old dog ;-).

I know I’m meandering my way slowly through this, but fear not – just think along with me and enjoy the ride. When I get millions from our newfound oil, I’ll share it with you. I agree with the fact that we have more leverage to gain if we unify. Of course! When it comes to world trade, and especially the way our markets are being forced open (remember the rape imagery I previously raised? Ok), with cheap goods flooding the markets and displacing and killing local industries, I’d say unity – regionally, continentally – whatever it takes. Practically, how will we achieve a unified government if we can’t even properly govern single states? I was listening to a Joy program recently – the super morning show, and a pan-Africanist grandpa was in the studio to defend Nkrumah’s ideal. I consider myself to be a pan-Africanist at heart, but that dude did us a major disservice. When the presenter (who I must add does a great job – I also noticed we both think alike) asked him to explain how a union government would practically be formed – where and how do we begin, he had nothing concrete to say – just spewed out lots and lots of oold rhetoric – the kind of talk-talk we’re tired of hearing. This is the root of the problem – all rhetoric and no concrete plans. There are serious issues to consider paa oh. It’s too complex for my little head to worry about.

Many cite the advantages, but if we can’t have free, fair and proper elections in one country, how will we achieve that on a larger scale? When we have corruption eating our leaders and the rest of the society up, how do we intend to unify and pool our resources together? How will we control the ‘brain drain’ of talent to South Africa for example? Who will stay in those countries losing talent to fix it? We haven’t finished dealing with rural-urban migration within individual countries – how will we deal with intra-continental imbalances in migration? How do we control the spread of crime and overcrowding? And what about the spread of diseases? Why should DRCongo agree to provide hydro power for the rest of the continent as the pan-African infrastructural group has suggested (group of private investors looking to provide shared infrastructure across the continent) ‘cos the DRC apparently can afford to do so without even a minor headache? How do we assure them that they’re sacrificing for the greater good, and will benefit as a result of some other arrangement? Why should a Rwandan or Batswana be willing to sacrifice the stable political leadership they have, the economic progress they seem to be making, the moral courage that seems to propel them (Rwanda, especially) for some Qhaddafi-ish figurehead. I’d say put the talking aside. Set referenda first about what the people on the ground want. Secondly, set benchmarks to keep. If past plans and declarations have not worked, perhaps it’s not that those were useless plans, but that we did not follow them. At the regional level, set agendas, set up a periodic peer review system, monitor progress, and ease political unity and economic unity as you move ahead. I have nothing against unity – in fact, I’d love to see it, but would like to see it done properly. Until we deal with border control issues, corruption etc in individual countries … …

Hmm. The AU Summit itself was something else. Lemme preface this by saying that after returning from Uganda, I appreciate Ghana a whole lot more. We still have a long way to go, but by grace, we have come farther than many other African countries. As I looked at the Summit publicity, I couldn’t help but think of this … … what do Rawlings and Kuffour have in common? They both brought visibility to Ghana one way or the other. They both also had larger governments that what they came to meet. They also are darling boys of the West. They also … … never mind. Both have strengths and weaknesses, sins and some good behavior, so all I’d say is work hard to moving the nation forward whether in a private/personal or official capacity.

There was sooo much pomp and fanfare – an occurrence that is not uncommon in African countries. Security around Accra was tighter than apuskeleke jeans, and as for the blaring sirens and motorcades, … galore! Logistics of the event, especially as it concerned media houses and journalists was poor at the beginning. Embarrassing that journalists were not allowed to go inside to cover the opening of this big Summit even though they had received prior clearance. Guess why … … our beloved presidents came with large entourages (The Brother came with the entire Libya in his 50/100-car motorcade that trekked here from the desert, stopping in villages and towns for undeserved fanfare). Apparently the leaders did not stick to the numbers they said they’d come with, so things were tighter in the conference hall, and there was no more room for the tons of reporters who poured in from all over the world. You know … … Hmm. Never mind. … not worth getting a heart attack over. I mean … … why? They came gliding in these our beloved Ghana@50 cars, sat in there and dozed half the time from all the talking, threw temper tantrums, clogged our streets with the porrpeeh sirens, and then went back home. Only in Africa, do we slow traffic so our politicians can pass with ease, and then they go wherever they’re headed and do rien. Zilch. Niet. Hwee. Nothing. Nada. You see, till politicians feel the pain of the masses … forget it. You have power outages, they have generators; you have potholes, they have fresh cars with good shock absorbers; you have traffic jams, they are sped through traffic… … so where on earth will they get to experience what we go through?

Hero worship, is killing us in Africa oh, I tell you no lie! I don’t want to go on about Africans and titles, but I must say that one thing that kills me is the way we hold on to titles, especially politicians. “Honorable” is used for politicians who don’t know their constituents, have done nothing but spend unearned money, and who go about demanding respect through their use of titles without earning it. It’s so annoying and frustrating to listen to them on the radio. Some even go as far as introducing themselves as “the honorable” so-and-so. In fact!!! Mother of all ironies! Lemme get off this one, or else … there’ll be a volcanic eruption.

Alright, lemme leave this alone for now. There’s redenomination and other stuff to talk about. You know, the pace of life here is crazy, maan. Who ever said things are slow down here in Ogyakrom? Charley, there are so many things I’d love to write about, but I can’t even find the time to! I have to discipline myself and put all this extra-curricular stuff aside for a bit – got research to do. I will continue later – my restless fingers and keyboard will see to that. Watch out for the next drumbeat from Ogyakrom!