The drums are thundering in Ogyakrom ...

11/23/07

Folks, I need to vent, so pray lend me your ears ... ...

Alright … continuing right where ended my last ‘missive’ … … or is it ‘epistle?’ Either way – I said I was going to talk about things that make me smile in Ogyakrom, but before I get to that, lemme talk about something that made me so mad today. … definitely stole the sweet smile from my face. … on the way to town, driving on the AFGO-El-Wak stadium road towards Cantonments, I saw something that got me so upset. I’m still upset … it’s been about 8 hours later, and I refuse to calm down. I have mentioned the Chinese moving in, getting involved in trade, etc etc. My problem stems mainly from the fact that we don’t effectively negotiate our way through these contracts to our benefit, and rather accept whatever portion is handed to us – master ‘towers’ who tow any line. Okay, …

Today, my fury rises out of different fires - on God’s good planet earth, and in my very dearly beloved Ogyakrom, we currently have a Chinese company building for the Ministry of Defence (that’s not the problem I’m referring to). The signboard that has the contractor’s information is written entirely in CHINESE with smaller font subtitles in English. I hope you see something wrong with that, ‘cos I certainly do! In MY Beloved Kentry? That IS a major problem. If and when they eventually set up their China Town somewhere here in Ghana (and lemme say that I certainly do see it coming sooner or later), then we can walk into that enclave and see Chinese all over with English subtitled, and I don’t think I’ll mind. For me, this signboard is an insult! For You to come to MY kentry and write in Chinese on a signboard meant to be read by who? I plan making noise about this aah, so this is definitely not the last I’m saying of it. It shows a lack of respect on their part, a lack of self-respect and taking things for granted on our part. Chinese is not an official language in this country, and with them replacing English with their own language, even as a matter of oversight or ‘benign neglect,’ we must realize that it says much more about us as a people. Sold our souls, that’s what we’ve done! It’s an advertising gimmick for them, and I understand that – if you want us to know that the construction is being done by a Chinese company, that’s fine; but you must do this within certain constraints. Who are the Ghanaians working on this project? That’s what I want to know. They must be either blind or … … never mind. I’m too young to have high blood pressure issues over nonsense! Are you telling me that their Ghanaian partners found nothing wrong with it? Come on now! We’re peddling our dignity to foreigners. Shame on us oooh, shame on us!

There are some other things I need to get off my chest before I share what puts a smile on my face. … Vicky Bright … a successful UK-based lawyer who’s come down and is very ready and willing to put her British on the line just so she can be part of govt. I heard of her and saw her on television for the first time this week. My first assessment of her and her situation, looking at how she sarcastically and somewhat rudely responded to questions etc was not exactly favorable. From where I sit observing the drama, they’re nitpicking and making this whole citizenship issue bigger than it needs to me - that’s unnecessary. However, I’m quite sure that it’s her attitude that just aggravates the situation. Just to penalize her for her arrogance, they may be willing to stretch this much more than it needs to be. You know the feeling when you’re sitting on the porch/verandah of a house, and someone comes walking right by you into the house without saying hello or asking for whoever they need to see. They go in, realize they can’t find who/what they’re looking for, and then they sheepishly return to ask for help. Ahaa! That glee and delight in the opportunity to show that person where the power lies is what I’m talking about. I’m sure they’d have brushed this over if it hadn’t been for her attitude. Apparently, she appeared before them in July, and her attitude etc was much worse than this, so what I saw on tele is supposedly nothing, compared to the negative show she put up when she first appeared before them. You know, the lesson here is simple – very often, to gain favor or to even get people to understand you etc, it’s not what you say, but how you say it, that makes a difference.

One of the problems that many people returning from outside of the country tend to face is resistance to their ideas etc. I really can’t blame the people on the ground for their resentment and resistance, if all we do is to show up, give them a snotty attitude and basically proclaim that we have all the answers, and for whatever reason, we’re better than them. That’s what engenders resentment and results in people on the ground sabotaging our efforts. It’s all about partnership oh. Ghana does not belong only to those who live here physically, and neither does it only belong to those who live outside, who think they have all the answers. Ogyakrom belongs to us all – we all share the responsibility to improve things here, in the same way that we share the burdens of social problems etc. …

Talking about social problems, one of the things that is gnawing at my tender little heart is the lack of [live] political debates in this country. We vote based on personalities and not on issues. Our leaders fear debate because it might expose their shallowness and give opponents a better image if they have better ideas. How do we sift from this legion who claim to be ordained to lead Oman Ghana? 18 aspirants … (I’ll refrain from making any John Koduah/Frimpong ‘Tico’ Boateng jokes), and what do they stand for? I’m interested in knowing not just what they plan to do, but more importantly how they understand the issues we deal with. There’s a certain fluidity in African politics where we just go with the flow, refrain from asking questions or answering them, and just go from one ad hoc move to another. We do have a growing democracy, so these things won’t happen overnight. Political discussions/debates - call 'em what you will, are all signs of political maturity. Are we growing politically, or we're still infants? I’d love to see folks like Nduom go far in their careers and aspirations – the kind of leaders who actually welcome debate and have no fear of articulating their stance.

Take a look at the NDC – what kind of debate went on for them to use as a basis for selecting Unlce Atta? Anaa der once big boss JJR spoke, that was it? Come on – don’t be puppets! Then I look at the NPP – out of the legion, as I choose to call them, you’re telling me that there’s no plan to hold debates to make it easier for delegates to know who stands for what? That’s a serious flaw in our thinking paa oh. If it’s the word ‘debate’ that we don’t like, ‘cos it sounds inherently confrontational, then for comfort’s sake, let’s talk about ‘discussions’ and ‘deliberations’ etc, so long as we can hear how these aspiring presidents think, and what they have to offer. Such discussions will expose the feeble and the strong and help us to make better-informed decisions. I haven’t heard of such deliberations in CPP, the PNC or anywhere else. For the CPP, watch out for Aggudey – he just might throw some verbal and physical punches. Why do we vote for one candidate over the other? How do we evaluate the different options available?

Sometime back, I asked myself where each party stood on certain issues –

1. The size of government
2. Role of government in the economy
3. Regional/continental relationships (for eg. This African Union govt. issue, peacekeeping etc)
4. Role of religion in national politics
5. Role and place of manufacturing and processing – industrialization policy
6. Role and place of foreign investors
7. Land tenure system
8. Chieftaincy
9. Education - priority on primary, secondary vrs tertiary etc..., subsidies etc
10. Health – universal insurance, access to health care, specific strategies – prevention etc
11. Rural vrs. Urban development
12. Role and place of infrastructural development
13. Campaign financing
14. Managing diversity – fostering ethnic cooperation etc….
15. Etc, etc, etc.....

Lemme take a quick break. …. Will be back soon! (short break sponsored by fried plantain and nkontonmire)

Can't resist --- let's talk about M&P!

This is an excerpt of an article that was published in full in the Daily Graphic, so enjoy this bit, and if you want the full version, just let me know. Enjoy ... ...

After running around yesterday aah, I was so worn out. When I got home, I was too tired to eat. I picked sleep over food. Can you believe that? Absolutely unbelievable! Hmm. Even if I were to be spoon-fed, I’d need someone else to do the chewing and swallowing for me. Was soo tired. That’s what journeys around Makola looking for “Neat” this and “Neat” that will do to you. That’s one of the companies I would love to support in my Buy-Made-in-Ghana campaign. Their food is great, and the packaging is good – a truly refreshing change from all the shoddy packaging and ; ‘finishes’ of locally produced goods. I love Neat Hausa Koko and other Neat products – they do a truly good job, and once I started hooking myself up with my hausa koko breakfasts, I was truly hooked. Not usually a breakfast person, but if it’s hausa koko or rice water, I’m game. Love it. For whatever reason though, it’s been tough to find Neat products in ‘kentry’ besides Neat fufu. What’s up with that? I’ve actually taken their number down and plan to call and find out why I don’t see more hausa koko on the market.

Talking about hausa koko and our manufacturing and processing industry … I bought a brand of hausa koko I’m not familiar with … wanna try it, and as I examined the box, I noticed the directions for preparation. The directions say “Mix 6 spoonful of powder in 10 spoonful of water. Add mixture to ¾ cup of boiling water in a pot. Stir and cook for a minute.” Ei! My aunt is a nutritionist, who will flip when she sees something like this. 6 spoonful? Cook for a minute? Literally? … so I can get my stomach doing ‘Kak Dee’ journeys all over the place? Walahi! And yet they got the Ghana Standards Board to approve the labeling. So this one who you go blame? … the company wey e write am or the GSB who no see say the ting no be correct? I’m yet to try it, and if I like it, I’ll approach the company and tell them what I think of their packaging – the box mpo is some weak card stock that is bent all over the place, and the colours and graphics are all but attractive. Well, the market woman who sold it swore that after Neat, this is next in line, and since I don’t have any other choice, I’ll try it and see.

... ... ...

Okay … so back to our manufacturing and processing … I personally think that is our most ‘responsible’ way forward as a nation.

... ...

Prioritizing M&P means the state needs to get involved, the private financial institutions also need to get involved, our academic institutions need to get involved etc etc... While the state gives tax breaks and other incentives to manufacturers etc, the financial institutions support them with long-term, industrial-scale loans, our educational institutions loose their myopia and look beyond the status-quo subjects that we teach and begin to educate botanists, researchers in the use of rubber, food scientists, zoologists, occupational health and safety specialists, agric researchers etc etc… It means people who study civil, chemical, mechanical engineering etc can put their knowledge to use.

... ... ...

Creative educational strategies and creative learning oooh, creative learning! Look at how much we spend on sports for example. This is a sports nation. We will join international tournaments, renovate stadia, sponsor sporting events, travel for sports, get DsTV so we can watch Arsenal and ManU, etc etc… Look at how much attention we pay to sports – soccer, boxing, golf etc in this kentry... where are the sports administration and sports management programs in our universities? You see, people will tell you we have bread and butter issues to worry about, so let’s train doctors and nurses. Yes, I hear that, BUT, whether we like it or not, we do have a thriving sports industry, so why not train coaches, managers, analysts etc, so that we don’t have to import foreigners to do that? Creative learning means the training of cartographers, meteorologists, archaeologists, nutritionists, etc etc. You know, this is an area of educational reform I want to personally pursue. I’m sitting here getting too aggressively involved in my writing – keyboard is begging for mercy, so lemme slow down to a halt.

... ... ...

M & P is the calcifying factor that will lay the foundation for us to grow. Without it, we’ll be chasing butterflies in our dreams.

... ... ...

In fact, I could go on and on, and on, ‘cos there’s much more I’d like to say, but dissertation business is calling, so I have to yank myself off this bandwagon for now, painful as that is. I hope you get the point I’ve made here. This was supposed to be a very quick blog entry, but you see … topics like these get me all excited. I’ll continue later and boss you about how our potholes are not just becoming more widespread, but are just growing deeper and deeper! Ei! Craters paa in the middle of our roads oh. Hmm.

Problems or no problems, I loove dis crazy kentry, I tell you. (I’ve added ‘kentry’ to my dictionary, so get used to it). Enjoy what’s left of the week. Next time I’ll boss you all about the things that put a smile on my face …. Stay tuned … … once we get started, you never know where we’ll end up. There's much more where this came from … …

So much to say! ... the drums are beating again!!!

So much is happening, and this is seriously challenging my resolve to focus on school work and stay away from social commentaries. The Makola fire … raises questions about urban planning, public education, occupational safety, literacy, etc etc….. Somewhere during the week, I was listening to some Vandals (Commonwealth Hall) guys who were campaigning for Hall positions. Ei! May God have mercy on us. I tell you – I listen to the basic English even at the university level, and it’s appalling to say the least. Okay, there’s more exciting stuff going on, so lemme get to it … …

Alright, regarding the presidential accident - so after all our motorcade ‘libi-libi’ and African entourage ‘laba-laba’ (remember Brother Qaddafi’s 100+ entourage to the AU Summit?), and the efforts we make to pave the way for the president and his men to sail through traffic, why this nearly tragic event? Ei! Hmm. The witches are alive and active, I tell you, but some people's prayers are covering the father of the nation. He’s blessed paa oh. It really raises many issues – as for the conspiracy theories, e no be easy oh. I guess the way in which it happened was … … mysterious. How come all cars stopped except for this one? How come this car seemed to find its way through all the traffic to get to the prez? How come it was no other car in the motorcade, but that of the prez? How come the prez walked out alive and smiling, when it was expected that he’d be hurt in the car that lay on its side? How come the prez is called Kuffour, whose car runs over another car whose owner is called Pastor Kuffour, and has a judge presiding over the case called ‘Diwuoh’? Heheheh. Africans are interesting paa oh! With all these questions, you bet there’ll be attempted answers; indeed, many of them have made their way around …

… the NDC ‘croos’ are trying to finish him off; it’s the doing of Aliu Mahama, so that he can slither into office before the elections, and use incumbency to gain political favor and visibility and ease his way calmly into office; the witches’ conference that was supposedly held last month or so arranged to take the grand papa out; the Anlo chiefs and deities are showing mr prez. ‘where the power lies’; Rawlings must have just paid another visit to Antoa Nyama or whatever deity he allegedly bows to; it’s punishment for all the corruption after the revelations of the Public Accounts Committee, it’s a ploy by the incumbents to divert attention from the PAC; it’s an inside-job; it’s an outside-job, it’s everything and anything and nothing about assassination. Go figure – African remote control at work. Apparently Alan ‘Cash’ also had a near miss recently in B.A. or somewhere up there. They say the prez and his alleged ‘protégé’ are under attack. Ei, nnyen no hon enyiwa aber paa oh. Nana Akuffo Addo and vice prez Aliu Mahama all had some kind of vehicular brushes with death – encounters arranged by ofienipas all in a short period. MUSIGA folks returning from Sunyani also had their share of road trauma. ei! hmm. Oh, and of course since we live in a country where everyone has a strong opinion about anything, everything and nothing, many are the opinions about this event – it was a security breach; heads must roll; the powers-that-be must start prosecuting DUI cases more closely (apparently, the dude who hit mr. prez had a li’l som’n som’n in his blood; well, if our traffic lights were working properly, we wouldn’t have to struggle to control traffic when the prez is moving through etc etc…

On a more serious note – it’s quite serious that the prez has an accident, and his security entourage is following normal procedures and flowing with traffic and don’t realize what’s happened, and civilians are the ones who have to come and turn the car back on its wheels and drag him out. What if one of these witches had been planted at the ‘jonction’ to oversee the project? He/she could have taken the opportunity to finish him off. Ei. Seriously though … it means the folks in charge of his security detailing etc have to review and revise their protocol. I’m thankful that he walked out in a full piece, and as resilient as he is, he moved right along with his agenda. He did give me something to laugh about though, when they interviewed him – he said “… I felt myself and didn’t feel anything.” Hehehe.

Okay, so why are some of the CPP aspirants and some party folks trying to discredit Nduom and Akosa as traitors who worked with/for another political party? That’s just pure political immaturity. I actually consider it a strength that these men were able to take up roles as senior public servants in the interest of this ‘beloved kentry’ outside of their party. With mindsets that are so partisan, you bet we’ll see a winner-takes-all and highly partisan approach to politics, regardless of who comes to power. Leave these leaders alone. I actually pay a lot of attention to PKN, ‘cos I do agree with a lot of what he says (even though I do get distracted by his moustache). I just saw him on KSM’s show – TGIF, and I’m excited to know (according to KSM), that he agreed to appear on the show without pre-screening of questions, like other candidates asked for. The brave and the bold. Ready in and out of season. You know, it’s time to grow out of partisanship, leave the party politricks alone and start focusing on the nation – Ghana, and not some political party. If we’re to approach politics with this ‘beloved kentry’ in mind and in focus, I tell you, we shall surely go places! God bless the mothaland! Ça c’est l’histoire de l’Afrique. L’Afrique que j’adore. Mercy!

Oh … the budget… hmm… bright future and agbedefu. I actually agree and disagree with both the incumbents and the minority. Haruna Iddrisu, controversial as he is, did raise some good points re: the budget – concerns about allocations and misallocations. I don’t want to go into budget conversations. I’m trying to keep this short. If I had my way, the top 3 budgetary priorities would be manufacturing and processing – providing tax breaks and incentives for local producers, so that we can stop being a retail nation that produces nothing and just buys and sells just about anything. There’s much talk about the agric sector and mechanized farming etc; well, I’d like to see cooperatives being encouraged, and I’d like to see farmers being guided into processing their produce – the tomato factory in Pualugu can be revived; pineapple, groundnuts, pepper, palm oil, etc etc … all these can be processed locally. I’ve spoken about all this in previous blog entries, so I won’t go there. It’s crucial to our development though, so we really need to head down that road. Pay attention to some of the approaches used in the East – manufacture and market your stuff like China; seal off your markets as much as possible and engender support for locally-produced goods before opening the market up to foreign goods like Japan (unfortunately, this cannot be done because we’re subject to all sorts of international trade agreements that work against us – force our markets open. It not only supports made-in-Ghana products, but it creates jobs, it integrates the agric sector into the economy, it reduces our dependency on foreign goods etc etc. you know, with the kind of problems we have on this continent, we definitely need more comprehensive, long-term resolutions to our problems. Did you hear of the traders’ strike at Abossey Okai? I hear them. This takes me back to the issue of R&D and how we can investigate new, creative and innovative ways of growing our economy, improving living conditions and just building our own ‘utopia’.

Two other priorities – urban planning and Research and Development. I’ve already said so much about these in previous blogs, so will leave the issues alone.

Oh boy, lots to say, but gotta leave this alone for now. Enjoy your weekend, and stay blessed. Stay covered, and may the protection showered on Mr. Prez be your portion!

Some mild drumbeats for now ...

11.13.07

Okay, we’ll make this very quick. This one is burning in me, so the fire must come out. You know, when we decide to address problems in this dear African context of ours, we have to do so as comprehensively as possible. No myopia. I could go on and on about the condition of our roads, but I’mma let that slide for now. I was just thinking of crime that’s become rampant in many neighborhoods in Ogyakrom. Driving in certain places, given the condition of the roads, you have no choice but to slow down to avoid killing your shocks, and that’s where some of the armed crooks hide out or set roadblocks and attack innocent folks. This is where these folks grab phones and hurt people in the process. So … there’s your link between our bad roads and crime.

While I’m on bad roads, let’s talk about non-working traffic lights. I’ve said it before, and will repeat it – why on earth don’t we have solar powered traffic lights? I really am not too worried about the energy source so long as the thing works! On a trip from Ashaley-Botwe to Accra High Street, I tell you, only about 5% of the traffic lights along the road work. I’ve never seen the Tetteh-Quarshie-Secaps traffic light working before. The fixture is there to remind us of our poor management. This is an intersection with tons of people crossing, so unless some generous driver stops and manages to flag others to slow down and also stop, pedestrians will have to negotiate their way through and take risks to cross the street. I bet there’ve been countless accidents here. So … why on God’s good earth can’t we fix some of these things? Hmm.

If you haven’t been down in Ogyakrom for a while, they (whoever ‘they’ refers to) are finally fixing the stretch between T-Q and Adenta. Apparently they’ve done a pretty good job on the Aburi road, and now it’s very user-friendly. Since I can’t avoid this road condition talk, I might as well finish what I’ve started … these same non-working lights mean that some boys-boys walking around stop to manage traffic at our intersections. We may drive by and not tip them for their services, as they harass drivers. At the same time, we can’t do without them sometimes. Try the Asylum-down Trust Towers junction, or the main Holy Spirit Cathedral intersection, or the East Legon underpass from the Spintex Rd. These boys-boys provide a service they have no business providing, but they’re being entrepreneurs – capitalizing on an unmet need. We may chase them away, but given the reality that we don’t know how to be patient and take turns in passing through intersections, we’ll be needing them around for a while.

Seriously … you can have an impasse at a crossroad for about 30mins, just because nobody wants the other person to move. That brings me to something else – why on earth do we build traffic systems that rely on proper and good human judgment in order to function properly. Case in point – roundabouts. We keep building them, etc, even though we live in a country and continent where the indiscipline on our roads is massive, and so a trip around Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle is like negotiating your way through a war zone. Why do we build systems that will rely on benevolence and good judgment when we seem to have none? I’d say scrap those and let’s have monitored intersections. Well, if the lights won’t work, then what’s the point? Oh well, … … plus ça change … you know the rest … …

Let’s talk about something more pleasant. Food. Ooh, you know I don’t mess around with that. If there’s anything I love to do, and do well, it’s enjoying a good meal. It’s refreshing to see that now we have places ranging from chop bars (yours truly likes those too!) to good restaurants. I can find Ghanaian dishes around more easily, and don’t have to stress anymore over the fact that our dining options are mainly foreign. Buka is one of my favorite spots. Be sure to check it out – next to the old American Consulate building. Their food is excellent! Jollof with onions (I’m a huge onion fan) tossed in a vinaigrette, and juicy and well-cooked chicken, palava sauce, banku and okro, atieke, etc etc, some good Nigerian dishes, and of course the dessert – cut-up sugar cane with a slice of lemon. Oooh, child! Making myself hungry, I tell you! the banku and tilapia, omotuo and waakye joints, the Asenka Locals and other places are feeding the likes of moi and making good money too. It’s about time! Tempted to talk about service quality …

We still have a looong way to go oh – you ask for one dish, and when it comes you notice the meat or fish came from some other dish. Kontonmire with bright reddish fish that just swam its way out of some gravy. … if you’re not an ‘ampo kyékyé’ person like me, then those are major issues that zap the appetite right out of your mouth. Talking about service quality …. That’s what my research is all about. SQ in the public sector. Everyone who hears of it thinks I’m crazy, and this will be the toughest project I ever undertake. Probably true. I’m really interested in finding out how we think of and define SQ, and what’s the most important aspect of that contact between the client and the service provider. I argue that the interpersonal interaction matters more, and many folks base their evaluation of SQ on the interaction, not just the other things – the environment, facilities etc …

Okay, sorry for this rather dry piece. I’ll find some more juicy stories for you some other time. Let’s just say I’m having a few ‘Ghana moments’ – blackout in dis brain of mine. Oh, before I go .. I picked up a book today – Elizabeth Ohene’s collection of writings – Stand Up & Be Counted. Very impressive. Wow! Phenomenal woman. I like her strength. If you can get your hands on a copy, do get it – especially if you didn’t live through the regimes of the late 70s, JJ’s era etc as an adult. Great insight into what happened then – the executions, murder of press freedom etc etc… fascinating. Look for it.

Oh … and I must say that I’m very impressed with the number of infomercials/edumercials on t.v. these days. There are public education infomercials on road safety, drug trafficking, electricity conservation etc etc. that’s what I call conscientizing the nation one mind at a time. That’s a good thing. We must ‘watch these things.’

Aight, lemme get off. Starving ridee, so the ‘apor’ has all evaporated. Will continue later on sometime.

The drums are beating furiously in Ogyakrom! She's baaaacck!

Drumbeats from Ogyakrom!

The Lord is my Shepherd, Who art in heaven. Who preparedst a table before me, in the presence of all the “ofie nipas” ... and leads me not into temptation … many temptations to write and write and write, especially when I have loads of school work to do. Amen. Hmm, … … na wao! As always, I’m thrilled to be back home, even though things are crazier than I last left them. These days I’m somewhat a prisoner in the land of the free … the boys-boys in the areas are mugging people, snatching bags, robbing at gunpoint etc aah ma, now yours truly has to be extra careful. People are infringing upon my liberties oh. Yoo. These are the things that push me to yield to sweet temptation and put my pen (fingers) to paper (screen).

There’s so much to write about … as usual, but this time around, I honestly do not have the time to write as much – I’m not supposed to busy my little self with anything other than dissertation business if I really want to graduate in May (so-help-me-God) and then head back to Ogyakrom. My love for this place and my ‘mof mof’ about moving back is being tested. Will I still sing the same “i-loooove-Ogyakrom” song even when my haven of peace is being disrupted by armed robbers? Help me Lord!

Okay, I got here on Thursday the 1^st, and by that weekend, walked right into an effort to raise funds for flood victims in the north. It was a charity event spearheaded by Mr. Music Man himself, Kojo Antwi, telecast live on GTV. He got his fellow celebrities to get together and take calls from people who were willing to pledge their financial and other support for the brethren in the north. The support was very positive and well-noted; people called in literally from all over – Sandema, Bolga, Half Assini, Hohoe, Yendi, Berekum, Nsawam, Tema, Tarkwa, Koforidua Bimbilla, all over Accra, Liberia, Nigeria, Mauritania, the U.S., the U.K., Holland etc. Abeiku Santana, Rex Omar, David Dontoh, Akofo Edjeani Asiedu, last year’s Ms. Malaika and other well-known faces gathered to do some ‘hard labor’ in the Call Center. Some performed too – one of my favorite Ghanaian gospel singers (Ohemaa Mercy) also performed. Let me digress for a second. … you know, the first time my supplier of gospel music CDs recommended her music, her name kraa put me off. I said to him that I didn’t want any of the many sister-somebody, mama-somebody or ohemaa-somebody singing whiny, dirge-like songs in my ears. I wanted a good selection of worship songs and edifying praise songs. Well, I rejected her CD. I got an MP3 selection of music, and there were at least 6 songs I immediately fell in love with, and guess the woman behind the voice? … you got that right. Shame on me. Love her music – ministers to me.

However, I can’t help but mention my disgust? Displeasure? Sadness? at how much of the gospel music being released is merely entertainment – it has the bumping and grinding ‘dombolo-like’ moves you see in contemporary secular music videos. Puzzling, if you ask me … Recently, many national leaders – Imams, pastors, teachers etc have been commenting about the lewdness we see on the screens – especially the ‘fillers’ used by the television stations when they are behind schedule or have nothing else to offer our eagerly itching (or is it itchingly eager) eyes and ears. The fashion sense has changed … wearing clothes with boobs all over the place, body-hugging stuff that displays every single pimple and dimple is causing custodians of cultural values, moral values etc to be worried. I hear them on that one. And … I have issues with some of these beauty pageants etc … our sense of beauty is equated with the skinny ribcage-displaying light-skinned women with fake hair, nails and the works. God bless Ms Ghana 1987 and some others, who displayed in their time a healthy helping of meat to cover their bones, and had the brains to add to the beauty. It was refreshing to see last year’s Ms. Malaika – a dark-skinned beauty for a change. Anyway … you know what? Lemme leave that issue right there for now. TBC later.

Back to the charity event … this is/was the first Telethon held in Ghana, and I must say it has great potential as a fundraising tool for serious needs like this one. A noble and worthy cause, and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to help out with it. It kept me busy that weekend, but for a good reason. I hope that time will not erase the flood off the memories of people in the country, and that NADMO, different NGOs, individuals and other entities will continue to support the victims - innocent victims of furious nature.

That same weekend, I marched off to the Qodesh – i.e. the home base of Lighthouse Chapel Int’l to witness the ordination of a good friend of mine. It was a blessing to be there, and you know, I realized how stable the church has been over time, and how it’s kept its mission/ vision all these years. Truly international oh … Tuesday evening saw such a representation of the diversity God has blessed this planet with … churches represented from Australia, Brazil, Austria, Germany, the U.K., Italy, and tons of African countries including South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Mali etc etc … I was telling someone the other day, that whenever I get lost, all I have to do is look out for a bright yellow signboard, and I will find out where my wanderings have led me to … LCI – Banana Inn or LCI – Darkoman, or LCI – Sakumono. It’s a blessing to be part of that family. Looking forward to spending time with my original spiritual family too - LIC in Legon, and ooh, it’s always so refreshing to be back with them. No place I’d rather be, I tell you. This time, my trip is going to be all about me, God and our dissertation. … and of course, ‘light’ updates on what’s going on in Ogyakrom. Light updates like this one …

Some fires are raging here oh – chieftaincy wahala in the Anlo area. A dispute over the rightful successor to the stool etc … Some representative of one of the factions came on the SMShow (Joy Fm), and totally said everything about absolutely nothing, trying in some very lame way to pin the ongoing conflict on government using parables. Government didn’t send law enforcement early, and then now they can handle things by themselves and don’t need any law enforcement agents. I tell you, I could not for the life of me understand his point (of course that’s because he had none). Why do we ‘Ghana-nians’ alllllways have to politicize everything? In a conversation with a taxi driver the other day, he blamed government for higher oil prices, saying that government owns the petrol stations like Total, Shell, Mobil etc, and so they’re the ones profiting from higher prices. It’s all the NPPs fault – that’s the song. This is where I launch my favorite missile – taking the scales off ignorant eyes and conscientizing Ogyakromians one mind at a time.

That aside … you know, there are certain issues that cannot be resolved without the input of some key stakeholders … how can we ever do any serious urban planning if we won’t involve the chiefs who sell, re-sell, re-re-sell and then sell the same piece of land to different people? The last time I came down, I was appalled (this is the kindest word in my dictionary for now) … at the condition of some of our public agencies – Town & Country Planning, Deaths & Births Registry and those agencies housed in the shacks that were supposed to be temporary some decades ago by the sea. Why am I wasting my breath anyway? After all, the Akosombo Dam mpoh was supposed to be temporary, and here we are, 50 solidly golden years later … Come je disais … plus ça change … Hmm… I really would like to do a study on the funding patterns for public agencies – the visibility and invisibility of some agencies. Compare CEPS and the GIPC to T&CP …. that’s like comparing night to day.

You know, these are the things that get me worked up about the public sector. If there’s any young person out there who believes in the public sector more than I do (not that they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing, but that they can be mobilized to do what they’re supposed to do), please, I beseech you … introduce me to that person. For some reason (only God knows), I see the potential and the indispensability of the public sector, and I can’t wait to start working on certain projects to help some one progressive and needy agency somewhere to find its raison d’être and function as it’s supposed to. Hmm … lemme get off that train for now.

Certain things haven’t changed – round-the-clock traffic jams, rude customer service personnel, goats, chicken, people and cars trying to share road space, tons of radio call-in programs etc etc etc… The more things change, the more things stay the same, I tell you. Your political aspirants are still crawling all over the place like ‘nkran’ (ants) in warfare. The heavyweights and “political ticos” (thanks to Ato K. Dadzie on Joy Fm’s Super Morning Show, Dr. Frimpong Boat has a small nickname to match his political stature among the heavyweights). It’s wearying to hear of NPP all the time. I’m on the lookout for noise by the other parties too, but nothing serious yet. … just the MPs slapping each other and Aggudey shoving his feet and hands into his mouth a little too early in the game. Did you hear his outburst? My goodness -- and this dude wants to be president? You bet press freedom will be heading on its way out as soon as you guy this one in.

Oh … today I went walking through Madina market. You know me and my school girl haircut. I get the labels “hey, school girl”, or “small.” Some dude actually referred to me as “school girl”, touched my arm, said “obaa” something something…, and commented on how soft …. In fact, I was immensely annoyed, to say the least, but I realized that the nincompoop was too empty-headed to even acknowledge my threats, protests, etc… The most I got out of him was “ah, na wonnye obaa? Me de mensa kã wo ah n’ayeh den?” (trans: ah, aren’t you female? So what will happen if I touch you?). You know, it’s amazing to walk in these shoes oh…. I get so quickly stereotyped either as some J/SSS school girl, or some ‘millenium woman’ who perhaps is all book and nothing else, can probably not cook or keep a home, will be the harasser of some poor guy. And … here I am, the total opposite. I’m happy whenever I see women who dare to wear their hair short on this continent … it is just another option – not a lesser option, but people refuse to see it that way. You’re free to perm your hair, wear a wig, braid it, wear locks or go santo/sakora. So why is it difficult to accept that we don’t all want our hair permed? Ça, je ne comprends pas. Seriously. Anyway … I keep getting harassed about marriage, wearing short ‘school girl’ hair instead of a perm etc etc… Why can’t we just accept alternatives to the straightening of our natural kinks? As for the extent of our brainwashing, the least said, the better.

Oh … the Most Troublesome Network in Ghana right now is messing me up paa, so I got myself a chip To Go, and texted my new number to a couple of friends (by the way, all puns intended). ...and by the way … that freeze on the sale of starter packs was one of the most useless directives. It was just a display of NCA might – mightless might, I might add. It’s different if you’re going to go and check the actual tech equipment they use to serve their network, etc etc etc. What did it achieve? Oh well. … so I sent my new number to friends, and one of them called back, but wasn’t saying anything when I answered. The call came through about 4 times, and then I gave this buddy of mine a warning … that I would count five and hang up ‘cos I wasn’t sure whether the Most Troublesome Network phone he was using was misbehaving or not, or whether he wasn’t aware his phone was calling me. Countdown … and then I hung up. Call came through again, and some woman asked who I was looking for, and I gave the name, and then realizing it was a wrong number I’d texted, I apologized for disturbing her peace. Then came the barrage of threats … that I should never dare to call her husband ever again or text him. I said ‘oh madam!’ dis one na wrong nomber oh abi. Make you forgive me. Sister-woman was too irate to listen, and then hung up.

Moments later … phone rings with a seriously-stressed out brother at the other end asking if I’d called him. I said oh Massa, I misdialed the number oh. Poor dude was panting, obviously after a heated argument with his bezerk wife, who thought I was his ‘mpena.’ Ao, mercy!! Poor guy. I tried to apologize to the Mrs., who refused to listen, so I moved on with my life. Perhaps Mr. man may have some skeletons in his closet, giving this woman some reason to suspect him of foul play. Or … she’s some mental nutcase who’s acting out in paranoia. I’ll leave the head doctors to figure that one out. It left me with a question I still haven’t been able to answer … why do spouses always go pouncing on the person they think is trying to poach their partner, when indeed, prudence would suggest that they rather launch their attacks on the one to whom they have committed, who seems to be breaking the commitment? Not worth my time for now … let’s move on.

I need to focus on school work – don’t wonder what my Sacramento Kings are doing, or how the Phobians are doing, or anything of the sort. Don’t wonder how I’ll leave all the Ghana 2008 excitement to return to Uncle Sam’s yard, just 2 days before the games start in January. Hmm …

You see how this happens? This was supposed to be a very quick 2-paragraph update, and here I am after a number of pages. May God have mercy on this temptation that so-easily besets me. Hmm. I’ll boss you more later on. I’ll try to make my entries short and regular – as much as possible. There’s so much to boss you about … the Trasacco trial. Now tell me … how does an Italian kingpin come here, make tons of money off us, commission land guards to storm parcels of land, kill people, use mafia tactics to evict and murder people and get away with it? It drives me insane! What kind of nonsense – mega nonsense is that? Oh, … the Chinese are here in full capacity – Bui Dam, roads, schools, etc etc… I wonder our role in dealing with them - equitable/equal partnerships? Servants and masters? Uneasy bedfellows? Much to say, but I hold my peace. Lemme stop here norrr. Keep your ears opened to the drumbeats floating up out of Ogyakrom. Be safe, and God bless Ogyakrom!

The drums are beating furiously in Ogyakrom! She's baaaacck!

Drumbeats from Ogyakrom!

The Lord is my Shepherd, Who art in heaven. Who preparedst a table before me, in the presence of all the “ofie nipas” ... and leads me not into temptation … many temptations to write and write and write, especially when I have loads of school work to do. Amen. Hmm, … … na wao! As always, I’m thrilled to be back home, even though things are crazier than I last left them. These days I’m somewhat a prisoner in the land of the free … the boys-boys in the areas are mugging people, snatching bags, robbing at gunpoint etc aah ma, now yours truly has to be extra careful. People are infringing upon my liberties oh. Yoo. These are the things that push me to yield to sweet temptation and put my pen (fingers) to paper (screen).

There’s so much to write about … as usual, but this time around, I honestly do not have the time to write as much – I’m not supposed to busy my little self with anything other than dissertation business if I really want to graduate in May (so-help-me-God) and then head back to Ogyakrom. My love for this place and my ‘mof mof’ about moving back is being tested. Will I still sing the same “i-loooove-Ogyakrom” song even when my haven of peace is being disrupted by armed robbers? Help me Lord!

Okay, I got here on Thursday the 1^st, and by that weekend, walked right into an effort to raise funds for flood victims in the north. It was a charity event spearheaded by Mr. Music Man himself, Kojo Antwi, telecast live on GTV. He got his fellow celebrities to get together and take calls from people who were willing to pledge their financial and other support for the brethren in the north. The support was very positive and well-noted; people called in literally from all over – Sandema, Bolga, Half Assini, Hohoe, Yendi, Berekum, Nsawam, Tema, Tarkwa, Koforidua Bimbilla, all over Accra, Liberia, Nigeria, Mauritania, the U.S., the U.K., Holland etc. Abeiku Santana, Rex Omar, David Dontoh, Akofo Edjeani Asiedu, last year’s Ms. Malaika and other well-known faces gathered to do some ‘hard labor’ in the Call Center. Some performed too – one of my favorite Ghanaian gospel singers (Ohemaa Mercy) also performed. Let me digress for a second. … you know, the first time my supplier of gospel music CDs recommended her music, her name kraa put me off. I said to him that I didn’t want any of the many sister-somebody, mama-somebody or ohemaa-somebody singing whiny, dirge-like songs in my ears. I wanted a good selection of worship songs and edifying praise songs. Well, I rejected her CD. I got an MP3 selection of music, and there were at least 6 songs I immediately fell in love with, and guess the woman behind the voice? … you got that right. Shame on me. Love her music – ministers to me.

However, I can’t help but mention my disgust? Displeasure? Sadness? at how much of the gospel music being released is merely entertainment – it has the bumping and grinding ‘dombolo-like’ moves you see in contemporary secular music videos. Puzzling, if you ask me … Recently, many national leaders – Imams, pastors, teachers etc have been commenting about the lewdness we see on the screens – especially the ‘fillers’ used by the television stations when they are behind schedule or have nothing else to offer our eagerly itching (or is it itchingly eager) eyes and ears. The fashion sense has changed … wearing clothes with boobs all over the place, body-hugging stuff that displays every single pimple and dimple is causing custodians of cultural values, moral values etc to be worried. I hear them on that one. And … I have issues with some of these beauty pageants etc … our sense of beauty is equated with the skinny ribcage-displaying light-skinned women with fake hair, nails and the works. God bless Ms Ghana 1987 and some others, who displayed in their time a healthy helping of meat to cover their bones, and had the brains to add to the beauty. It was refreshing to see last year’s Ms. Malaika – a dark-skinned beauty for a change. Anyway … you know what? Lemme leave that issue right there for now. TBC later.

Back to the charity event … this is/was the first Telethon held in Ghana, and I must say it has great potential as a fundraising tool for serious needs like this one. A noble and worthy cause, and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to help out with it. It kept me busy that weekend, but for a good reason. I hope that time will not erase the flood off the memories of people in the country, and that NADMO, different NGOs, individuals and other entities will continue to support the victims - innocent victims of furious nature.

That same weekend, I marched off to the Qodesh – i.e. the home base of Lighthouse Chapel Int’l to witness the ordination of a good friend of mine. It was a blessing to be there, and you know, I realized how stable the church has been over time, and how it’s kept its mission/ vision all these years. Truly international oh … Tuesday evening saw such a representation of the diversity God has blessed this planet with … churches represented from Australia, Brazil, Austria, Germany, the U.K., Italy, and tons of African countries including South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Mali etc etc … I was telling someone the other day, that whenever I get lost, all I have to do is look out for a bright yellow signboard, and I will find out where my wanderings have led me to … LCI – Banana Inn or LCI – Darkoman, or LCI – Sakumono. It’s a blessing to be part of that family. Looking forward to spending time with my original spiritual family too - LIC in Legon, and ooh, it’s always so refreshing to be back with them. No place I’d rather be, I tell you. This time, my trip is going to be all about me, God and our dissertation. … and of course, ‘light’ updates on what’s going on in Ogyakrom. Light updates like this one …

Some fires are raging here oh – chieftaincy wahala in the Anlo area. A dispute over the rightful successor to the stool etc … Some representative of one of the factions came on the SMShow (Joy Fm), and totally said everything about absolutely nothing, trying in some very lame way to pin the ongoing conflict on government using parables. Government didn’t send law enforcement early, and then now they can handle things by themselves and don’t need any law enforcement agents. I tell you, I could not for the life of me understand his point (of course that’s because he had none). Why do we ‘Ghana-nians’ alllllways have to politicize everything? In a conversation with a taxi driver the other day, he blamed government for higher oil prices, saying that government owns the petrol stations like Total, Shell, Mobil etc, and so they’re the ones profiting from higher prices. It’s all the NPPs fault – that’s the song. This is where I launch my favorite missile – taking the scales off ignorant eyes and conscientizing Ogyakromians one mind at a time.

That aside … you know, there are certain issues that cannot be resolved without the input of some key stakeholders … how can we ever do any serious urban planning if we won’t involve the chiefs who sell, re-sell, re-re-sell and then sell the same piece of land to different people? The last time I came down, I was appalled (this is the kindest word in my dictionary for now) … at the condition of some of our public agencies – Town & Country Planning, Deaths & Births Registry and those agencies housed in the shacks that were supposed to be temporary some decades ago by the sea. Why am I wasting my breath anyway? After all, the Akosombo Dam mpoh was supposed to be temporary, and here we are, 50 solidly golden years later … Come je disais … plus ça change … Hmm… I really would like to do a study on the funding patterns for public agencies – the visibility and invisibility of some agencies. Compare CEPS and the GIPC to T&CP …. that’s like comparing night to day.

You know, these are the things that get me worked up about the public sector. If there’s any young person out there who believes in the public sector more than I do (not that they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing, but that they can be mobilized to do what they’re supposed to do), please, I beseech you … introduce me to that person. For some reason (only God knows), I see the potential and the indispensability of the public sector, and I can’t wait to start working on certain projects to help some one progressive and needy agency somewhere to find its raison d’être and function as it’s supposed to. Hmm … lemme get off that train for now.

Certain things haven’t changed – round-the-clock traffic jams, rude customer service personnel, goats, chicken, people and cars trying to share road space, tons of radio call-in programs etc etc etc… The more things change, the more things stay the same, I tell you. Your political aspirants are still crawling all over the place like ‘nkran’ (ants) in warfare. The heavyweights and “political ticos” (thanks to Ato K. Dadzie on Joy Fm’s Super Morning Show, Dr. Frimpong Boat has a small nickname to match his political stature among the heavyweights). It’s wearying to hear of NPP all the time. I’m on the lookout for noise by the other parties too, but nothing serious yet. … just the MPs slapping each other and Aggudey shoving his feet and hands into his mouth a little too early in the game. Did you hear his outburst? My goodness -- and this dude wants to be president? You bet press freedom will be heading on its way out as soon as you guy this one in.

Oh … today I went walking through Madina market. You know me and my school girl haircut. I get the labels “hey, school girl”, or “small.” Some dude actually referred to me as “school girl”, touched my arm, said “obaa” something something…, and commented on how soft …. In fact, I was immensely annoyed, to say the least, but I realized that the nincompoop was too empty-headed to even acknowledge my threats, protests, etc… The most I got out of him was “ah, na wonnye obaa? Me de mensa kã wo ah n’ayeh den?” (trans: ah, aren’t you female? So what will happen if I touch you?). You know, it’s amazing to walk in these shoes oh…. I get so quickly stereotyped either as some J/SSS school girl, or some ‘millenium woman’ who perhaps is all book and nothing else, can probably not cook or keep a home, will be the harasser of some poor guy. And … here I am, the total opposite. I’m happy whenever I see women who dare to wear their hair short on this continent … it is just another option – not a lesser option, but people refuse to see it that way. You’re free to perm your hair, wear a wig, braid it, wear locks or go santo/sakora. So why is it difficult to accept that we don’t all want our hair permed? Ça, je ne comprends pas. Seriously. Anyway … I keep getting harassed about marriage, wearing short ‘school girl’ hair instead of a perm etc etc… Why can’t we just accept alternatives to the straightening of our natural kinks? As for the extent of our brainwashing, the least said, the better.

Oh … the Most Troublesome Network in Ghana right now is messing me up paa, so I got myself a chip To Go, and texted my new number to a couple of friends. (by the way, all puns intended). Oh, and by the way … that freeze on the sale of starter packs was one of the most useless directives. It was just a display of NCA might – mightless might, I might add. It’s different if you’re going to go and check the actual tech equipment they use to serve their network, etc etc etc. What did it achieve? Oh well. … so I sent my new number to friends, and one of them called back, but wasn’t saying anything when I answered. The call came through about 4 times, and then I gave this buddy of mine a warning … that I would count five and hang up ‘cos I wasn’t sure whether the Most Troublesome Network phone he was using was misbehaving or not, or whether he wasn’t aware his phone was calling me. Countdown … and then I hung up. Call came through again, and some woman asked who I was looking for, and I gave the name, and then realizing it was a wrong number I’d texted, I apologized for disturbing her peace. Then came the barrage of threats … that I should never dare to call her husband ever again or text him. I said ‘oh madam!’ dis one na wrong nomber oh abi. Make you forgive me. Sister-woman was too irate to listen, and then hung up.

Moments later … phone rings with a seriously-stressed out brother at the other end asking if I’d called him. I said oh Massa, I misdialed the number oh. Poor dude was panting, obviously after a heated argument with his bezerk wife, who thought I was his ‘mpena.’ Ao, mercy!! Poor guy. I tried to apologize to the Mrs., who refused to listen, so I moved on with my life. Perhaps Mr. man may have some skeletons in his closet, giving this woman some reason to suspect him of foul play. Or … she’s some mental nutcase who’s acting out in paranoia. I’ll leave the head doctors to figure that one out. It left me with a question I still haven’t been able to answer … why do spouses always go pouncing on the person they think is trying to poach their partner, when indeed, prudence would suggest that they rather launch their attacks on the one to whom they have committed, who seems to be breaking the commitment? Not worth my time for now … let’s move on.

I need to focus on school work – don’t wonder what my Sacramento Kings are doing, or how the Phobians are doing, or anything of the sort. Don’t wonder how I’ll leave all the Ghana 2008 excitement to return to Uncle Sam’s yard, just 2 days before the games start in January. Hmm …

You see how this happens? This was supposed to be a very quick 2-paragraph update, and here I am after a number of pages. May God have mercy on this temptation that so-easily besets me. Hmm. I’ll boss you more later on. I’ll try to make my entries short and regular – as much as possible. There’s so much to boss you about … the Trasacco trial. Now tell me … how does an Italian kingpin come here, make tons of money off us, commission land guards to storm parcels of land, kill people, use mafia tactics to evict and murder people and get away with it? It drives me insane! What kind of nonsense – mega nonsense is that? Oh, … the Chinese are here in full capacity – Bui Dam, roads, schools, etc etc… I wonder our role in dealing with them - equitable/equal partnerships? Servants and masters? Uneasy bedfellows? Much to say, but I hold my peace. Lemme stop here norrr. Keep your ears opened to the drumbeats floating up out of Ogyakrom. Be safe, and God bless Ogyakrom!