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Battered, ruined by drugs …Story of 30-year-old mason
● Samuel Yao Kumah desires to get out of drug addiction
Many are of the view that once a person has passed the teenage years, there is no possibility of being influenced by their peers.
However, what happened to Samuel Yao Kumah might make many change their understanding of peer pressure.
In an interview with The Spectator last Thursday at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, the 30-year-old Kumah disclosed that five years ago, he was a successful person frequenting some parts of a neighbouring country until he was introduced to drugs by some of his friends of the same age.
The mason recalled with tears that he once worked with a company which specialised in building warehouses and paid him handsomely.
He said the dramatic spiral began when some of his friends started begging him for money to buy drugs, which he did out of kindness.
Yao Kumah said that with time, as he hanged around with them, they convinced him to also have a sniff or two, and just so that he would not offend them, he agreed.
He said unfortunately, with time, he observed that he was to develop a strong ‘love’ for the drug and patronised it, especially when he was alone.
Sadly and unimaginably, with time, Yao Kumah became addicted and started investing so much in drugs.
He explained that this was because anytime he failed to take it, he experienced a serious discomfort popularly known as “turkey,” and so he had to try as much as possible to have access to it before he could feel normal.
“It affected my output at work, and I also lost interest in everything except drugs,” he said.
According to Yao Kumah, gradually he started losing so much, including his job, wife, savings and even some properties.
He said he was forever grateful to one of his brothers, who advised him to buy land and build a house when he had the means.
“But for him, I would have been homeless by now,” he recalled.
He said some families and friends had tried to caution him, but their pieces of advice came at a time when he was too neck-deep in it to turn back.
Yao Kumah said he regretted not staying away from such friends of bad influence and felt bad each time he remembered how he allowed himself to be destroyed so easily.
He currently tries to patch roads with potholes to earn some income or beg from road users to survive and take care of his three children, who live with his mother in the Volta Region.
Yao Kumah said his strongest desire was to stop doing drugs, get a decent job to take care of his children and restore his dignity.
He called on public-spirited people to help him to go to a rehabilitation centre to get professional help to get off drugs.
The mason said he had tried on his own to quit drugs, but the situation had gone beyond the use of willpower to get out of it.
He advised the youth to avoid bad company because it was true that evil company corrupted good manners, so that they would not end up like him.
“On this note, let me take the opportunity to advise families and friends not to abandon their loved ones when they become drug addicts but rather support them in any way they can to bring them out of the mess they have found themselves in.
“Indeed, I feel bad whenever I look back at how I had fallen, but I felt worse when people passed by and insulted or humiliated me,” Yao Kumah said.
He said he was ready to avail himself to talk to people to stay away from bad company and drugs, using his life as an example.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Ashaiman
Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Mahama, has made a generous donation to the country’s national female Under-17 and Under-20 teams – Black Maidens and Black Princesses- as they continue preparations for major international assignments.
The donation, made on Friday, May 22, was presented on behalf of the First Lady by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, at the GFA Technical Centre in Prampram.
The gesture forms part of efforts to motivate and support Ghana’s young female footballers as they prepare to represent the country on the international stage.
The donation included essential food items and toiletries aimed at supporting the welfare and well-being of the players and technical teams.
The donation included cartons of Milo, T-rolls, soft drinks, toiletries, and a range of essential supplies aimed at supporting the welfare of the players, enhancing camp conditions, and easing preparations ahead of their respective assignments.
The Black Maidens are currently engaged in preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and are set to take on Liberia women’s national under-17 football team in the second-leg encounter in Liberia this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Black Princesses have already secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Uganda in the qualifiers, extending Ghana’s remarkable record to eight consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The donation by the First Lady was expected to boost morale within both camps while reinforcing national support for the young female footballers who continue to make the country proud.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
