Features
Waakye Girl – Part 2
It was another Friday night at the Executive Tavern, where a young group of graduates and businessmen who had started climbing the corporate and business ladder gather to make contacts, drink beer, link up with girls and mostly, show off.
After three weeks on tour in the regions with the Inspection Team of the bank’s Accounts Department, Aperkeh had joined his three friends – Kwabena, Edusei and Charles, had just met as they did every Friday.
‘So folks, how have things been? Any interesting office news, and any new girls?’ ‘On my part, nothing new,’ Charles said. ‘I’m still eyeing that girl at Procurement, but she’s not showing any interest. She gives only short replies to my questions, and hardly smiles back.
I will give her another two weeks, then I will forget her. She’s really sexy but she could also be very boring’.
‘She’s boring because you can’t get her? Why don’t you look at your approach, your style? Maybe she finds you boring so far? Do a little investigation, find out what her interests are. Talk to one of her close friends. You will get one or two useful tips’.
‘My brother, as for me, I don’t have time for CIA work o. If the girl is boring, I will just move on and try my luck elsewhere. There’s another girl in the same department. I will start looking her way. If this one doesn’t improve I will simply move over’.
‘I’m with you, bro’, Kwabena said. ‘Life is too short. At this stage in our lives we should be looking at the market, trying a few potentials and eventually making a selection. No need to waste time on one boring girl’.
‘Hey, Aperkeh’, Edusei started, how is Waakye Girl? What’s the plan?’
‘No change in plan. She’s still there. I will keep her for as long as I find it convenient, then I will drop her. I think I was a little hasty in moving her into my place. She’s certainly good-looking, and very helpful.
My parents kept asking me to bring her in because she’s from our town and all that, even if I was not going to marry her immediately, and her parents did not object when she started spending time with me. But I should not have moved her in.
She knows now that I have no plans of marrying her. In only a matter of time she will find her way out.’
‘But Aperkeh, shouldn’t you be a little careful there? She’s a beautiful girl, and she’s virtually living with you as your wife, cooking for you, keeping the house clean and doing all that a wife does? Would it be so easy pushing her out, especially when you are from the same town and your parents know each other? And what if she gets pregnant?’
‘I have thought about all that. But I’ve made my decision. I won’t marry her. The earlier she sees the light and moves on, the better for her. I won’t waste much sleep on this. Her parents and my parents will not be pleased, but what can they do? Listen, I have already located another curvy, elegant, pretty girl.
I gave her a lift just before I went on inspection. You guys will meet her in a few days. So forget Waakye Girl. Her time has passed’.
‘I think it’s okay if you decide to leave her and move on’, Charles said, ‘but don’t keep things hanging for too long. Some parents can make things difficult if they believe you have used their daughter and dumped her, especially in this case where the girl is not a street girl, as you yourself have said. Leave her and be done with her.
She and her parents will not like it but they will get over it. And don’t forget, a fine girl like that will get another guy chasing her in no time’.
‘Where will she get a handsome graduate with a great future like me? Somebody will certainly grab her and give her four kids in four years, but she won’t get very far. Look, why don’t we change the subject? I’m not really comfortable with this’
It was Monday morning.
David stopped the car and walked to buy waakye for himself and three others at the office. Stella served him and moved towards his car.
‘Good to see you again, Stella. I hope your weekend was okay’. ‘Well … I will call you when we close from here. How was your weekend?’
‘My weekend was fine. I will be expecting your call.’
‘Hi David. Sorry if I keep bothering you with my issues, but I appreciate the sympathy you have shown. The weekend was not great, at all. A girl came to the house to ask for my, er boyfriend, and when I asked her why she wanted to see him she said it was not my business, so I said I would not allow her to see him.
Eventually, he heard us exchanging words, so he came over and went to the entrance to speak to her, and I saw him giving her some money.
I had made up my mind to ask him why a girl should come to the house to ask for him, and also why he gave her money. But to my surprise he issued a stern warning that he’s not married to me, and I have no right to prevent him from seeing anyone. So I asked him what he thought of me, and what role he thought I was playing, living with him, and he replied that if I had any intelligence I would not ask him such a silly question. I have never felt so humiliated in my life. I have just given myself away to a man who has absolutely no respect for me.’
‘Stella, listen to me. You have done absolutely no wrong. Given the attention he was giving you, and the encouragement and even pressure from your parents, any young girl would have made that decision.
He’s from the same town, he’s a graduate, and he said all the right things. Fortunately, there’s more than enough time to change things round.
Don’t engage in any more confrontations with him. As soon as possible, if possible today, go and tell your parents what is happening.
Let them know the situation, and state emphatically that it is clear the guy has no plans for you, and wants you out, so you are moving out. If they insist on your staying, tell them you will go and rent a place to live in.’
‘Thank you David. Thank you very much. I will do that, today. I hope I can continue to call you.’
Of course you can. In fact, we can meet sometimes, even though I won’t advise it until this problem is solved. But I’m sure all will be well very soon.
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you are trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved. Last week we looked at three and this week is the remaining four steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
4. Find common ground
The best way to handle workplace conflict is to start with what you can agree on. Find common ground between the people engaging in conflict. If you are directly involved in the conflict, slow down and focus on results instead of who’s right.
If you are the mediator for conflict resolution between coworkers, observe the discussion and help point out the common ground others may not see.
5. Collectively brainstorm solutions
When deciding how to handle workplace conflict, it can be tempting to problem-solve on your own. Sometimes, it feels easier to work independently rather than collaboratively. However, if you want to achieve a lasting resolution, you will need to motivate your team to get involved.
Brainstorm possible solutions together, and solicit input from everyone involved on the pros and cons of each option until you settle on a solution that feels comfortable to everyone. This will help all team members feel a sense of ownership that can help prevent future conflicts.
6. Create an action plan
Once you have created an open dialogue around workplace conflicts, it is time to resolve them. Just like any other work goal, this requires creating a concrete plan and following through.
Create an action plan and then act on it. It does not matter what the plan is, as long as you commit to it and resolve the conflict as a result.
7. Reflect on what you learned
All conflicts offer an opportunity to grow and become a better communicator. Identify what went well and what did not.
Work with your whole team to gather learnings from the conflict so you can avoid similar situations in the future.
Today, I continue with my narration of personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland, with a focus on Mr Joseph Osei Amoah.
Mr Amoah is one of the senior members of the Ghanaian community in Finland and a top member of the Ghana Union Finland, an association of the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland.
He is an active and a well-respected person in the Ghanaian community in Finland. Mr Osei Amoah moved to Finland in the mid-1990s, and he has lived in Helsinki all this time.
Accomplishments and honours
It is important to recount accomplishments as part of the success stories of the personalities of Ghanaian descent in Finland in order to highlight their exploits both within the Ghanaian migrant community and in the wider Finnish society.
Mr Amoah holds a Master’s degree in Demography from the University of Helsinki. At the time he came to Finland in 1994, he had majored in Economics at the Bachelor’s level at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Sometimes affectionately called “Chairman” in the Ghanaian migrant community, Mr Osei is a former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) branch in Finland, assuming office around 2015, a few months after the branch was formed, until 2019 when he did not run again for the elections. He helped to bring vibrancy into the NPP Finland branch.
Religious life
Mr Amoah is a prominent member of the Global Methodist Church in Finland. In spite of his busy working life and other responsibilities, he remains a committed member of the Global Methodist Church in Finland.
He plays a key leadership role in the church, which is attended by many Ghanaian migrants and other African migrants, Finns, and those of other nationalities.
His position in Asanteman Finland
Mr Osei Amoah is an outstanding member of the Asanteman Finland, where he is the Gyasehene, a prominent position as a sub-chief in the Asante (and Akan) royal hierarchy, in the functioning of the traditional authority systemgenerally in Ghana.
The Asanteman Finland is an association formed purposely with the aim of supporting each other as well as to ensure unity among its members and others outside of the group.
One of its top priorities of Asanteman Finland is to display the Asante culture in Finland. Mr Osei Amoah finds this as very important since by upholding the traditional culture and heritage, the association enables its members and especially the young ones to get the chance to learn and appreciate Asante and Ghanaian cultural values. They do this through rites such as marriage, the naming ceremony, and death and funeral rites, which makes the people to learn more of their provenance and not forget their origins.
“My point is that, by displaying the traditional heritage it helps people to learn more about their provenance. For, I think it will be embarrassing to go home and see that even the young ones have much knowledge about how to perform certain rites whilst those of us in the diaspora may be deficient in understanding those practices”, he argued. It is also very important for the young ones who are born in Finland to learn what the culture of their original society is, he continued.
The Finnish educational system
Mr Osei has a lot to say about the Finnish educational system, which he sees as very good. “When we came to Finland, education was free. There were library books and manuscripts readily available in the library, and one could print or make as many photocopies as possible for your studies. There was more flexibility. One could read books and write exams on them for the necessary grades in order to complete your studies”. In his opinion, Ghana could learn much from the Finnish system, which is one of the best in the world.
He said the only initial challenge he found in Finland was how to master the Finnish language, without which it was difficult to get a job befitting one’s status after the studies. But things have changed today and there are many English courses so it is easy to study and get a job that matches your studies, especially in the area of ICT, he said.
His role in the Ghanaian community
Mr Osei Amoah has been very active in the Ghanaian community, as I have indicated earlier. He is still very active in the Ghana Union Finland, and has played a leadership in many functions organised by the Union, as a non-governmental organisation for the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland.
Mr Amoah has been a counsellor and mentor who has guided many young Ghanaian migrants on their career paths and has also been part in settling various kinds of conflicts between opposing parties or persons. In conclusion, I would say Mr Osei Amoah has succeeded in embossing his name in the golden pages of visionary Ghanaians in both Sweden and Finland.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
