News
Be serious with serious things; don’t be an average person
Perhaps it is an opportune time to pay our respects again to the fallacy of figures. We are sometimes inclined to look with considerable satisfaction upon columns of assorted figures which seem to indicate that all is well with the average. But statistical columns seldom take all of the facts into account, and this elusive individual known as “the average” is rarely found. The fallacy of averages appears when we begin to look at what lies above and below the average.
The fact that the average man isn’t starving doesn’t tell us anything about the man who is starving. The fact that the average man may try to meet his honest obligations doesn’t prove anything about the people who don’t make much effort to meet their obligations. The fact that the average rainfall is adequate doesn’t give much comfort to a farmer who has to face floods at one time and burning drought at another. The fact that the average temperature in a certain city is twenty degrees doesn’t take into account that it may be unbearably cold in the rainy season and unbearably hot in the dry season.
The Savior of the world once preached a sermon on the fallacy of averages. You won’t find these very words in holy writ. But you will remember the parable of the ninety and nine sheep who were safe, and of the one who was lost. If the Good Shepherd had been deceived by the fallacy of averages, he would perhaps have failed to go forth to find the one who was lost. Averages may not mean much when we are speaking of your children or of mine, or of ourselves or even of other men. “You may prove anything by figures, ” wrote Thomas Carlyle. But every man, woman, and child who walks the earth is an individual with his own immortal identity, and the personal problems of people are not frequently solved by figures or by fixed formulas from far places. We must look at people and their problems individually and with open eyes. Figures can be made to fool us if we will let them.
Sometimes because we think averagely we bear someone shoulder shrugging off a puzzling or disappointing situation with the comment, “What will it matter a hundred years from now?” This may be just a casual way of by-passing facts that we don’t want to face, but it’s a good question if we will ask it seriously: “What will it matter a hundred years from now or fifty, or ten, or tomorrow?” In many ways our lives would be very different if we would stop thinking in average terms and ask this question before we do some of the things we do, before we say some of the things we say, and before we pursue some of the objectives we pursue.
We are disposed to devote much time and energy to things that won’t matter much next year, or even tomorrow, to say nothing of a hundred years from now. We are often given to driving ourselves toward goals that aren’t worth arriving at when we get there. We are given to eating our hearts out for things our neighbors have, or that we think they have, which we pay a high price to acquire, and which, with the passing of many days, often count for little. Perhaps it is a good time to ask the question: “Where shall we be a hundred years from now?” Specifically, no man knows; but inasmuch as men are immortal, we shall still be ourselves, and we shall still think our own thoughts. And it isn’t likely that it will be any easier to run away from ourselves than it is now. But the passing of time will put its own appraisal on the record of the past. And the trivial things for which we have given much, the small talk in which we overindulge, and some of the things some have sold themselves for, will all be known, for their worthlessness.
Some things we thought were important, we shall know were exceedingly unimportant, and some of’ the things to which we didn’t give much attention, we shall come to learn mattered muchand our neglect will accuse us. But many of the things which clutter our lives and confuse bur thoughts now, won’t forever stand in our way so long as we keep faith and honestly do the best we can.
If we can learn to live a day at a time and keep moving in the right direction, the future will find that time will have sifted out much of the chaff and disposed of many problems, healed many wounds, quieted many sorrows, and dissolved many of our little fears; and time will have written the real values on many things on which we have now fixed false price tags.
By Samuel Enos Eghan
The Northern Regional Police Command has arrested three men believed to be part of a kidnapping syndicate responsible for abducting a 42-year-old man in Wapuli, a community in the Yendi District.
The suspects, Haruna Seidu, Amidu Bandi and Osman Bandi allegedly kidnapped the victim and demanded GH¢100,000 from his family for his release.
According to a police statement, officers from the Regional Police Intelligence Directorate were deployed to Wapuli after the incident was reported.
The team conducted surveillance and launched a rescue operation.
On Friday, December 5, 2025, police successfully rescued the victim and arrested the suspects after what was described as an intense exchange of gunfire.
The suspects were later taken into custody and are expected to be arraigned before court.
The Police said the a fourth suspect, who is believed to have sustained gunshot wounds during the operation, is currently on the run.
They urged the public to provide any information that may lead to his arrest.
By: Jacob Aggrey
News
Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong advocates Bold educational reforms at the UK House of Lords during Global Education Summit.
On November 27 2025, global development leaders, policymakers, education experts and civil society organisations gathered at the UK Parliament’s House of Lords for the Global Education Summit hosted by The Baroness Verma of Leicester and organised by the African British Business Forum.
The high-level event focused on the global rise in out-of-school children and the urgent reforms required to deliver equitable, quality education for all.
Among the distinguished Speakers was Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong, Founder & President of Women in Sustainability Africa (WiSA) and General Manager of the EIB Network, who delivered a compelling address on the theme “Breaking Barriers: Empowering Out-of-School Children Through Education.”
In her remarks, Nana Yaa who is currently celebrating 26years of Service in the Media, emphasized that education must be viewed as essential national infrastructure, not charity.
Borrowing experiences from her 18 years of empowering women and young people, she presented a strong case on how Africa’s poor educational systems tie into the poor state of its Gender Equality gap.
According to her, unlocking access to education is one of the most effective ways to strengthen economies, empower women and young girls, build resilient communities and drive sustainable development.
She highlighted that each child excluded from learning represents deferred innovation, delayed opportunity and a weakened society.
Nana Yaa noted that the barriers keeping millions of children out of school are complex and interconnected—ranging from poverty and cultural norms to geographical isolation and digital exclusion.
Addressing these challenges, she argued, requires solutions that are equally comprehensive and multi-layered.
Nana Yaa stressed that girls remain disproportionately affected, and investing in girls’ education has a transformative impact across several Sustainable Development Goals, including gender equality, poverty reduction, health outcomes and climate resilience.
Nana Yaa advocated for the expansion of flexible, inclusive and community-responsive educational models, such as mobile classrooms for remote and nomadic communities, community learning hubs, after-hours programmes for working children, radio-based instruction for low-tech areas and digital platforms designed to reach learners regardless of connectivity challenges.
She warned that without deliberate action, the digital divide would continue to widen, pushing already vulnerable children further to the margins.
During her presentation, she introduced three major reforms WiSA is seeking Partners for, aimed at reshaping educational access across Africa and beyond.
These are the Digital Bridge for Out-of-School Children (DBOC), the Community Education Stewardship Hubs (CESH) involving local women educators and youth volunteers and the Teen-focused Global Skills Accelerator for Out-of-School Teens (GSA-OT).
She also underscored the need for education systems that support instruction, inclusivity and healing, particularly for children experiencing autism, trauma, displacement or conflict.
Nana Yaa emphasised that emotional and psychological support must be integrated into educational frameworks in order to restore confidence, stability and long-term learning capacity.
The summit concluded with strong commitments from stakeholders to adopt sustainable financing models, strengthen data-driven policies and expand cross-sector partnerships.
The African British Business Forum reaffirmed its commitment to championing innovative, scalable solutions to educational inclusion across the UK, Africa and the wider global community.
