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Be your brother’s keeper
A few days ago, I witnessed a scene that gladdened my heart and demonstrated how God created us to behave towards one another.
A small boy of not more than five years, came to buy ‘Koko’ and ‘Koose’ with his little sister who also will not be more than three years old. I had also gone to buy ‘koose’ at the same place on my way back home from my routine of brisk walking early each morning.
When I was waiting to be served, I observed the little boy bend down to pick up his little sister and step over the gutter in front of them and when he had crossed over, set his sister down. I was so moved by this spectacle and it set in motion a train of thoughts going through my mind.
What struck me most was that sense of brotherliness, a natural instinct to extend assistance to another human being who needs help. This is the essence of life but unfortunately, the reverse is the case, most of the time. One would have expected that adults should rather demonstrate this kind of behaviour but that is not the case in real life situations.
People in this part of the world have over the years witnessed a gradual decline in the willingness to extend a helping hand to others. There used to be a certain culture of courtesy to old or elderly people on buses and trains, where people eagerly offer their seats to the elderly people much older than them.
There are still a few bright spots in this current morally depraved world of us, which gives me hope that all is not lost.
About three weeks ago, I went to a bank to make an enquiry and was directed to an office. When I got there, there were a few people seated and it became apparent to me that it was a queue but no seat was available to me so I had to stand and wait. A young lady who was just ahead of me got up and said to me with a smile “Daddy, please sit down”. After a few protestations that I am fine, she was insistent that I should take her seat and so I had to oblige. I then thanked her and sat down and I was glad that the culture of respect for the elderly has not completely vanished from our society.
Selfishness is what is entrenching this evil tendency of not wanting to extend a helping hand to others.
In our society, especially in our organisations and institutions, the desire to climb to the top usually manifest the evil side of man. Some people deliberately spread lies about, their colleagues at the workplace.
Pastors who are supposed to be our moral compass are not left out, political actors within the same party are damaging their colleagues and it is just a mess. What we fail to realise is that nature has a way of exacting retribution and that we reap what we sow.
If a colleague’s promotion was denied him due to your malicious lies, guess what will happen to you in the near future. Someone you trust, will do the same thing to you.
The Bible teaches that we should do unto others what we want others to for us. When we are young, the practice of this nugget of wisdom, comes to us naturally as exhibited by the small boy but when we grow and are supposed to be wiser, we somehow neglect or refuse to practise this.
There are certain principles that exist and are time tested. It does not matter who are or what you believe, it is what it is.
In Genesis 8:22, the Bible makes us to understand that sowing and reaping shall never cease. Therefore, if you plan on gaining promotion, help someone to gain promotion. If you want to live in peace, promote peaceful coexistence. Whatsoever you sow that shall you also reap.
The attitude of pull him down, will never benefit us and it is high time we deleted it, to use computer terminology from our file of life. That is the only way we can achieve an enduring success in all that we seek to achieve.
Contrary to the perception out there that to climb up you have to step on others, the reality is the exact opposite. If we step on others by manipulations and cheating and back-biting etc., we must be ready for the consequences that will surely come our way.
Surely as night follows day, we shall one day receive the fruits of whatever we have sown, whether good or bad.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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