Features
BEESIWA —Part 3
‘Okay. I’ve heard you’, Beesiwa said. ‘Give me some time to think about it, and let’s talk later.’ Jeff drove her home, confident that he had virtually won her over. Yaw would not like it one bit, but Beesiwa was now his. He had taken Beesiwa away, just when Yaw appeared to be making some moves. This was such a sweet victory.
Beesiwa called her mother, and after thirty minutes they decided on Jeff. ‘Jeff is much older and wiser, and we now know he is much wealthier. Go with him. There is no guarantee that Yaw will choose you. In fact, he is already in a relationship with the doctor, so why should you hang around when he doesn’t even recognise you? And now we know that he is not as successful in business as we thought. So don’t waste time. This is your life.
Take the opportunity. Let Jeff come out clearly and do what needs to be done. Yaw has treated you well, but you have also been faithful to him’.
Within a couple of weeks Jeff and Beesiwa had sealed their relationship, and one evening Beesiwa asked Yaw if she could have a word with him. ‘Yaw, I have decided to go out and work on my own. I will stay for two weeks, that is, to the end of the month, so that we can find a replacement. I would like to thank you for all that you have done for me. I am very grateful’.
Well, that’s very surprising. But it’s fine. I have been encouraging you to go out on your own, so I guess I shouldn’t be really surprised. Okay. I will think about the replacement issue. I might ask my cousin Jenny to come and stay here for a while.
I’ve discouraged her from travelling to London, because she’s quite capable of doing something on her own. So I’d rather bring her to look after my stuff while I find something for her to do. So, I am also very grateful. You’ve done quite a lot for me, and I’m happy you are going out on a high note’.
Although Yaw tried to hide his disappointment, Beesiwa noticed it clearly. Was Yaw interested in her after all? Unfortunately she had already committed herself to Jeff, so she could not even think about changing her mind. Moreover, Yaw had already started talking about her replacement. She wished she had not heard those negative things about him.
They had had quite a good relationship, but she now knows that he was not quite the successful businessman she thought he was. What other secrets, she wondered, was he hiding? She told herself that she had made a good choice.
A few days after Beesiwa stopped working with Yaw, his driver, Paa Willie, called him, sounding excited. ‘Hello sir. You won’t believe what I am seeing with my own eyes, right now!’‘Okay, Paa Willie. Tell me what you are seeing, but please calm down a little. I can still hear you’.
‘Sir, I just paid for the take-away lunch for the guests at the office, and as I sat down to wait for it I looked across the other side, and saw Mr Manu, Beesiwa and her mother, Auntie Mensima, eating. They seemed to be celebrating something, because there were bottles of wine on the table, and they were dressed as if they were celebrating something’.
‘Wow. That’s very surprising. Maybe Jeff and Beesiwa have started doing some business together, or they have signed an agreement. That will still surprise me’. ‘Sir, I think there is something going on between Mr Jeff and Beesiwa. My worry is why Beesiwa will get into any relationship, business or personal, without informing you. I’m worried for her.’ ‘Well, Paa Willie.
Maybe we will hear something later. For now, let’s keep it to ourselves. I hope Beesiwa is not getting involved in something she will regret sooner than later’. Yaw reflected on the news for a while. Beesiwa had certainly made a bad choice. Perhaps, he would understand her if he knew the context in which she made the decision.
Maybe Jeff told her a pack of lies, and promised her the moon. But being the educated, well brought up young woman that she was, why didn’t she ask for time to think about the proposal? Did her mother have anything to do with the decision? Jeff was a big mouth, but no substance. His father’s haulage business was doing very well until the old man died.
Jeff had run down the company and sold most of its vehicles. He then made a lot of noise about going into estate development, but had started five houses and sold them before they were completed. For the last several years, he had sold off the bulk of the fifty acres left by his father, and was desperately trying to find something profitable to do before the lands run out.
Unfortunately, his lifestyle and his mouth were not allowing him. He and Yaw belonged to a group of university contemporaries in business who met at various homes and clubs regularly, but Yaw limited their friendship, if one would call it that, only to socialise over beer and food.
Jeff didn’t like that. Initially he thought that Yaw was protective of Beesiwa, but he later realised he was developing feelings for her. He decided to deploy what they called ‘Takashi’ at the university to grab Beesiwa before one could say Jack. It was past ten.
Some thirty guys and their partners were gathered for the bimonthly dinner of the Business Friends group. Most people had finished their food and were topping up their drinks, and the DJ was about to invite them to the dance floor. Then the MC said ‘ladies and gentlemen, our brother, Jeff Manu, wishes to share some information with us. Over to you, Jeff’.
My dear brothers, and your partners, I would like to make a brief announcement. I have recently asked my girlfriend, my sweetheart, Beesiwa Arthur, to marry me, and she has kindly accepted my proposal. So I am announcing that Beesiwa and I will be having our wedding in two weeks. Of course, you will be receiving invitations in the next couple of days’.
There was a respectful clap of some hands and some expressions of joy, but others stayed silence. The DJ took the microphone, and invited friends to react to the announcement. Billy Ocran expressed his delight that his buddy Jeff was getting married, and wished him and his partner a very successful life together. Yaw took the microphone next, and said, ‘I am really excited to learn that Jeff and Beesiwa have found each other and are planning to get married.
They are two great individuals, and I know this is going to be a successful marriage. Let’s give them a round of applause.’Jeff stopped in front of the house, and Beesiwa managed to share his embrace and what appeared to be a very warm goodnight kiss, then she rushed into her mother’s room and collapsed tearfully. ‘What’s the problem, Beesiwa?’‘
Mama, Jeff announced at the dinner that we are going to get married, and that they will all receive invitations in the next couple of days. A few people reacted nicely, but most of them were shocked. Mama, there’s obviously something wrong. And what makes it more confusing is that Yaw was one of the two people who congratulated us. Something is definitely wrong’. Get some rest, my daughter. We have a long day ahead. I will speak with Jeff tomorrow morning. There may be something that needs to be thrashed out. Maybe you are overreacting
By Ekow de Heer
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.
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
