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Borla Man — Part Three
Dinah came to our home early the following morning, as Martin was having breakfast. He congratulated her for qualifying as a doctor, and chatted briefly with her about her new posting and arrangements for starting work.
Then he left for work, hoping to see her ‘later’. For the next three hours I had a heart to heart chat with her, and she got a feel of the reality I was facing.
“Sarah, I’m concerned about the situation in your home. Martin seems to have decided that he doesn’t need a wife after all, that he is better off enjoying life with his beer colleagues and girls. I don’t think even his parents can influence him. But let’s continue to pray, and act with wisdom, especially in how you talk and how you react to provocation. Although the situation seems bad, I’m glad to notice that it has not affected you mentally.
Now that you have virtually secured admission to the university, you must stay focused on getting the degree. You have to create a life for yourself. Let’s start planning.”
Paul was waiting at Royalty restaurant when we got there. We had a great time. Paul asked Dinah quite a lot of questions about her experiences with the medical course, and she was happy to share them.
I had the greatest surprise when I found out that he wasn’t, as I thought, an ordinary clerk and driver who distributed bills and collected payments for his employers, but the owner of the company. And his company didn’t just collect rubbish and dump them, but was also involved in recycling.
And beyond that, he was helping industrial establishments to deal with chemical waste. After lunch, he first dropped me at home, and took Dinah to my parents’ place.
The following morning, Martin announced, with a sour face, that his mother would arrive in the evening, and would spend a few days. I wasn’t expecting much to change, but I got ready to do some shopping and cook some meal.
Paul asked me what I was doing the rest of the day, and I told her that my main reason for coming to Takoradi is to spend some time with you.
So he suggested that I go with him to the office, so I did. First of all, his office is quite impressive. I spent a couple of hours on the Internet whilst he worked, then we went to the Sports Club.
Nice place. I met two doctors who want to recruit me to work for their company, which owns twenty clinics around Ghana. We left the club at about seven-thirty, bought some chips and grilled chicken, and went to his place to eat. Sarah, Paul is one very humble but really impressive guy.
He’s picking me up for lunch at twelve-thirty.
“Ei Sarah, you seem to be making some headway.”
“You must be joking. He told me something very interesting, which I will discuss fully with you tomorrow.”
“And what could that possibly be?”
“We will discuss it tomorrow. But clean your ears out. It is very interesting.”
After a couple of days, Martin had finished breakfast and was about to leave, when his mother motioned to him to wait.
“When will you come back this evening? And in what state will you be? What’s happening to you, Martin? Where do you go after work every evening?”
“Mama,” he said as he moved to the door, “I’m sorry I have to leave. Moreover, I’m not a boy anymore. I’m quite capable of managing my affairs.” But his mother blocked the door.
“If you are capable of managing your own affairs, why did you call to make all those complaints about Sarah? Since I’ve been here, I’ve noticed that the place is always clean, this stupid lifestyle, or we will force you to change.”
“What will you do, Mama, beat me up?”
His Mama surprised him with a big, nasty slap, nearly flooring him. Very angry, he picked his briefcase and went out.
He came home very late as usual, ate and dropped off to sleep. The following morning he confronted me as I was preparing his breakfast.
“Sarah, what nonsense have you been telling my mother? If you can’t keep your mouth shut, then it’s best you go to your parents. After all, even though our parents gave their blessing to our coming together, we are not officially married. So you are free to leave. I will live my life the way I want.”
He paused when his mother appeared.
“Martin, Sarah hasn’t said one word about you since I’ve been here. But you, Martin, you called and made all kinds of allegations against her. And since I’ve been here, I’ve found out the truth. And you have the nerve to ask her to go away? Now I understand why her father wouldn’t give you his full blessing. Don’t worry. I’m leaving this morning. Immediately I get home, your father and I will go to her parents and apologise to them.”
Nice place. I met two doctors who want to recruit me to work for their company, which owns twenty clinics around Ghana. We left the club at about seven-thirty, bought some chips and grilled chicken, and went to his place to eat. Sarah, Paul is one very humble but really impressive guy.
Surprisingly, Martin was not happy that his mother was coming to spend some days with us. Dinah called as I was about to leave.
“Dinah, I was just leaving home to do some shopping. Martin’s mother is coming here this evening, and will be spending a few days, so I want to do some cooking. What’s up?”
“Well, I had a great evening yesterday. On the way to the hotel, then I will personally come back and take her home.”
“Martin, I came here from Koforidua three days ago, not because I have nothing to do at home, but because your father and I thought we should find out how you and Sarah are doing. Yet since I’ve been here, you’ve not sat down with me for even fifteen minutes.”
“Mama, I’m getting late for work. Can’t this wait till when I get back? There’s always good food available. She washes your clothes and even irons them. And what’s your response? You’ve turned yourself into a ghost, leaving home first thing in the morning and coming home late, every day. All those tales you told us about Sarah, they have turned out to be lies. Listen, you either change. I hope you understand the implications of the behaviour you are putting up. You are not only rejecting Sarah, you are rejecting your parents. You can go away. Sarah will take me to the Accra station.”
To my great surprise, he left.
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.
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