Features
Construction crew or demolition squad? Part 1
In every society, there are two distinct groups of people – those who solve problems and those who create problems. This reminds me of the days of yore when civics was taught as a subject in Ghanaian schools. And mind you, it was taught at the elementary level. By the way, for the uninitiated, civics is the study of the rights and obligations of citizens in a society. Not just rights as many Ghanaians have come to delude themselves that this is all democracy is about. More importantly, it is about obligations to the state.
I remember civics was my best subject at that stage of my formal education because during terminal examinations, I could easily get 100 per cent. All I needed to recall were the type of citizens and how they behaved. A question or two would almost invariably pop up from that domain. If my memory serves me right, we were told that we had the good citizens, bad citizens, active citizens, and passive citizens, of course, the active and good referring to those who were participating keenly and positively in the process of nation building. We were again told the good ones paid their taxes to help advance their societies.
On the other hand, we were taught that the bad ones, while not contributing anything to the efforts to promote their societies, were also wreaking havoc by their vices, in the process, causing their communities to retrogress. I do not recall the name of the book we were using but I remember how the passive citizen was characterised, in a pictorial representation, as someone sitting on a fence with folded arms while others were busy working hard for their communities to bring about positive change. At least, these only sat on the fence, but the bad ones indulged in all sorts of evil, kleptocracy leading by a mile.
On hindsight, I realise that it all boils down to the Construction Crew and the Demolition Squad. In biblical terms, we might say the Nehemiahs representing the builders, and the Tobiahs, Sanballats, and Geshems characterising the nation wreckers. Where do you belong as Ghana tries, through thick and thin, to move to the level where it will be respected among the community of nations?
As a nation our motto is: Freedom and Justice. Well crafted! But where is the justice after Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and other nationalists led us to snatch, as it were, our freedom from the jaws of the imperialist lions? Where is the justice when the slogan seems to have been implicitly replaced by the unwritten code that suggests that “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others?”
In “Animal Farm”, the satirical masterpiece of a novel by the British author, George Orwell, he writes about the betrayal of other animals by a pig named Napoleon, and its ilk. After the animals chase the farm owner, Mr. Jones out of town for oppressing them, they draw up, as it were, a constitution, described as the Seven Commandments to promote certain principles of the animal community dubbed, “Animalism.” Those principles are as follows:
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, (that is, humans)
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend
3. No animal shall wear clothes
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed
5. No animal shall drink alcohol
6. No animal shall kill any other animal
7. All animals are equal
Initially, meetings are held on Sundays to plan and regulate life in the commune. But sooner than later, Napoleon and the other pigs cancel all meetings and insist that they will take all the decisions “for the good” of the other animals.
With time, Napoleon and its cohorts assume the air of superiority and arrogate to themselves the role of overlords, breaking all the rules of “animalism” and behaving just like Mr. Jones whose exploitation led to his overthrow.
First, the pigs start to take all the milk and apples for themselves to the exclusion of the other animals. Then, Napoleon and its band of traitors begin to sleep in cozy beds, drink whisky, walk on their hind legs with their chests out, that is, upright as humans, not on all fours any longer, wear clothes, and have a whip in hand ready to rein in noncompliant animals. Napoleon even trains the dogs as bodyguards which are used to charge at perceived rebels or troublemakers. Before long, Napoleon and its notorious gang replace the Seven Commandments espousing “Animalism” with the single code: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
With sorrow of heart, the “common animals” spy on the “elite pigs” through the farmhouse window as they party hard at their expense, with a human friend they welcome into their company. Something else. Now, it is difficult to tell the difference between the pigs and humans. Does it ring a bell in Africa? Does it sound familiar in our body politic? Do you recognise those who have now put on airs; people who had nothing to boast of before they sought redemption in politics and became overnight millionaires? And why not, when no one insists that they should declare their assets as stipulated by the law!
The African-American civil rights leader and trade unionist, Asa Philip Randolph, (1889 – 1979), made a poignant declaration as follows: “Equality is the heart and essence of democracy; freedom and justice, equality of opportunity in industry, in labour unions, schools and colleges, government, politics, and before the law. There must be no dual standards of justice, no dual rights, privileges, duties, or responsibilities of citizenship. No dual forms of freedom!”
Speaking on the same issue, the 19th century British lawyer, judge, philosopher, law reformer, and writer, Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, (1829-1894) remarked:“The only shape in which equality is really connected with justice is this – justice presupposes general rules. If these general rules are to be maintained at all, it is obvious that they must be applied equally to every case which satisfies their terms.” In other words, “what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.”
As a government where is the justice when the water that the city dwellers use to wash their cars is cleaner, in most cases, than what some cocoa farmers and other rural folk drink? Through no fault of theirs, our brothers and sisters in the rural areas are born with daunting odds stacked heavily against them. They struggle under those circumstances to meet their most basic needs of life – shelter, clothing, food, and water. Unfortunately, whatever help they get is usually piecemeal
The great pan-Africanist leader, Nelson Mandela blared the truth loud and clear when he declared that “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice.”But where is the justice when the roads that link the food growing areas and mineral producing regions of the country to the big cities, appear to be in a perpetual state of disrepair? The dangerous roads put the lives of the people there at risk, especially, when they have to transport the critically ill to the nearest health facilities which in most cases, are mere first aid posts. We must be in government with the abiding consciousness that every human life is of equal importance. Otherwise, we have no business being there.
Government after government periodically applies some stopgap measures to improve the situation as if they are giving the people some charity. The most disrespectful aspect of this attitude is that most of the time, these repair works are done close to elections. What do you take the rural folk for? Dummies? No, they are only longsuffering and that should not be misconstrued to be a weakness.
The truth is ad hoc interventions are not the solution. An equitable distribution of projects under the national development agenda is the appropriate option. Besides, we cannot stop the rural-urban drift if we do not make the rural areas attractive enough to stem the tide. This is a basic fact that most of our leaders learnt long ago in their school days. They wrote about it in examinations and got their pass mark, or even an excellent grade. Yet they are not applying it practically. Or you think your script is not being marked any longer in school? The school of voters is scrutinising the performance of elected officials.
Do not forget that a stitch in time saves nine.
Writer’s email address:
teepeejubilee@yahoo.co.uk
By Tony Prempeh
I have often been saddened by the condition of Sikaman musicians. Of course, some are not musicians. They are jokers who think anybody who can sing a hymn is a musician. And why wouldn’t they think so when people think that every man wearing a rasta hair is a reggae musician?
Well, these days, almost everybody is dreaming of becoming a musician, even some ministers and parliamentarians. And it is never too late for them to begin learning the solfas and composing songs like “If You Do Good You Do For Yourself,” after all, life begins at 60 these days. If you die three years later, that’s your luck.
For the jobless, becoming a musical star is an everyday dream. They think when you are a music maker, you automatically break alliance with poverty. They are often mistaken.
I know people who claim they are musicians but are always fasting not because they are devout moslems or are on a hunger strike, but because even one square meal a day is a perpetual wahala. And the only drink they can afford is the poor man’s holy whisky which has a thousand names including ‘Nyame Bekyere’.
Even most of the popular musicians we see in town claiming they are foreign-based stars are more of hustlers than musicians. When they tell you they are going on tour abroad, it is a careful way of saying they are going overseas to scrub the whiteman’s toilet or pick tomato or apples to save their neck from musical poverty.
When they are back to Sikaman, they appear quite flamboyant with chains hanging all over them. They change the few dollars they have scraped, spread it around and promptly get broke. Then they can organise another ‘tour’. In between tours, they struggle to release an album and that levels them up a bit on the financial balance.
It all points to the fact that the life of the average musician isn’t quite organised. He has no calendar, no programme and no concentration on the job. He has to wash plates, become a waiter, janitor and toilet scrubber while finding time to make music. No musician succeeds in life that way.
One musician I’ll always respect, who thinks deeper than the ordinary Sikaman musicians is Carlos Sakyi. He is not like the Kokoase guitar musicians who see the world just in terms of bitters, a willing girlfriend, constant supply of kokonte and jot.
Carlos, often loved for his percussive overtones in gospel music, and once a gospel-rock star, has studied the life of Sikaman musicians and has evolved a blue-print for a great improvement in their lives work, finances and comfort.
In short, he has simulated a Motown-style environment for musicians and his formula is working with accuracy with the five musicians he has started with. The blue-print is what has brought MEGASTAR into being. It was launched on September 15, 1995 at the National Theatre.
When it got launched, many probably thought Carlos was “too know or was dreaming more than he should and won’t think about himself. Anyhow, the MEGASTAR is now an institution musicians can look up to, a big phenomenon with lots of promise for struggling musicians.
Music business in the developed world is not the way we regard it cheaply here. A musician is never distracted by how his finances go; his contracts are entered, his engagements made, his interviews arranged, his personal security guaranteed.
Music is his business and that is where his mind is and his attention focuses. Other aspects of his life are programmed for him by his managers. They hire who has to light his cigarettes, massage him, drive his car and the one who will say “Good Luck” when he sneezes.
A bodyguard whose face is exactly like that of the devil is hired to scare off muggers, psychopaths and criminals in general. Sometimes his girls are organised for him.
So the only thing the musician does apart from sleeping and snoring is to concentrate on making music, and true to it, no one can succeed in any venture when he is distracted.
This is how the Michael Jacksons, Lionel Richies, Dolly Patons and Whitney Houstons have made it with dollars packed and over-flowing. They aren’t any better than Sikaman musicians. The only difference is that they know how to organise their lives.
I managed to corner Carlos Sakyi and asked him to tell me how MEGASTAR was doing. He is the Managing Director of Megastar Limited, a music company that has a board of directors and a chairman. Carlos Sakyi shares the proprietorship with a partner. Carlos himself was one great musician who played for a band that beat Eddy Grant on the charts.
“Megastar is in fact a concept born out of the idea that the future security of the Ghanaian musician which has always been in jeopardy can now be guaranteed. Artistes spend too much of their time doing things on their own, chasing money and not concentrating on music. So their full potential is never realised. Some are in fact producing at quarter-rate. That is why they aren’t making much headway,” he told me.
“Megastar is now giving them the chance of the lives. We handle the interviews of Megastar artiste, their press releases, costume, engagements and everything they hitherto used to do themselves. We get them exposed on M-Net and we have contacted BB to get on their programmes. We handle their finances pay them salaries and bonuses, so they only have to concentrate on music
“Most importantly,” he continued, “we do not make all the decisions. Management always meet with the musicians to take the decisions that affect them.”
But who are the Megastar musicians? One is the great Amakye Dede, a star from birth delivered onto the earth with music on his lips; he is the man who feeds hungry ears with musical salad and harmonic sausages. He is the recipient of many national awards.
Next is Naana Frimpong, a latter-day Carlos-groomed songbird with the voice of an angel. She sings to kill. Her beauty has charmed her audience and they stare and stare at her.
The sensational and fantalising Tagoe Sisters are the next. The twin music machine is one that has produced the cream, arguably the very best, of gospel music all these years. I hear they are inseparable; not even their better-halves can keep them apart. Are they Siamese? They dance, and when on stage, they move the crowd.
Then comes Reverend Yawson who is a known songwriter. He is imbued with the Holy Spirit, speaks in tongues and of course sings in tongues. He is God’s representative on the group.
What about my good friend and super-heavyweight, Jewel Ackah? He is a star figure. His appearance is awe-inspiring, his voice golden. A great delight to be-hold when at his best in stage-craftsmanship, he has beaten his contemporaries to it both on land and on sea.
They are the pioneers of the Motown idea. They are all releasing new albums this year. Let’s see how it all goes.
In recent years, the term “female rage” has gained significant traction, symbolising a collective shift in how women’s emotions are perceived and addressed.
This phenomenon is not merely a fleeting trend but a profound movement rooted in centuries of systemic injustices, personal betrayals, and societal expectations.
As women increasingly reclaim their anger, it is imperative to understand the multifaceted nature of female rage, its causes, and its implications for individuals and society at large.
The historical context of female anger
Historically, women’s emotions have been subject to dismissal, ridicule, and pathologisation. The term “hysteria,” originating from the Greek word for uterus, was used to describe women’s emotional states as irrational and uncontrollable.
This legacy of silencing and shaming has contributed to a culture where women’s anger is often suppressed or stigmatised.
However, with the rise of feminist movements, women are challenging these narratives, asserting their right to express anger and demand change.
The anatomy of female rage
Female rage is not a monolith; it is a complex and multifaceted emotion driven by various factors, including:
1. Societal expectations: The pressure to conform to traditional roles of passivity, politeness, and emotional labour.
2. Gender inequality and pay gaps: Frustration stemming from systemic discrimination in the workplace and beyond.
3. Sexual harassment and abuse: Trauma and anger resulting from pervasive violence and objectification.
4. Emotional labour and burnout: The unsustainable burden of managing emotions and responsibilities in personal and professional spheres.
5. Hormonal fluctuations: The impact of hormonal changes on emotional states, often overlooked or dismissed.
The power of anger: Reclaiming female rage
Far from being a destructive force, female rage can be a catalyst for change. When acknowledged and channelled constructively, anger can drive advocacy, policy reform, and resistance against inequality.
The #MeToo movement, women’s marches, and increased representation in politics are testaments to the power of collective female anger.
Addressing the Stigma: Towards a more inclusive dialogue
To fully harness the potential of female rage, society must address the stigma surrounding women’s anger. This involves:
1. Validation and recognition: Acknowledging women’s emotions as legitimate and worthy of attention.
2. Creating safe spaces: Providing platforms for women to express anger without fear of backlash.
3. Education and awareness: Challenging stereotypes and promoting understanding of women’s experiences.
4. Support systems: Offering resources and support for women dealing with trauma and systemic injustices.
Conclusion
The age of female rage is a moment of profound transformation, where women’s anger is no longer silenced but celebrated as a force for justice.
By understanding the roots of female rage and addressing the societal structures that fuel it, we can move towards a more equitable and compassionate world.
The journey is complex, but the destination-a society where women’s emotions are respected and their voices are heard is worth the struggle.
References:
[1] Chemudupati, P. (2022). _The Rage of Women: A Historical Perspective_.
[2] Traister, R. (2018). _Good and Mad:
By Robert Ekow Grimond-Thompson
