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
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”. The Holy Bible (Psalm 53:1)
The greatest gift I ever received was the Bible, given to me by Mr Anyetei Sowah of BIBLE HOUSE on April 4, 1991. It saved my life. He was my mate in sixth form, and while some of us were easy-going, perpetually looking for adventure in town, he was a bit different and we all respected and admired him for his Godly ways, his mild manners, his wise counsel.
When I became a journalist, he paid me a visit and asked me to attend one of his plays which was staged at the Arts Centre. He performed in this magnificent drama and I recall the role of one character, Reverend Sozo Macumbe. As a reward for being present, Anyetei presented me with a gift – The Holy Bible. It was more than One Million Dollars.
Earlier, I had always wanted to possess one but found it extremely difficult to purchase although it was very cheap, about the equivalent of two bottles lager beer. I could buy several lagers for myself and friends and yet couldn’t bring myself to spending on a Bible.
When Anyetei brought me the wonderful gift, I confessed almost on my knees that if he hadn’t presented me with the Bible, I couldn’t have bought one for myself no matter how hard I tried. I then blamed the devil for my inability to spend on a Bible rather than on beer. Of course, everybody blames the devil, so why not Kwame Alomele.
The Bible I got made me quite religious and as I read through and prayed, I was able to veer from dangerous paths of temptation and self-destruction. It was also an opportunity for me to reminisce my born-again days of old when I drew very close to Christ until Satan tore me away and re-baptised me fully into sin.
I really did not know what happened to me at the time. I was strongly in the faith but suddenly Satan came round and presented the whole world to me in exchange for my soul. On the whole, it was not a bad deal and I accepted Satan’s offer. Man mon enjoy life, abi!
When Anyetei’s Bible came, I told myself, “Kwame, you’ll fall a thousand times and take the mandatory count like a battered boxer. But you won’t remain sprawled, in the name of Jesus! You’ll crawl, you’ll stagger but eventually rise above beer bottles and continue from where you left off. Halleluyah!”
Yeah, you’ve got to give God his due. If you are a Christian, be strong in the faith and don’t be a mere church-goer; if a Moslem, don’t fail to pray and read the Koran daily; if you’re a Buddhist, chant ‘Myoho renge kyo nam’ till your jaw breaks; and if you’re a follower of Krishna, chant ‘Hare Krishna Hare’ till you collapse. And if you want to follow the devil too, please go ahead and wind up in hell. And in hell, you’ll find yourself in the form of ‘human khebab, precisely ‘human suya’. Hare.
In any case, research has shown that religious persons rarely become neurotic or psychotic. A person who is in a grave financial distress but is religious would hardly commit suicide.
Aside all the divine benefits, there is a psychological consolation that with God all things are possible. This is not only psychological, but real.
Those who are religious and get gilted by their boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands or wives just laugh it off. They never get broken-hearted to the point of mental derangement.
After lamenting a day or two over the loss of her lover, a gilted girl who is truly religious would declare that “Jesus is now my boyfriend”. She would never go mourning for days, weeks, months and end up at the Psychiatric Hospital. No, not when Jesus has taken over the show.
Of late, I’ve come a bit closer to Jesus not because I’ve been gilted by a ‘babe’ or in financial distress; far from these. I have realised that a youngman must organise his life and your life can hardly be organised if you are not religious. Jesus is like a pillar of your life, just as Buddha or Krishna might be.
The Lord says, “When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm”. (Psalm 75:3).
If you come to learn that people like mystic writer LOBSANG RAMPA have turned over a new page in life doubled-up. He was an occultist and one of his and is now a born-again Christian, then it is time man famous books which is now very infamous is ‘THE THIRD EYE’. I have read it three times over.
Before Mr Rampa came into the Christian fold, he apologised to the world for having deceived people with his writings and led them away from the path of righteousness.
I fellowship at the E. P. CHURCH OF GHANA at Tema. It is regarded as a renegade wing of the E.P.CHURCH. When they broke away, I was furious with them and called them good-for-nothing devil-inspired idiots.
Today, that is where I meet Jesus for a chat. And that is where my younger brother Edward Alomele, a latter-day convert, does business with Christ.
In fact, when churches split, it is only an opportunity for the word to spread further. So the two churches are now far apart and doing the work of God to spread the good news further and further. They need not be antagonistic to each other after all. Isn’t it?
And it came to pass that last Sunday when I walked into the synagogue I espied Diana Akiwumi sitting on the dais. Not sure if it was her, I looked out for her husband; they are almost always together.
And lo and behold, there was the Reverend Samuel Akiwumi perching beside his superstar wife. They were our guests. Today be today, I said.
As expected, Lady Diana led the praise and worship. It was an inspiring ecclesiastical blitz as the lady songbird with a musical call took the congregation through an explosive spiritual extravaganza. I was completely overwhelmed with joy and if it hadn’t been for my weight I would have executed the monkey-dance Kwame Korkorti taught me years ago.
When it came to delivering the word, it was no other than Evangelist Samuel Akiwumi. I never knew he was such a vibrant preacher man. He delivered the sermon with total conviction and power and the congregation nodded and nodded with satisfaction. Basing his sermon on Chronicles 2 Chapter 20, he urged us to rely exclusively on God in times of trouble.
After the service I cornered the Europe-bound duo and asked them about the AKIWUMI GOSPEL MINISTRIES.
This article was first published on Saturday, July 22, 1995
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If God grants us the grace to live long like our parents, I am of the firm conviction that we shall hear a lot of interesting things. Discipline in schools, especially at the Senior High School level, has become a hot topic for discussion in the country in recent times.
I recall Achimota School, a few years ago, being in the news for insisting that a Rasta-haired student, who had just gained admission, must cut his hair before being admitted. This generated a heated national debate, and the parents of the student decided to go to court. The Ministry of Education eventually intervened for the student to be admitted, and the court later ruled that he could not be prevented based on religious grounds. Interestingly, the teenager recently completed the school with no disciplinary issues — and on top of that, had 8 As.
A few days ago, a Minister stirred up another debate in the education space by announcing that regulations governing short hair in schools must be strictly enforced to ensure discipline and character formation. But I fail to see how cutting one’s hair short ensures morality.
In the past, students in second-cycle institutions were required to keep their hair short. Many of these boys later became men, completed universities, entered politics, and ended up in Parliament as Members of Parliament (MPs) representing their respective constituencies. At that time, the fashion in vogue among men was short hair, and in many cases, completely shaved heads, popularly called “Sakora.” One would therefore assume that these men would be morally upright.
Surprise, surprise! During the previous government, it came out that some MPs had dishonestly received double salaries. One then begins to wonder — what correlation, therefore, exists between short hair and right conduct? If short hair has anything to do with character formation, then something went very, very wrong somewhere.
Frankly, I fail to see the correlation between short hair and moral uprightness. I once lived in an area notorious for wee (marijuana) smoking, yet I never smoked wee. Character formation, in my opinion, depends largely on the individual — not on whether they have long or short hair.
What happens when a child is forced to pretend to be obedient and morally upright in school, only to go to university after three years in SHS? Even those of us who went through Sixth Form before university had our challenges — how much more those who spend only three years in SHS?
Some argue that in the army, soldiers cut their hair short and that’s why they are disciplined. I find this reasoning absurd because in countries like the United States, Canada, and across Europe, students do not cut their hair short, yet their societies are disciplined. They do not litter their streets, corruption is frowned upon, and their MPs do not take double salaries. That’s not to say they are angels, but on the whole, they eschew anti-social behaviour and are patriotic citizens.
A look at the Public Accounts Committee sittings proves my point beyond reasonable doubt. Most of the people engaged in misconduct had their hair cut short in various Senior High Schools, yet they turned out to be unpatriotic citizens.
I am sure that the man who a court of competent jurisdiction ruled had unlawfully taken GH¢51 million from the state of Ghana also observed the short-hair rule while in secondary school — and yet, he swindled the nation.
Food for thought. God bless.
NB: Change Kotoka International Airport to Kofi Baako International Airport.
BY LAUD KISSI-MENSAH
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