Features
Dead babies, no grave

Many babies are conceived but do not, see the light of day
Man is God’s most wonderful creation. According to biblical legend, man was created in “His own image”, and was made lord over all living things on earth. Apart from the first man, however, all human beings had to be conceived in the womb and born of woman. Such was God’s design for the human race.
No matter one’s origin or race (Asian, Caucasian or Negro), the life of every human individual begins right from the time it is conceived. The male sperm unites with the female ovum and LIFE begins therefrom. Nine months, thence, a baby is born. It grows and grows to become an adult.
Many babies conceived do not, however, see the light of day. They never will.
They are scooped out of the womb before they develop eyes and limb. As such, they are deprived of the right to live. And their plight is apathetic instance of human cruelty.
And do they complain? They can’t! But assuming they could, all aborted babies in their frightful multitude will protest these injustices in a demonstration never before held on the planet. And a typical placard will read:
“My Mother Aborted Me
When I Was 3 Months Old
In Her Womb. How Much I
Loved My Mother. But She
Never Loved Me. She Killed Me.
O My Mother. She Killed Me.”
The blood of such a baby is forever upon the head of those who terminated its life against its will. The soul of the child cries to the Lord. The voice is tiny, but it reaches the ear of the Lord.
“O Lord, why did thou allow
My conception in the womb
Of that cruel woman.
Look at what she’s done to me.
She took me to a doctor who
Destroyed me with a dangerous weapon.
I bled and bled.
My soul returns to eternity.
That is the sad tale of my short life,
O Lord.”
Tens of thousands of human foetuses are aborted every single year. And in Sikaman, not less than 10,000 babies are returned to where they are supposed to have come from. They have no right to live. On their foreheads is written: “If undelivered, return to sender.” And for sure, they are dispatched with the promptitude of first class mails.
There are several ways of killing unborn babies. “Many ways of killing a cat.” But until the advent of modern-day methods of death, crude means were sought to get rid of babies growing in human wombs.
Concentrated dosages of chloroquine, sugar, coffee, blue (for washing) are abortion agents that painfully terminate the lives of babies. In the attempt, however, these unsafe methods are also effective in dispatching both mother and child to eternity. TOGETHER WE PERISH!
The modern method is Dilation and Curetage (D and C), which is the most ingenious way of killing unborn babies without arranging for an obituary for the mother also. And prices paid for the murder are quite high of late.
A recent survey has shown that the effects of the ‘Gulf Crisis are felt here too. If you want to abort a one-month pregnancy, you’re sure to dish out ¢7,000 to the killer. Two-months -¢8,500, three-months- ¢10,000 etc.
And some rationalise why they feel compelled to lend their babies to the slaughter houses. They cite such reasons like economic constraints, family planning or the father denying the pregnancy. Others who are prostitutes by profession say that babies disrupt the business and must, therefore, be gotten rid of.
My view is that abortion in some cases may be justified, for example in cases of rape. A fifteen-year-old girl who got pregnant after she was raped by several soldiers in the United States, was granted the choice for an abortion by a law court, although it was illegal at the time.
Abortions may also be justified when the health of the mother is jeopardised as a result of the pregnancy, which is for medical reasons.
Aside these extreme considerations, to willfully abort a foetus is a transgression abominable to God. This is so, but because moral decadence is so widespread, no one cares whether or not a baby is killed. No wonder that certain countries legalise abortion to control population.
But why not prevent pregnancy rather in lieu of KILLING babies? To prevent pregnancy is not as disastrous as killing babies. And abortions sometimes have irreversible effects on mothers-barrenness.
These days, the first borns of some people, are not their first-borns. About four or five earlier ones have been thrown somewhere without offering them graves. And sooner or later, some of these dead babies will become personified and preach the gospel of revenge:
“Dear Wicked Mother
When I Was 5 Months In Your Womb
And You Were Planning My Death,
With My Cruel Father
I Wanted To Put In A Word
For Myself
But I Could Not Be Heard.
My Heart Was Punctured.
I Bled And Died
God Bless You.
And God Curse You!”
This article was first published on Saturday, November 24, 1990.
Features
The Herbal Preacher man (1)

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
Features
Some issues requiring attention
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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