Features
Fare thee well, Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth waves goodbye to the world
The announcement by Buckingham Palace concerning the death of Queen Elizabeth II has sent a wave of sadness across the world.
Having been enthroned as Queen of the United Kingdom in 1952, the late leader was able to fulfill many official engagements involving the United Kingdom within and outside UK.
She visited Ghana on two occasions, that is, 1961 and 1999. On one occasion she was the Special Guest of Honour in Ghana in 1961 to participate in the country’s post-Presidential days after Ghana had decided to use Kwame Nkrumah as its own President. So glamorous was she that Ghanaians at the time felt very proud about the diplomatic relations between Ghana and the United Kingdom. The Queen is blessed with many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
The royal family in UK feels very proud about and will do everything to protect her and the royal family and tradition.
In line with tradition and culture, the British will observe 12 days of mourning during which the state will declare the period as holidays in honour of the late Queen.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has, on behalf of the government and people of Ghana, expressed his condolences to the royal family and people of Britain. This is a sad moment for our British friends but the sadness is shared by all Ghanaians, the Commonwealth of Nations and the world as a whole.
The world has a lot to learn from the beautiful quality of the late Queen. Her beautiful and infectious smile was the envy of people in the world.
Again, her language of diplomacy and unique advice to the royal family as well as government officials would be missed by those who benefitted from such advice, guidance and counselling. There is no doubt that the world as a whole will miss her dearly.
The presence of the Queen at functions added special grace to all those occasions. Many nationals of different countries felt proud and greatly honoured by her presence.
One of the latest events she attended publicly was the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. On that occasion she encouraged members of the Commonwealth to stay together and promote the interest of the Commonwealth and the world through the Games.
United Kingdom together with the world has lost an important personality who will be missed by the world. It is not only the UK which has lost this gem of a Queen but the entire universe of mankind.
The royal system in the United Kingdom has been preserved over the years till today, in line with British customs and traditions. This has helped to preserve the identity of that country.
This is a big lesson to all countries to emulate and preserve their values and norms in line with their own prospective practices. Again, the way in which the death of the Queen was announced is very admirable.
Members of the royal family first gathered and took a decision on the death of the Queen before allowing Buckingham Palace to make announcement of the death. This was picked by the British Broadcasting Corporation and announced to the world.
Thus everything was done in an orderly manner. What this means is that, when it comes to announcement of the passing of the royal, it cannot be done any how or in a haphazard manner, but in a well-rehearsed, smooth and meaningful manner acceptable to the people in line with customs, norms and belief systems.
This is a great lesson that we cannot ignore.
Furthermore, it is instructive to note that the news of the passing was broadcast by the national broadcaster after receiving it at the Buckingham Palace. Another lesson here is that those who serve on the national network must be fair, committed, diligent and responsible.
Anyone who wants to be respected on the national network should have accommodation for such values and principles.
After passing away at age 96, the Queen kept to certain basic principles of health. First, she doid not eat just any food but balanced diet to keep her body healthy. She took time also to rest whenever she found it necessary to do so.
Again, she took in enough water and exercised her body. She undertook all this on regular basis. No wonder, she stayed long till age 96.
The great leader is without blemish, but she would be remembered for all the good things she stood for. Having been on the throne for 70 years she played a critical role in the transformation and growth of the Commonwealth of Nations.
This seeks to bring all former British colonies together and promote their common interests. Under the Commonwealth, certain achievements were made. First of all, the Commonwealth has helped to promote peace and security not only in Commonwealth but in the world as a whole.
In addition, there has been technical cooperation between the UK, on one hand, and the Commonwealth countries, on the other. Also, various forms of assistance have been made available to the Commonwealth countries.
All these have helped to promote socio-economic development in various parts of the world. The role of the Queen in the world has also helped to bring about pleasant diplomatic relations in all parts of the world. Her personal qualities as a Queen are enviable. Her language of diplomacy and tact as well as prospect for everyone go to show that we need to build healthy relationships with one another irrespective of colour, belief, race and practices, among others.
The visit of the Queen to Ghana on two occasions portrays her as a lover of the country. In 2001, for example, she singled out Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to propose a toast in Canada during a Commonwealth Summit in that country.
The demise of the Queen is a big blow to the world. It is expected that her successor, having followed the role she played on this earth, will also work hard to emulate the attitude and lifestyle of the late Queen who demonstrated that she was a Queen mother not only in the United Kingdom but to the world as a whole.
Countries must keep to their norms and values so that like the people in the UK, their identity as a people will be preserved and kept afresh for the present and future generations. This is how the beauty and tradition can be blended and kept together for the good of mankind on this earth.
Queen Elizabeth II would be remembered at all times because she paid her due as a world leader.
May her soul rest in perfect peace.
BY DR. KOFI AMPONSAH-BEDIAKO
Email address/whatsApp number of author:
Pradmat201@gmail.com (0553318911)
Features
Tears of Ghanaman, home and abroad
The typical native of Sikaman is by nature a hospitable creature, a social animal with a big heart, a soul full of the milk of earthly goodness, and a spirit too loving for its own comfort.
Ghanaman hosts a foreign pal and he spends a fortune to make him very happy and comfortable-good food, clean booze, excellent accommodation and a woman for the night.
Sometimes the pal leaves without saying a “thank you but Ghanaman is not offended. He’d host another idiot even more splendidly. His nature is warm, his spirit benevolent. That is the typical Ghanaian and no wonder that many African-Americans say, “If you haven’t visited Ghana. Then you’ve not come to Africa.
You can even enter the country without a passport and a visa and you’ll be welcomed with a pot of palm wine.
If Ghanaman wants to go abroad, especially to an European country or the United States, it is often after an ordeal.
He has to doze in a queue at dawn at the embassy for days and if he is lucky to get through to being interviewed, he is confronted by someone who claims he or she has the power of discerning truth from lie.
In short Ghanaman must undergo a lie-detector test and has to answer questions that are either nonsensical or have no relevance to the trip at hand. When Joseph Kwame Korkorti wanted a visa to an European country, the attache studied Korkorti’s nose for a while and pronounced judgment.
“The way I see you, you won’t return to Ghana if I allow you to go. Korkorti nearly dislocated her jaw; Kwasiasem akwaakwa. In any case what had Korkorti’s nose got to do with the trip?
If Ghanaman, after several attempts, manages to get the visa and lands in the whiteman’s land, he is seen as another monkey uptown, a new arrival of a degenerate ape coming to invade civilized society. He is sneered at, mocked at and avoided like a plague. Some landlords abroad will not hire their rooms to blacks because they feel their presence in itself is bad business.
When a Sikaman publisher landed overseas and was riding in a public bus, an urchin who had the impudence and notoriety of a dead cockroach told his colleagues he was sure the black man had a tail which he was hiding in his pair of trousers. He didn’t end there. He said he was in fact going to pull out the tail for everyone to see.
True to his word he went and put his hand into the backside of the bewildered publisher, intent on grabbing his imaginary tail and pulling it out. It took a lot of patience on the part of the publisher to avert murder. He practically pinned the white miscreant on the floor by the neck and only let go when others intervene. Next time too…
The way we treat our foreign guests in comparison with the way they treat us is polar contrasting-two disparate extremes, one totally incomparable to the other. They hound us for immigration papers, deport us for overstaying and skinheads either target homes to perpetrate mayhem or attack black immigrants to gratify their racial madness
When these same people come here we accept them even more hospitably than our own kin. They enter without visas, overstay, impregnate our women and run away.
About half of foreigners in this country do not have valid resident permits and was not a bother until recently when fire was put under the buttocks of the Immigration Service
In fact, until recently I never knew Sikaman had an Immigration Service. The problem is that although their staff look resplendent in their green outfit, you never really see them anywhere. You’d think they are hidden from the public eye.
The first time I saw a group of them walking somewhere, I nearly mistook them for some sixth-form going to the library. Their ladies are pretty though.
So after all, Sikaman has an Immigration Service which I hear is now alert 24 hours a day tracking down illegal aliens and making sure they bound the exit via Kotoka International. A pat on their shoulder.
I am glad the Interior Ministry has also realised that the country has been too slack about who goes out or comes into Sikaman.
Now the Ministry has warned foreigners not to take the country’s commitment to its obligations under the various conditions as a sign of weakness or a source for the abuse of her hospitality.
“Ghana will not tolerate any such abuse,” Nii Okaija Adamafio, the Interior Minister said, baring his teeth and twitching his little moustache. He was inaugurating the Ghana Refugee and Immigration Service Boards.
He said some foreigners come in as tourists, investors, consultants, skilled workers or refugees. Others come as ‘charlatans, adventurers or plain criminals. “
Yes, there are many criminals among them. Our courts have tried a good number of them for fraud and misconduct.
It is time we welcome only those who would come and invest or tour and go back peacefully and not those whose criminal intentions are well-hidden but get exposed in due course of time.
This article was first published on Saturday March 14, 1998
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Features
Decisions have consequences
In this world, it is always important to recognise that every action or decision taken, has consequences.
It can result in something good or bad, depending on the quality of the decision, that is, the factors that were taken into account in the decision making.
The problem with a bad decision is that, in some instances, there is no opportunity to correct the result even though you have regretted the decision, which resulted in the unpleasant outcome.
This is what a friend of mine refers to as having regretted an unregretable regret. After church last Sunday, I was watching a programme on TV and a young lady was sharing with the host, how a bad decision she took, had affected her life immensely and adversely.
She narrated how she met a Caucasian and she got married to him. The white man arranged for her to join him after the marriage and processes were initiated for her to join her husband in UK. It took a while for the requisite documentation to be procured and during this period, she took a decision that has haunted her till date.
According to her narration, she met a man, a Ghanaian, who she started dating, even though she was a married woman.
After a while her documents were ready and so she left to join her husband abroad without breaking off the unholy relationship with the man from Ghana.
After she got to UK, this man from Ghana, kept pressuring her to leave the white man and return to him in Ghana. The white man at some point became a bit suspicious and asked about who she has been talking on the phone with for long spells, and she lied to him that it was her cousin.
Then comes the shocker. After the man from Ghana had sweet talked her continuously for a while, she decided to leave her husband and return to Ghana after only three weeks abroad.
She said, she asked the guy to swear to her that he would take care of both her and her mother and the guy swore to take good care of her and her mother as well as rent a 3-bedroom flat for her. She then took the decision to leave her husband and return to Ghana.
She told her mum that she was returning to Ghana to marry the guy in Ghana. According to her, her mother vigorously disagreed with her decision and wept.
She further added that her mum told her brother and they told her that they were going to tell her husband about her intentions.
According to her, she threatened that if they called her husband to inform him, then she would commit suicide, an idea given to her by the boyfriend in Ghana.
Her mum and brother afraid of what she might do, agreed not to tell her husband. She then told her husband that she was returning to Ghana to attend her Grandmother’s funeral.
The husband could not understand why she wanted to go back to Ghana after only three weeks stay so she had to lie that in their tradition, grandchildren are required to be present when the grandmother dies and is to be buried.
She returned to Ghana; the flat turns into a chamber and hall accommodation, the promise to take care of her mother does not materialise and generally she ends up furnishing the accommodation herself. All the promises given her by her boyfriend, turned out to be just mere words.
A phone the husband gave her, she left behind in UK out of guilty conscience knowing she was never coming back to UK.
Through that phone and social media, the husband found out about his boyfriend and that was the end of her marriage.
Meanwhile, things have gone awry here in Ghana and she had regretted and at a point in her narration, was trying desperately to hold back tears. Decisions indeed have consequences.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
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