Features
Girls@war on MTN
If you are a male, elderly and use an MTN number prefixed with 024-4, you are likely to identify with my concerns in my epistle for today. However, if you are not on the social media WhatsApp platform, you will miss the fun. But, truth be told, it is not funny at all.
As a journalist I get to scour social media platforms for news gossips, though not all things on these platforms are edifying. My favourite is Facebook where I endeavour to engage ‘friends’ in intellectual discourse. I limit myself to just a few categories. I do not accept ‘friendship’ from people who do not post their photograph profiles and those who use unreal names for identity.
I am quick to ‘unfriend’ people whose requests I accept yet do not communicate with me. I have noticed people with up to 46,000 friends on Facebook and wonder why it is so. I do not know if they present them as part of their curriculum vitae (CV). I have shut down my Instagram account as I consider it a ‘madhouse’ and follow no one on Twitter.
Now, since the beginning of this year, I have been assailed by as many as 18 girls on Whatsapp; girls who are not on my contact list. They post profile pictures that qualify them for beauty contests any day.
Their modus operandi is a simple ‘Hi…’ When you respond in like manner, she introduces herself and tells you where she lives, then proceeds to ask your name. If you do not respond to the initial ‘hi’ many of them let go. Some wait for a couple of days and reconnect.
Not all their identities are captured by the Truecaller app, but I have devised a way to get their identities. In all cases, save one, they turn up to be who they claim they are. The one exception was one who claimed to be a student at the Nursing Training School in Koforidua and said she wanted a relationship with me but was short of funds to pay her fees. She needed my help. I told her my niece taught at that school so I would get to her through my relative. All her response to this was “Fool,” and deleted our chat immediately thereafter.
Anytime I ask how they got my contact, their answer mostly is that they get it from WhatsApp. I give them the benefit of the doubt, but what runs through is their lack of communication skills. How are you? I’m a beautician. I’m fine, you? These are the only way they converse.
Then after a week or two, they ask you to send them money to pay medical bills for their ailing mother; never their father. I tell them in plain words that I am unable to help, first, because I do not know who they are, whether their demand is genuine and go on to ask if they look for people on Whatsapp to help their ailing relatives.
One, who claimed to be a “fashion and designer,” (whatever that means) living in Nzema, wanted to visit me in Accra after saying ‘hi…’ for four days and wanted me to send her GHc500 for transport. Seeing through this, I asked her to find her way to the capital and I would pay her transport fare. That was the last I heard from her.
I own multiple numbers from all the Telcos, but why these girls only target MTN baffles me. Even with MTN, I have prefixes 024-2, 054 and 055, but it is only the 024-4 they contact me on in spite of the fact that all the others are also on Whatsapp. Or am I the only one these girls take a fancy to?
These are really girls at war. A bold one asked to be my friend on Facebook. Seeing she was friends with many people from my family, church and friends, I accepted her friendship. Her profile painted a picture of someone who graduated from the University of Ghana, lives somewhere in the capital and is into beauty therapy.
A couple of months later, she asked if I was on Whatsapp. I gave her one of my numbers. She asked what I did and I asked her to check my profile on LinkedIn, Google or Facebook. I asked if she wanted my CV. She did not know what a CV was. That was proof she never went to Legon.
One morning, she sent the usual greetings and, out of the blue came, “When can I make love with U?” I almost felt giddy. Then I called my brother in Koforidua to find out about this girl. He said he had many friends on Facebook he hardly communicated with, adding he was rarely on that platform lately. My other friends could not remember her. My brother cautioned me against a possible blackmail.
Later, my response to her was, “Really? But we hardly know each other and U don’t know if I’m married or not. Secondly, I’ve seen that U are friends with two of my brothers on Facebook and very good friends of mine too. And I don’t have relationships without telling my siblings bcoz of my position in society, so I’m at a loss as to how this can work out.” Unfazed by my response, she shot back that she had feelings for me.
How girls can spray their pheromones all over social media befuddles the mind. When I returned to check her out on Facebook, it turned out that she has many accounts to her name, and her photographs are on full display.And all these girls are below 30, far younger than my youngest daughter who turns 36 today.
I don’t know if the economic situation in the landis what drives these girls into this rather aggressive mode of soliciting sustenance or they are just there to fleece lascivious or lecherous men who might be game for their escapades.
A lady friend gave me a perspective on this. She tells me that the young men of their generation, to start with, are not as romantic as the elderly ones. Next, all they think of is sex, sex and more sex. To them sex is coterminous with love; nothing more, nothing less. She adds that young women are looking for love and affection and the elderly men fit the bill.
Why then do these girls make financial demands? My friend did not have a ready answer to this, but surmised that some might be driven first by financial considerations. “They are likely in the category of desperados who want money at any cost,” she quipped.
But there is one who claims she wants an elderly, but experienced, man to take her under his wings and teach her what life is all about. She says she is ready to introduce her ‘mentor’ to her family in case doubts arise. As espoused by Rev. Dr. F. K. Fiawoo, a pet snake may appear harmless in its infancy, “…but the tendency to prey upon man grows in proportion. And soon you have at home a ferocious animal with all elements of atrocity fully developed.”
One other thing I do is to give them the Whatsapp number of a fund administrator. They are asked to provide verifiable details. For example, which hospital the ailing relative is, name of the physician, contact of the health facility etc. None has so far provided any details.
Personally, I lay no claim to be tech savvy but is there a way our Telcos can protect their clients from unsolicited ‘attacks’ from people not on their contact list? Or can Whatsapp protect us from these spams? But then, why do these girls target only MTN users?
I know I have not seen the last of these girls. Indeed, they are girls at war, but I am ready for them.
Writer’s email address: akofa45@yahoo.com
By Dr. Akofa K. Segbefia
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.
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
