Editorial
Honour fathers in spectacular way
Fathers Day is tomorrow! Hurray! Celebrated on the third Sunday of June each year, it will be a unique day that is widely observed worldwide.
Father’s Day is an opportunity to honour fathers and express gratitude for the significant impact they have on their children, families, and communities.
Mothers and mother-figures were honoured on Mother’s Day last month, and tomorrow will be another chance to honour biological fathers, father-figures, stepfathers, grandfathers, guardians, and others for their love, support, and guidance in different ways.
On this important day, try to spend time with your father, get him gifts, take him out to eat with you, cook his favourite meal at home, or give him a call if you are unable to visit.
Over the years, some fathers have been portrayed negatively as horrible nuts but this is slowly changing.
In the current generation, fathers are taking on greater responsibility and making many sacrifices to provide food for their children, and a decent accommodation to live, spend enough time raising them, and invest in their education to make life meaningful for them.
Fathers should be honoured for their hard work, sacrifices, and significant impact on their children’s and others’ lives.
Despite years of being single-fathers, some fathers have successfully raised their children to be responsible adults on their own by working hard. What a delight!
This is not to deny that there are still irresponsible fathers in the world. They have no idea what their children eat, what they wear, or even where they sleep. Their children refer to these fathers as “living-dead.”
The Spectator urges people who are hurt to forgive their fathers because two wrongs do not equal a right, In any case, he is still your father, so be brave and take advantage of this day to honour him.
Fathers who have damaged connections with their children should also take the required actions to apologise and mend these ties in order for peace and harmony to exist, since mistakes are inevitable for human beings.
The Spectator also exhorts fathers to keep loving, providing for, guiding, disciplining, and protecting their children as the world prepares to celebrate Father’s Day tomorrow. Mentoring, leadership, counselling, patience, honesty, compassion, fairness, and truth are all necessary for the next generation.
Also, as a husband you will be treated as a king if you show your wife love, respect, and consideration.
To all fathers, “Ayekoo.”
Dear Editor,
I WRITE to condemn the circumstances under which an accident victim died recently after three major hospitals reportedly turned him away due to what has earned a place in our local parlance as ‘no bed syndrome.’
Reports suggested that this motor rider who got knocked by a vehicle was taken to three major hospitals – Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), and the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital – but they all claimed they had no beds.
But one may ask, would there ever be beds?
Such is the treatment Ghanaians endure every now and then when one visits our hospitals, especially the public ones which are run with the taxpayers’ money. Many a time when one visits the hospitals, the sight of patients admitted and lying on benches, and some sitting on chairs while receiving care, is visible to all; making one wonder why this particular motor rider was not admitted at any of the facilities, looking at his condition.
This leads to the reason for this letter, which is to bring out a perceived apathy against these motor riders, the majority of whom are referred to as ‘Okada’ riders.
Due to their recklessness on the roads and the inconvenience caused to commuters, people always speak ill about them; drivers equally have no regard for them. Every user of public transport would attest to this. These riders are blamed for every offence, even when it is obvious drivers may be at fault sometimes.
Motor riders have become like orphans on the road; people care less about them, and when they are unfortunately knocked down, no one cares about them.
This is the mischief our authorities and agencies, including the police, must seek to cure to make the road safe for all users.
These are young folks that want to make a living for themselves, and with no skill or education, ‘Okada’ rides have become their source of livelihood. They need the protection accorded drivers and commuters as well.
In other countries, some facilities have been provided to make their work safer, but in Ghana, we lack them, leaving them with no alternative than to share the available space with the cars.
What has happened should serve as a wake-up call on our authorities to aim to take a second look at the ‘Okada’ menace. With the numbers increasing, there should be a way to regulate them because no government would have the guts to ban it totally.
Drivers should be made to accept the reality that they are sharing the roads with them, and therefore the need for patience and tolerance.
For some of our hospitals, I suggest the Ministry of Health conduct their own investigations to see what patients go through in accessing medicare, which is even not for free.
Thank you, Editor, for the space.
F. Morgan, Kokrobite
Dear Editor,
THE heartbreaking death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah in a hit-and-run accident has exposed once again the failures in our health system.
Even more painful is the fact that his father had previously donated beds to some hospitals, yet when his son needed urgent care, he was moved from one facility to another because there were ‘no beds.’
This is not only tragic but unacceptable. How can a country lose its bright young citizens simply because hospitals cannot provide emergency treatment? The ‘no bed syndrome’ has become a national disgrace, and Charles’ death is a reminder that reforms cannot wait.
Our hospitals must be equipped to handle emergencies, and accountability must be enforced. If donations are made to improve facilities, then those facilities must serve the people when it matters most. Ghana cannot afford to keep losing lives to negligence and poor infrastructure.
Charles Amissah’s death should be the turning point. Let us honor his memory by fixing the system so that no family would suffer this kind of preventable loss again.
Princess Wonovi
Accra
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