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Hope is better than fear
Over the past few weeks in our beloved Ghana, we have grown increasingly concerned about the health of our economic system. Indeed, the eroding effects of skyrocketing inflation seem to be eating away at the value of our currency. The value of the Ghanaian cedi has decreased rapidly during the past 10 months, while the incomes of many individuals have remained the same.
The consequences of this economic sickness affect almost everyone: the young couple’s dream of owning their own home must now be postponed, at least for the time being; providing for the educational and temporal needs of children is becoming increasingly difficult for parents; and the retirement hopes of older couples are being frustrated as savings are used up to pay for the demands of present-day living. The fear of businessmen and women losing their capital due to inflation.
As with malignant diseases which attack the human body, the causes of this economic tumour are complex. No doubt, deficit spending by governments and by individuals is partly to blame. Recent declines in the rate of worker production, along with the great number of individuals in our society who consume without producing, must also bear some of the responsibility for these inflationary times.
These contributing factors must be dealt with in the same way the causes of any disease are handled, like the way COVID-19 was handled: they must be isolated and eliminated as much as possible.
There is, however, one other factor which is more injurious to our economic system than these, and even more harmful than inflation itself. That factor is fear: the fear that the future will not alter the maladies of the present, the fear that the economic structure will collapse altogether, the fear that the traditional values that have made ours a strong and vibrant economic system are no longer relevant. Fear itself is the greatest threat to our economic survival.
The antidote to fear is faith. Not an ill-founded faith which believes that everything will resolve itself, without work or sacrifice, but a confidence which has been personified by tens of thousands of businessmen and women in this country, individuals who have proven that the tenets of free enterprise are sound, individuals who have placed their talents and resources in the open marketplace and have reaped the dividends. It is this faith in hard work, honest production, and open competition that will provide the remedy for our present ills.
Certainly, there are problems ahead and always will be. But we, as no other people in the history of the world, have the resources with which to overcome our difficulties and achieve our aspirations.
There is more knowledge available, more technology, more energy, more of just about everything it takes to be successful. But are we lacking a vital element essential to our success? Perhaps.
A few months ago, a student researcher conducted a poll to determine what Ghanaians hope for most of all. Its findings were something less than inspiring. At the head of the list was, “A better or decent standard of living.” Next was, “Good health for self,” followed by, “Economic stability with no inflation.” The last thing the people surveyed hoped for was “to be a normal, decent person.”
Now, certainly these and the other hopes listed in the survey are desirable, but are they the goals and aspirations that inspire greatness? If the original disciples of Jesus had wanted a better standard of living and good health for themselves above all else, Christianity would have withered under the first hot breath of persecution.
If Shakespeare, Michelangelo, and Beethoven had aspired to nothing loftier than “economic stability,” this world would have been robbed of some of its most beautiful creations.
So, if this survey is at all typical, it points, perhaps, to a creeping malaise of mediocrity. It suggests that we are bothering on cowardice toward life’s challenges, the fear that life’s pitfalls might keep us from living to the fullest.
Ironically, far from being the safest course to follow, this line of thinking often leads to more failure than success. As ancient King Solomon wrote, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
So, let’s catch a vision of our potential and that of those around us. Let us make our hopes equal to our ability. Let’s set stimulating, even strenuous, goals for ourselves and then demand the self-discipline to achieve them. As we do, we will no doubt experience the better life we desire for ourselves and our children.
The future is for real, but it is up to us to decide how we will deal with it.
May we overcome our doubts. May we accept the gift from Him who conquered all fears and said to us: “My peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you. . . Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.”
Email: samueleghan@gmail.com
By Samuel Enos Eghan
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.
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