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How does a nation avoid consequences of fate: 2nd coming of what happened to old Ghana Empire …a nation against itself and threats of galamsey
…..the HUMAN RACE NEVER LEARNS FROM PAST MISTAKES….we keep living cyclical lives of repeating the mistakes of Adam and Eve….from generations to generations…from dispensations to dispensations…from millennium to millennium…from civilsations to civilisations…and it isn’t funny that we aren’t learning any lessons from ARCHEOLOGY ….
….we should never deceive ourselves that we are the first humanity who have travelled to space….or attempting to explore length and breadth of the universe in trying to conquer it….have you forgotten that Prophet EZEKIEL once did space travel when he was shown the whole earth in a ‘spacecraft’…and remember, many of us like Jacob in the Bible on the beginning of his sojourns saw different heavens in a dream…don’t attempt to define that as WITCHCRAFT or metaphysical travels….the world is more weird than we see and know it…
….ever wonder how others could prophesy about the TWIN TOWERS of the USA and its fall or destruction or the dispensation of the might of the United States of America (USA)…and what about the exploits of the Babylonia Nation…these are abstracts to many….
….but more importantly, what about the MEANINGS, UNDERSTANDING AND IMPACT OF NAMES and what they proffer for those named after others…do they impact or influence their lives or lifestyles…?
….what does the FUTURE HOLD FOR OUR GREAT NATION, GHANA…from the exploits, failures and conquest of the former Ghana Empire….any real lessons to learn to avoid the mistakes of their era or dispensation….that’s why the way we are handling the issues of GALAMSEY is sad and worrying….those of us crying is not because we aren’t doing the GALAMSEY some but afraid of what lies ahead of us as a nation and as a people…
…can you, by any stretch of imagination, see what we will face if we find GOLD around the upper ends of the Volta River …..its would be impact on the Akosombo Dam…?
I am not a proper student of history but I know effects of GALAMSEY and the role it played in the destruction of old Ghana Empire before its conquest…that the GOLD DEPOSITS which marked its greatness, was also the reason for it downfall, curse as well as HERALDED ITS EXTINCTION….dreadful end to the rise of such great Empire, whose King and his Palace used GOLD for everything….everything….I really mean EVERYTHING WAS GOLD…not silver nor bronze nor any other metal for the production of anything, anything…not even spoons or knives or tea cups…
….and then the DIRE CONSEQUENCES started with their version of their own GALAMSEY…their water bodies turned milky yellow….started drying up to dried up totally…so they started importing water…for everything…their population developed various sicknesses (which they defined as curses from the water gods)…after abusing all practices of SUSTAINABLE MINING PRACTICES…especially as the kingpins were all friends and relatives of the King of the Ghana Empire and above the law….not liable for anything or responsible for the desecration of the environment….so as they started travelling distances to get COMMON WATER…they started migrating from the Empire towards water wells and cities…as cost of water became unbearable…within their cities and villages….this weakened the Kingdom and made it far easier for its ultimate conquest….
….is this where we want to go….the consequences of choosing the name ‘GHANA’ on the eve of Independence….didn’t the historians at that time of all the arguments of who should be credited with evolving or selecting the name: GHANA was going on….sad reflection….this period of GALAMSEY calls for sober heads…no romanticism….what lies ahead of us is more serious than we are joking with…our whole FUTURE AS A PEOPLE AND AS A NATION IS AT RISK….how we handle this without partisanship will show our character and resolve…and who we are as ordinary GHANAIANS….especially where now aliens are now the kingpins….
….this is the time for anybody and everybody to count and rise as a GHANAIAN ….remembering that those who can afford the excavators, for their wealth, will be the first to fly out and leave rest of us….giving birth with all sorts of deformities from the chemicals and poisons we have inundated our water bodies & environment, creating new cancers for our people…the warning signs are now on the wall…and our LEADERS should act now before the inevitable happens….
….what is of utmost importance within the next quarter is to send a team of SCIENTISTS, ENVIRONMENTALISTS, ECOLOGISTS, CHEMISTS, etc to all the areas of active and non-active GALAMSEY to investigate and determine the impact….not of socio-economic study or impact…but SCIENTIFIC to determine the real consequences, including new diseases or deformities from childbirth for the immediate inhabitants, district, region and our nation…because the chemicals they use there are of real danger for all of us….not only for drinking waters but for the environment…what will happen to us, new Ghana will be more and worse than what happened to the old Ghana Empire….the results of this exercise should be published and recommendations implemented before we celebrate our CENTENARY (1957 – 2057) so that we start from a new slate thereafter….
By Magnus Naabe Rex Danquah
On Sunday, October 11, 2026, it was the turn of Ghanaian Catholics in Finland to lead the singing in the church service of the African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland (ACCF).
It was indeed a spirit-filled feeling for worshippers present. And for the Ghanaian migrants, the occasion also brought back to them memories of church services in their home country, Ghana.
The ACCF has a roster for each country/community to sing from time to time. Next Sunday will be the turn of the Nigerian community. Other communities that usually sing are the Kenyan/Tanzanian community, the Cameroonian, the Ugandan, group, etc.
A powerful religious experience
The mass services of the Chaplaincy usually give a powerful religious experience and a display of cultural diversity, especially in occasions such as when the Bishop of Helsinki, Bishop Raimo Goyarrola, celebrated mass with the Chaplaincy on Pentecost Day, May 24, 2026.
There was a similar time of spiritual joy last month (September 27, 2026) when Emeritus Bishop Teemu Sippo, former Bishop of Helsinki, visited the Chaplaincy. Bishop Teemu was the main celebrant, assisted by the Chaplain, Reverend Father Thomas Otieno.
Last Sunday, Reverend Father Bernard Sor, a Ghanaian Catholic priest based in Austria, was the main celebrant in the mass service where he performed a rite of baptism. Fr Bernard had celebrated mass a few months ago when he visited his sister and her husband in Helsinki. 
All these well-attended religious occasions indeed leave lasting memories. The homilies (peaching) by the priests usually emphasize religious tenets such as the importance of loving and serving God in truth, existing in peace with our fellow humans to promote unity in diversity, etc.
Unity in diversity and a colourful display of cultures
The African Chaplaincy church services usually produce impressive displays of diverse cultures from different parts of Africa and elsewhere. The events are often spiced by rich cultural displays of dances and colourful attires which are a delight to watch.
On special occasions, members of the Ghanaian Catholic community, in their gay and colourful kente attire and with adowa dance and music, usually lead the procession into the church. Other communities such as the Cameroonian, Nigerian, Kenyan and Tanzanian as well as Sudanese/South Sudanese groups also put up well-choreographed performances from their cultures.
The African Catholic Chaplaincy in Finland
The African Chaplaincy was founded on June 4, 2017, which was a Pentecost Sunday, in a Pontifical High Mass celebrated by Monsignor Emeritus Sippo S.C.I., the then Bishop of Helsinki, at the St. Mary’s Catholic Parish Church in Helsinki.
The Chaplaincy was created by Bishop Teemu in collaboration with the Diocesan body when they detected a great flocking of African immigrants to Finland, the majority of whom were Catholics. This was to give the immigrants a possibility to integrate into the Finnish society by worshiping as Catholics and in their African cultural identity.
The responsibility of the Chaplaincy was given by Bishop Teemu to Father Dr Leonard Wobilla Shwei, who is thus the first Chaplain and ably led the Chaplaincy. He was succeeded a few years ago by Father Thomas Otieno, who continues to move the Chaplaincy forward. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
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She did not find out he was cheating. She found out he was drowning.
It was two weeks after their beautiful wedding. The jollof was still in the fridge. A loan officer called her number-not his-and politely asked, “Madam, please tell your husband to pay his overdue loan. We have been calling him.”
That was how she discovered her new husband had entered their marriage with a hidden debt of over GH¢ 40,000. No cheating. No other woman. Just a financial secret.
And that is how many Ghanaian marriages begin to die. Not with a shout, but with a secret alert on a phone.
We prepare for the wedding. We do not prepare for the wallet.
What is money honesty?
Let me define it simply. Money honesty is not that you both earn the same. It is that you both know the same. It is the ability to sit down and say without fear:
“This is how much I earn.”
“This is how much I owe.”
“This is how I was raised to see money.”
“This is what scares me about money.”
Financial transparency is not about control. It is about clarity. You cannot build trust on top of secrets.
Many couples tell me, “Counsellor, we love each other, love will handle money.” I always answer, “Love is the car, but money honesty is the fuel. Love without honesty cannot move.”
How To Buy Your Marriage Insurance Today – My 5-Step Protocol
If you are engaged, newly married, or even 20 years in marriage, you can still fix this. At Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult—CPAC, this is what I give couples:
Step 1: The 90-Minute Money Naked Session.
No phones, no blame. Each partner writes down on paper: Monthly income, monthly debts, monthly family obligations, savings, and your biggest money fear. Then you exchange papers. Read it. Don’t react for 24 hours. Just absorb.
Step 2: Create OUR Money, YOUR Money, My Money.
You need three pots. OUR money for rent, food, school fees, utilities, properties, and the like— joint contribution. YOUR money and MY money—a small agreed allowance no one questions. This stops the feeling of being controlled.
Step 3: The No-Secret Debt Rule.
Agree from today: No new loan, no new hire purchase, no new family financial commitment above GHS 500 without telling each other first. Not permission, but information.
Step 4: Talk About Your Money Personality.
Are you a Spender or a Saver? Are you Risky or Safe? Most Ghanaian marriages are a Spender married to a Saver. Neither is wrong. But if you don’t understand your partner’s personality, you will call his saving “stinginess” and her spending “wastefulness.”
Step 5: Do a Monthly 30-Minute Money Date
Not an argument date. Light, with tea. “How did we do this month? What worried you? What should we plan for next month?” Couples who do this divorce far less.
My Final Word
Before you say “I Do” at the altar, have pre-marital counselling and also have the money talk on the sofa.
Ask your partner:
“If I lost my job today, how long can we survive?”
“What debt are you bringing into this marriage?”
“How much do you send to your family monthly and will that continue?”
If he or she gets angry that you asked, don’t get married yet. A person who is angry about accountability will be abusive about money.
Marriage insurance is not bought at Star Assurance or Enterprise. It is bought in honest conversations when no one is watching.
The wedding costs one day. The marriage costs a lifetime. Don’t enter a lifetime contract and covenant with hidden costs.
You can still insure your marriage today.
Source:
Counselor Prince Offei, CPAC’s founder, is a leading Mental Health Professional, Marriage Counsellor, Author, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, and Spectator Newspaper Columnist. He writes on relationships, marriage, parenting, special needs support, and their connection to mental health. For therapy, counselling, or enquiries, contact Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Accra on 0559850604 / 0551428486.
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