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“I-DON’T CARE-ISM” IS WHAT WILL DESTROY DEAR GHANA! By CAMERON DUODU
“I don’t-care-ism”?
I bet you’ve probably never hear d the word before in your life?
Well, when I was attending a Presbyterian Primary School in the 1940s, we were constantly warned against what the teachers called “I-don’t-care-ism!”
If you went to school in the morning without combing your hair, you had done so because you had cultivated the habit of “I-don’t-care-ism”!
If you left your homework undone, you were showing “I-don’t-carism”!
If you continually came to school late; if you left your reading books or exercise books behind; if you chatted while the teacher was outside the classroom [and a prefect wrote your name down as a “talkative!”]; if your uniform looked as if it had been slept in – “I-don’t-care-ism” was to blame!
At the time, I thought the teachers were too strict and I resented their inability to appreciate that one might have committed an offence not because one was addicted to “I-don’t-care-ism” but because of particular circumstances over which one might not have had any control. But as they say in Twi, “wobenyinabƐto!” [you will grow up to come and meet it!”]
In other words, it will happen to you, too. And then you will understand why it was condemned when YOU were committing it.
At maturity, you will discern that it was because of his or her indifference to your feelings that the person who had agreed to come and see you at 9 a.m., arrived at 10.30. Had he/she considered that you probably had woken up earlier than normal in order to get ready for the meeting? Had it been considered that you might have arranged another appointment to follow that one and that by turning up late, he?she would inevitably cause you to be late for the next one? To you, all that would indicate an “I-don’t-care-ish” attitude, wouldn’t it? And while trying not to be impolite, you’d be boiling inside, wouldn’t you?
You ask: why this psychological treatise on a quiet Tuesday morning, MR D?
Hmmm! Yes – a columnist must learn not to sound like a preacher but what is a man to do when a subject matter has been occupying his mind day and night?
The subject matter that is occupying my mind is –not hard to guess – COVID-19.
Now it may not be occupying as much space in your mind as mine, and I say good luck to you! For me, that a disease can suddenly descend on humankind and within four months or so, produce the following figures, is mind-blowing; beyond comprehension.
QUOTE :
WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard
Data last updated: 2020/5/18, 9:33am CEST
4,589,526Confirmed Cases
310,391Deaths
(Source: World Health Organization) UNQUOTE
Reader, had this disease occurred in Ghana in, say, the year of our independence (1957), when our population totalled 6,068,997, roughly two out of every three Ghanaians would have caught it! Just imagine that! And we aren’t finished yet with COVID-19 !
Shouldn’t a disease with a power of infection of this magnitude monopolise our thinking processes until by God’s grace, it vanishes from Planet Earth?
We in Ghana have been very fortunate so far, in that the disease appears mostly to have been brought
in aeroplanes to a single airport, Kotoka International. This means we were able to intercept the passengers carrying it, quarantine them and offer them treatment. Meanwhile, crack teams of contact tracers went to work, trying to find the people whom the passengers might have been in contact with, and testing them to see which of them had caught the disease, and who THEIR contacts were.
Meanwhile, we also took the precaution of “locking down” the country by asking workers to stay at home and banning social gatherings. All well and good, and when it looked as if our efforts were containing the rate of infections, we naturally relaxed things “a bit.”
But we then took our eyes off the ball. The figures of the infected became more and more indicative of the fact that the community at large had now begun to catch the disease. With our ability to test effectively challenged by a lack of adequate testing centres and our capacity to carry out “enhanced contact tracing” also limited by inadequate quantities of PPEs (personal protection equipment), we began to realise that we were sparring with a partner way above our weight.
And, of course, the bad news then hit us like a bomb. Our President, no less, told us in a national broadcast, that one person had infected 533 others at a “fish processing factory” at Tema.
What? One person infected 533? How could that happen?
We expected the Government to announce the immediate closure of the factory.
We expected the Government to name and shame the factory, pour encourager les autres (to teach others a lesson) as the French put it.)
But none of that happened. In Public Health practice, the most effective way of tackling a pandemic is to be absolutely open about it and use EVERY MEANS POSSIBLE to educate the community to follow best practice. Because it is the community that receives and imparts it. Simple.
However, the message conveyed by the failure of the health authorities to inform the populace of what had happened at Tema, was that, after all, they were not as serious about teaching us to avoid the disease as we had thought.
What’s the point of telling us to wash our hands, wear face masks and gloves and observe “social distancing”, if you allow a factory to spread the disease without imposing the severest penalties on it? And if you imply that you want to protect the factory by inexplicably withholding its name from the public?
Sadly, it wasn’t only the health authorities who failed us. Our media passed over the President’s explosive revelation about the Tema factory as if he’d just announced that Accra Hearts of Oak had drawn with Kumasi Kotoko again!Oh, another draw? Yawn! Yawn!
In every other country with a free press, the news would have been on the front pages of newspapers with banner headlines. But not in Ghana.
Fiery newspaper editorials? I am yet to see one.
Media panel discussions? Ho, why should this story that should remove Obinim from the story list?
I was so frustrated by how this story had been handled by the authorities and the media that, I issued a “press statement” urging the Government to set up a public enquiry to find out the facts about the issue.
No reaction from the Government!
Meanwhile, the Gold Mine at Obuasi is reported to have suffered a somewhat similar plight as the Tema factory.
Duh!??
I-dont’t-carism rules the day, right?
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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