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Just in time –Part 2
A couple of weeks later, Esaaba left home later than usual, and stopped by his service centre on her way to work. He smiled with surprise, but she noted that he was not exactly thrilled to see me.
‘I thought you would be at work by now,’ he said. ‘Yes, normally I would. But I decided to wait so that I could stop by and see you.’ ‘Thanks a lot. I appreciate that. Do come in.’ They walked past the several cars with their bonnets open, young men busy at work, and they responded to her greeting.
They entered his office, a medium sized air-conditioned room with a laptop computer on the desk, a fridge, and a shelf behind his desk with files and manuals. There was also a big open cupboard with what I guessed were spare parts. ‘So, you are welcome. Would you like some tea?’
‘No thanks. I already had breakfast. Actually, I won’t be more than a few minutes.’ ‘Okay. So, now you know where I work. You already know that I service German cars.
Most of my customers are owners of Mercedes, BMW and Golf. I get several others but these three are the main ones. I’ve been here two years, and I’m getting busier every week.’ ‘Glad to hear that. Good to know that you are finding your work productive.’
‘Well, yes, except that sometimes Ghanaian customers are a little difficult. I’m used to working with time and precision. Everything I do here is IT oriented, but our people are a little slow when it comes to technology. And when it comes to the staff, that’s a whole big issue. It’s often difficult to get them to understand simple processes.
You have to keep saying the same thing over and over again, until they get it. And I think Ghanaians are lazy. You have to virtually push them to work. Sorry, I shouldn’t be complaining like this to you, certainly not on your first visit’. ‘Of course it’s fine.
These are real everyday issues you can’t ignore. But I’m sure that as time goes on, you are developing your own mechanisms of dealing with people, even difficult customers and employees. Eventually you will win them over.’ ‘Well, I hope so. Sometimes it’s very difficult. Anyway, so how do you normally get to work?’
‘There’s a taxi rank just some fifty metres away from here. The taxi drops me very close to my department. And it’s the same coming back home. So I don’t have any transport issues’.
‘Okay, let me see you off before it gets too late.’
He saw her off and wished her a good day, and as she walked to join the taxi she reflected on her impressions of him at work. It was good to know that he was doing something productive, but while she understood that his German education and training inclined him towards punctuality and efficiency, she thought that anyone working in our environment, especially a Ghanaian, should find a way to handle customers and employees.
Customers would flock to you if they knew that you were efficient and punctual, so that could be an advantage. And employees could always be trained to work the way the employer wanted, depending on the motivation and the style used. Those were her early impressions, but she was quite willing to give Stanley time to come across with his plans for the future.
Some two months after he proposed, he had not said anything else. They met as usual and chatted over all manner of things, but he avoided the relationship issue. Esaaba started thinking of dropping hints about the subject, but one morning he stopped by the house as she was about to leave for work, and announced that he was going to Germany ‘for a few months.’
He was going to prepare to fully settle back in Ghana. He apologised for not informing her earlier, but he had had to take the decision in a hurry. He would call regularly, of course, and discuss everything’ then he was gone.
He called some three days after he arrived in Germany, and promised to call regularly. He honoured his promise, and called for a couple of months, mostly to talk about the two German brothers he was working with.
They had a great working relationship, and he hoped to get them interested in investing in Ghana. He believed that in spite of the challenges, Ghana was a very viable place to invest, and he was going to work hard to succeed in Ghana.
Quite a few Germany based Ghanaians had returned home to invest, and some were doing extremely well. He mentioned Kwasi Okyere, who had opened an organic farm with two branches in the Central and Eastern Regions, and was supplying vegetables to the supermarkets.
Then there was Dan Appiah, who was bringing rebuilt tractors for sale to Ghanaian farmers, and was struggling to meet the numerous orders he had received. There were many success stories to inspire him, he said, and he was certainly going to make it in Ghana.
And to top it all, he had met a beautiful lady, just the type of woman he wanted.
Esaaba found those words really heart-warming, but she was not thrilled. She hoped and prayed that he would be able to achieve those objectives. She tried to encourage him, saying for example that having already been to Ghana to start working in his preferred line of business, all he needed was to prepare adequately and come back with full vigour.
And fortunately too, he had two wealthy partners who would provide him with technical and financial support. With hard work, he could win jobs from the big industrial and commercial organizations.
After two months, however, he fell silent. She waited for a couple of weeks, and dropped a few WhatsApp messages. But even though he opened them, he did not reply. She called on two occasions, and he did not answer. So she decided to wait for a while.
Perhaps he needed some time to sort himself out’. Regular communication from her could give the impression that he was obliged to hurry up and come to Ghana to be with her. She dropped a few messages to greet him and hope that he was doing well. Then she stopped.
Her parents may have gotten some hint from somewhere, because they started asking. ‘How are things going between you and Stanley?’ Mama asked. ‘I haven’t heard from him in a couple of months. But before then, things were going very well’. ‘How can that be, Esaaba? You mean things were going well, then all of a sudden, he went quiet, and you haven’t heard from him for two months?’
‘That’s exactly what happened Mama’. We had been chatting regularly. He had been telling me about his work in Germany, the two brothers he was working with, and how he was hoping to get them interested in working with him in Ghana. He was looking forward to resuming work here in a big way. He counted himself lucky to have a girl like me as his support.
On my part I assured him that he had done well to have started the service centre. With his knowledge of the market, he only needed good preparation to come and excel. Everything was going well as far as our conversations are concerned. When he stopped communicating. I kept sending him messages and calling. He never replied any of them’.
‘Listen, Esaaba’, Dada said. ‘We are your parents, so tell us exactly what has happened. Are you sure you haven’t had arguments with him which have caused him to back off? You know you are a very confident person. Sometimes you need to humble yourself a little, especially when it comes to men and relationships. Tell us, what exactly happened?’
‘Dada, are you telling me that I am telling lies? Well, fortunately my phone records all conversations, so I can play all of them for you now. I can also show you the WhatsApp messages we have exchanged. Let me get them all for you now’. ‘You don’t need to get angry,’ Mama said. ‘We only want the best for you. That’s why …..’
‘You want the best for me, so you must tell me that I am lying? I don’t know what is happening with Stanley in Hamburg. Perhaps he is facing challenges with the job, perhaps he has found new partners, perhaps he is moving to a new house and needs to raise money. It could be anything.
Why should you assume that I’m lying? And Dada, I don’t think it is fair that you should imply that I have said something to offend Stanley because I am a confident person. Stanley is an individual with the right to make his own choices. I don’t control him. I think I have said enough’. ‘Then we will call him ourselves and find out what is happening’, he said as I walked away. ‘Here is his number’, Esaaba said as she took a pen tore a sheet from her note pad. ‘Call him’.
The following evening, as Esaaba walked home from the taxi rank, she saw a note from Stanley, stopped to read it and, shaking her head, walked home very angry. She entered the hall and found Baaba chatting with their parents. ‘Good evening’, she greeted, trying to sound warm. ‘How is it, Baaba?’ ‘All is well.
I hear things are not going well with you and Stanley. Anything the matter?’ I don’t know on what basis you concluded that things are not going well. I haven’t heard from him in a couple of months.
I don’t know what challenges he’s facing’. ‘But if he hasn’t called in two months then something is surely wrong. I’m sure there’s something you are not telling us’. ‘Why don’t you go to hell, Baaba? If you won’t mind your own business, then go to hell’.
‘Your sister is asking such a harmless question, and you ask her to go to hell, Esaaba?’ ‘Please, Dada, I think I need to go somewhere quickly and sort myself out before things go badly wrong.
I have just received this note from Stanley. Let me read it to you: “Esaaba, you father called me last night to ask about my plans and the arrangements for our marriage. I think I need to tell you that your parents are interfering in my personal life, and I don’t like it. I must tell you that the reason why I bought you the ring and made that unusual proposal is that they called me and virtually told me to come and marry you. Kindly tell them to get off my back. Regards”.
So Mama and Dada, you think you want the best for me? Thank you for what you’ve done. And Beesiwa, go to hell. I will be moving out of this house, very soon’. Then she walked off.
Ekow De Heer
Walk into any supermarket in Accra, Kumasi, or Tamale today, and you will see the modern Ghanaian diet packaged as ‘progress.’ You will see breakfast cereals with cartoon mascots, fruit drinks that are mostly sugar and colour, and snacks promising energy and happiness in bright fonts.
Even products loaded with salt and unhealthy fats often wear a health halo labeled as fortified or natural, while the real nutritional risk is hidden in tiny print on the back. This is not just a consumer inconvenience; it is a public health blind spot. Ghana is living through a silent surge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like hypertension, diabetes, and stroke.
These conditions quietly drain household income and steal productive years. According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, NCDs are now responsible for nearly 45 per cent of all deaths in Ghana.
We cannot build a healthy nation on a food environment designed to confuse people at the point of purchase. Ghana must mandate simple front-of-pack warning labels (FOPWL) on high-sugar, high-salt, and high-fat packaged foods because consumers deserve truth at a glance, and industry must be pushed to reformulate.
Why Back-of-Pack Labels Are Not Enough
In theory, consumers can read nutrition panels. In reality, most Ghanaians shop under pressure, limited time, rising prices, and children tugging at their sleeves. The back label is a relic that requires a high cognitive load to interpret—essentially, the seller knows what is inside, but the buyer cannot easily tell.
This ‘information asymmetry’ is not fair. It is not consumer choice when the information needed to choose well is deliberately difficult to find.
Simple warning labels like the black octagons used in the Chilean Model act as a ‘stop-and-think’ nudge. They do not ban products but they simply tell the truth so people can decide.
Reshaping Our Food Environment
A generation ago, Ghana’s meals were mostly home-prepared, like kenkey and banku with soups and stews. Today, ultra-processed foods have become the norm, especially in urban areas. Children are growing up with sugary drinks and salty snacks as everyday items, not occasional treats.
If Ghana is serious about prevention, we must act where decisions are made—thus, the shelf. Warning labels protect parents from sugar traps and pressure the market to improve. When warning labels are mandatory, manufacturers start to compete to make healthier recipes to avoid the stigma of the label.
Addressing the Pushback
Industry will argue that labels create fear or that education alone is enough. However, health education is slow; labels work immediately. While the informal street food sector is a challenge, regulating pre-packaged goods is the practical starting point because the supply chain is traceable. We cannot wait until the whole system is perfect; we must start where action is feasible.
A 2026 Implementation Roadmap for Ghana
To move from talk to action, Ghana needs this 5-step plan:
- Issue mandatory regulation: The Ministry of Health, Food and Drug Authority (FDA), and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) must define the label format and nutrient thresholds for all pre-packaged foods.
- Simple, bold symbols: Use plain language and clear symbols, such as “HIGH IN SUGAR,” designed for busy families, not experts.
- Transparent thresholds: Adopt technically defensible standards adapted to the Ghanaian diet.
- Transition and enforce: Provide a 12–18 month period for manufacturers to reformulate, followed by firm enforcement at ports and retail centers.
- National literacy campaign: The Ghana Health Service must pair labels with public messages explaining why high salt or sugar increases disease risk.
Conclusion: Truth Is Not a Luxury
Prevention is cheaper than treatment. A warning label costs little compared to the price of dialysis, stroke rehabilitation, or lifelong diabetes complications. A black octagon on a box of biscuits is more than a label; it is a shield for the health of all Ghanaians. It is time to put the truth where we can see it, right on the front.
By Abigail Amoah Sarfo
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Natives of the Kenkey Kingdom were mad with joy. They were still recovering from the hangover of the kingdom’s loss of the African Cup when their spirits were rekindled. Their great warrior, Zoom Zoom, stormed Melbourne and made sure that every Australian refused food. And that was after he had drawn contour lines on the face of their idol, Jeff Fenech.
Not only did the terrible warrior transform Old Boy Jeff’s face into a contour map useful for geography lessons, but he also accomplished the feat of retaining the much-envied super-kenkeyweight title against all odds. The warrior had not been eating hot kenkey for nothing.
The Fight Against Fenech
When Jeff Fenech bit the dust in the eighth round, I was tempted to consider if Adanko Deka could not have faced him in any twelve-rounder, title or non-title bout. Adanko has improved tremendously, and soon he would be facing Pernell Whitaker.
Sincerely, I was pessimistic about Azumah’s man, who the last time took him through twelve grueling rounds of rough boxing. I expressed my fears to my colleague Christian Abbew, alias Gbonyo, who surprisingly had total confidence that the Australian brawler would fall, predictably in Round Five.
Gbonyo gave reasons for his contention, all of which I counteracted using the age factor. Fact is, I didn’t know that contrary to the laws of nature, Azumah was all the time growing younger.
When Fenech fell briefly in round one, I asked my brother whether it was the same Fenech that fought Azumah in Las Vegas. Sure, it was the same Fenech, all out to beat Azumah before his countrymen.
But the African Professor had no intention of making the Australian a hero. As he spun round the desperate Aussie, dancing and stinging out his jabs, it was not too long before I realized that the end was near.
The Eighth Round Showdown
Two minutes into the eighth round, the African ring-master proved to the whole world that he was a true son of Bukom. He himself was cornered, but like the tough nut he is, he managed to break free before overwhelming the panting Australian with several blows that made him crash headlong.
Moments after, the referee, expressing fatherly sympathy, stopped the fight to prevent an obituary. After the ordeal, Fenech’s fairly handsome face was full of newly constructed hills, valleys, ox-bow lakes—whatever. I noticed that his nose was very tired and had a miniature volcano sitting restlessly on it. Obviously, Jeff’s wife will have to nurse that nose back to its normal shape—but I’d advise her not to use iodine, otherwise her dear husband will wail like a banshee.
Reflections on Boxing
Because Mohammed Ali was the kind of boxer kids liked, many school-going kids often entertained the wish of becoming like him. I remember one day when I told my father I wanted to become a boxer, and he advised me to first complete my education to the highest level. Then, if I decided to become a boxer and was knocked out a couple of times, I’d fall back on my degrees and make a living.
Boxing used to be interesting when bouts were fought more with the mouth and tongue than with gloves. You had to brag well, psychologically belittling your opponent before beating him up physically. Mohammed Ali became a very successful pugilist because he also managed to become a poet. He often blew his horn across America, calling himself the “pretty boxer” and opponents like Joe Frazier “the gorilla.”
Ali made a living fighting hard fists like Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Jerry Quarry, George Foreman, Leon Spinks, and Trevor Berbick. Twice he came back from retirement to fight just for money. It was Larry Holmes who finally pensioned him, and since then the great Ali has never been himself.
The Path Ahead for Azumah
When Azumah nailed Jeff Fenech on the cross and barked almost immediately that he was after the head of Pernell Whitaker, I was happy but concerned. I would have been happier if he had announced his resignation there and then—he would have been more of a hero. Beating Fenech in Australia is more newsworthy than facing Whitaker in the States.
With Whitaker, it might be a little difficult. The “Sweet Pea” is agile, has a crooked body like a snake with diarrhea, and stands awkwardly as a southpaw. He is known for having the fastest pair of fists and the rare ability to dodge punches no matter how close they may be.
Much as I do not doubt that Azumah can take his title, I also don’t want him to retire beaten. I want him to retire as a hero and live a fuller, healthy life.
As Azumah himself said after dishing Fenech, he is now a professor and has something to show for it. Like a true professor, I think it is time he resigned and took up training young talents who could draw inspiration from him and become like him in the future.
Closing Thoughts
I must say that although ageing boxers like Larry Holmes and George Foreman are making a name for themselves, boxing is not like the Civil Service, where you can even change your age and retire at 74. Zoom Zoom has delighted the hearts of the natives, and Sikaman will forever hold him in high esteem—but only when he retires as a hero.
This article was first published on Saturday, March 7, 1992.
