Features
Let us never forget part 2
Forgiveness is important and is a Christian value which must be held in high esteem in every aspect of our lives.
This is one value that has kept us together as a people, given our tribal diversity as well as our different religious backgrounds. We must pray to God that he helps us to continue observance of this harmonious existence in this country but we must never forget the atrocities of the past especially during the 79 and 81 coups, so like the Jews we shall determine that never again.
The aftermath of the coups brought to the fore the vilest instincts of human nature. If someone had an axe to grind with you, all it took was for him or her to make a false charge against you, the soldiers and their civilian accomplices and you are in serious trouble.
We must never forget this tragedy as a nation and for all the young people who are clamouring for a coup, my advice to them is not to wish for their worst nightmare because history has shown us that, the aftermath of coups in this country, has always been pain and suffering.
A cousin of mine recounted the ordeal a Pastor had to go through. Apparently in one of the infamous ‘eye han, eye kanea’ episodes, a soldier stopped a passenger bus and ordered the passengers to come down. The passengers were ordered to form a queue which in local parlance is called ‘one logo logo line.’
They were then ordered to stop and watch what is between the legs of a naked woman lying on a table and then move on to get on the bus. Then it came to the turn of a man who then approached the soldier standing by the woman and told him that he is pleading with him to excuse him because he was a Pastor, a man of God so he cannot look at what the soldier is asking him to look at.
The soldier got infuriated, grabbed the man’s neck pushed it very close to the ‘thing’ while asking him ‘wo behwe ana se wonhwe’? In other words will you look at it or you will not? Just put yourself in the Pastor’s shoes and imagine what he went through.
I will never forget the plight of some juniors of mine who as a result of the confiscation of their grandfather’s factory resulted in severe financial hardships. People who were well to do had suddenly become vulnerable and it was sad to see the challenges they were going through.
People who were traders and had booming shops and thriving businesses, suddenly lost their livelihoods, all due to confiscation of their goods. Some people who could not handle the stress fell ill and never recovered.
Young people who experienced covid-19 were complaining that it was a terrible period. Well I have news for them. Ghanaians experienced fear under curfew not from a virus but from soldiers who can come and pick you up in the night, never to be seen or heard of again. There are families in Ghana still trying to find out what happened to their missing family members
The very things that the coup makers accused people in the government they overthrew and for which reason they came to power, they came to do worse things. Human rights of people are trampled upon and so we must remind ourselves every June about atrocities meted out to Ghanaians after coups so we never forget.
We must make it our duty to educate the youth in our various higher learning institutions, our Senior High Schools and even our primary schools so they would grow up hating coups. This is the only way to ensure that Democracy thrives.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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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