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Let us pray for her and the others
Last week Wednesday was a day in the life of this nation that I believe every well meaning Ghanaian will like to quickly forget. Most people were greeted with a very, very sad breaking news.
The crash of a military helicopter with some government officials on board and that initial reports indicate that there were no survivors. As someone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, not just a loved one but a spouse, I could empathise with the families of the men who lost their lives.
Such terrible news of this magnitude, has the potential of affecting the mood of the whole nation. It can cause individuals who did not have details of the announcement of the incident to panic.
If my phone had been off that fateful afternoon, I do not know what may have happened to my sister who was aware that I was flying to Kumasi and heard news of a plane crash.
She later told me that she did not have the courage to call my number, hence the earlier call from her husband to me to ascertain whether I was alive or not.
On a personal level, the news was devastating because I had heard that the father of one of the eight was a distant relation. If the sad news impacted me so much, how about the mother of one of the lost souls who I learnt was her only child.
If this is true, then she deserves our special prayers for God to console her. I can imagine what she went through when she first heard the news of the passing of her only son and not just an ordinary son but a man of repute.
If you take into account the culture of our country, parents’ expectation is for their children to bury them when God finally calls them home.
Therefore it is a very unfortunate situation when the person you expect to bury you, gets taken away suddenly by death and death in the manner that it happened. I recall a woman in Obuasi who passed away on hearing of the death of her prominent son, who was a work colleague.
The woman was on a sick bed and passed on when someone broke the news to her even though she had other children who were still alive.
Usually when news of a road accident or vehicle crash resulting in death or deaths, it is taken as one of the normal life’s occurrences. Though sad, it usually does not affect us the way it would if the people involved are not close to us. When those involved are close to us, it takes on a different meaning altogether.
The life of a shining star in a family suddenly cut short, is a traumatising experience. In fact talking from experience, you first get a shock when you get the news of the passing of a close, loved one. Time stands still for a moment.
Then comes the whys and then what am I going to do. It is not a pleasant experience at all. It is not uncommon for people in such situations to collapse. That is why parents, spouses and children of the departed, require our prayers so God can comfort them in a way he only can.
One other person who also needs our special prayer is the spouse of one of the eight who is reported to have gotten married a few months ago. The loss of a spouse, a few months after marriage is so shattering and some psychological help must be made available to her.
It is very important that this is done to enable her regain her sanity and to move on in life and for the others as well. Through counselling, they would gradually and finally come to accept the reality of their loss and move on. May God have mercy.
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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