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Polished Article: “Palava of the Tall Men”
The ban on the sale of bitters in akpeteshie bars in the Central Region is bound to spark controversy. This follows reports that three women cheerfully drank bitters during a funeral and decided to die, prompting authorities to impose the ban on the popular drink. News from the Palava shrine indicates that aggrieved drinkers are forming a Bitters Drinkers Union to protest what they consider an infringement on their consumer rights, even threatening to go on strike.
These drinkers consider bitters medicinal and an anti-ulcer agent, claiming it stimulates appetite, courage, and even marital performance—particularly when consuming stronger variants like AK 47. Since the ban, they argue, their lives have become miserable, as raw akpeteshie fails to titillate the human throat, putting some at risk of marital dissatisfaction. A previous nationwide ban on bitters failed because law enforcers were loyal patrons themselves, and both sellers and drinkers defied the law. To them, bitters is the “poor man’s whisky,” a necessity rather than a luxury.
Beyond the bitters controversy, many unusual groups and associations are emerging. Examples include the Soft Banku Eaters Union in Lartebiokorshie, Accra, and the Omo Tuo Lovers International in Kokomlemle. There is also anticipation of other eccentric clubs, like the Cat Eaters Association, Nighttime Thieves Union, Wee Smokers Club, Professional Armed Robbers Fraternity, and Pito Boozers Unity Club.
Among these, the recently formed Tall Men’s Club stands out. The club invites all men over six feet tall, aged 18 and above, to a meeting at the YMCA Hall in Accra. While initially it seemed like a basketball initiative, the club’s executive stated that its purpose is to acknowledge tall men officially and to contribute to society, not to mock short people. The author, himself tall, emphasizes respect for both tall and short individuals, noting that nature balances human attributes, often endowing shorter people with intelligence and compensating for height with other qualities.
Historically, height has influenced perceptions and abilities. While tall individuals may excel in tasks like painting or sports due to their reach, research suggests that those over 5 feet 9 inches may struggle with certain dances, like kpanlogo or agbadza, due to a higher center of gravity. Regardless, the Tall Men’s Club aims to foster community among tall men, and in line with Ghana’s constitutional freedom of association, their formation is entirely legal.
Ultimately, while some of these associations may seem bizarre, they reflect society’s diversity and the human tendency to form communities around shared traits, preferences, or quirks—be it bitters, height, or culinary passions. The Tall Men’s Club may be unconventional, but it is a legally sanctioned expression of identity and camaraderie.
By Merari Alomele
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This week I have a very strong desire to put on my Apostolic Cap and talk about the power available to children of God which we can utilise to generate positive outcomes, in our lives.
There is a phrase in the Bible that if Christians meditate on, can immensely transform their lives. In Matthew 28:6 there is a phrase “… as he said…” according to the King James Version.
Thus phrase forms part of a statement declared by an angel of God to two women who were disciples of Jesus who had gone to his tomb early in the morning on the third day after his death.
According to the Biblical account, the stone covering the entrance of the tomb had been rolled away and an Angel was sitting on it and he made the statement to the effect that the Jesus they are seeking is not there and that he had risen, as he said before his death.
His resurrection affirmed the authenticity and dependability of the word of Jesus and therefore the word of God.
Christianity has to do with faith in the word of God. Pastor Mensa Otabil said if we view Christianity as an inside out view, you would go inside to operate the power that is in you.
As a Christian, the spirit of God and therefore the power of God, dwells in you. Anyone who is aware of this truth, does not go around seeking to have a so called powerful person resolve his or her spiritual issues.
Most Christians who move from prophet to prophet, do not believe that the spirit of God which operates in a Pastor or Prophet, is the same spirit that dwells in him or her.
In fact , that Christian may be more ‘powerful’ than the Prophet or Pastor he is going to for prayers because he is living a holy life, which is pleasing to God, for God is no respecter of persons according to Acts 10:34-35.
God does not give out his spirit in different measures to indwell believers. The spirit of God that dwells in a new convert, is the same spirit that dwells in a Bishop or a Prophet or an Evangelist or an Elder or a Deacon.
All you need to do as a child of God is to believe in the word of God and know that it works and that according to 1 John 4:4 we, Christians, that the Spirit of God dwells in us have overcome the world and Jesus in us, is greater than the Devil who is out in the world, wrecking havoc all around.
If we realise that we have overcome the Devil and everything he controls, then we can believe and act in faith and make declarations and just as Christ declared that he will die and on the third day, he will rise from the dead and it manifested as he said, there shall be a manifestation of our declarations also.
The problem of modern day Christians is that, a lot of them, do not study and meditate on the word of God, so they do not witness the manifestation of the power of God, in their lives.
Such an experience over time, give them the impression that the spirit of God dwells in different dimensions in believers. This then leads them to seek solutions to their challenges from so called powerful men of God.
Some Pastors also fall into this misconception of the measure of the spirit of God in believers. When the size of a Pastor’s church for instance, is not increasing the way he had been praying for self-doubt sometimes begin to set in.
Especially, if he begins to compare his church with that of say a colleague from the same Bible School, then he begins to wonder if there is not a spiritual secret he is not aware of.
This is when, if care is not taken, fellow Pastors who appears to be very successful in the ministry but are using occultic powers, could sway them from the narrow path and get them trapped in the Devil’s clutches and eventually and inevitably, destroy their lives. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Introduction
You have been there. Twenty tabs open comparing laptops. A blank page for an email you’ve been “thinking about” for three days. A menu with 30 options and you leave hungry.
This is decision paralysis: the state where the volume of information, options, or perceived stakes prevents you from making a decision at all. It’s not laziness. It’s a cognitive overload response.
In a data-rich environment, it’s becoming the default mode for both individuals and organisations.
This article breaks down why it happens, how it shows up, what it costs, and how to break it.
1. What decision paralysis actually is?
Decision paralysis is a failure of the decision-making system to convert information into action. Psychologists call it ‘analysis paralysis’ or ‘choice overload.’
It has three components:
1. Cognitive overload: Working memory can hold between four to seven chunks of information at once. When you try to track 20 variables, the system freezes.
2. Anticipatory regret: You overestimate the pain of making the wrong choice. The brain avoids the emotional cost by avoiding the choice.
3. Ambiguity aversion: Humans prefer known risks over unknown ones. When outcomes are uncertain, we stall.
The result is not neutral. Not deciding is a decision. It costs time, momentum, and opportunity
2. Why it’s getting worse now
2.1 Infinite options
Amazon has 350 million products. Netflix has 6000+ titles. Dating apps have unlimited profiles. The paradox of choice: more options increase initial satisfaction but decrease final satisfaction and increase regret.
2.2 Information abundance without synthesis
You can find 50 studies on sleep. Each one has caveats, conflicting results, and different methodologies. Without a framework to integrate them, more data creates more confusion, not clarity. This connects directly to the “data-rich, wisdom-poor” problem.
2.3 Reversibility anxiety
In the digital age, most decisions feel permanent. A bad post goes viral. A bad hire is public on LinkedIn. A bad career move is visible. The fear of irreversible error makes people delay.
2.4 Algorithmic mirroring
Platforms show you what you already engage with. This creates an illusion that there’s one ‘best’ option you are missing. You keep searching, convinced the optimal choice is one more scroll away.
3. How it shows up
Personal Level
Cannot pick a career path after six months of ‘research’
Spend two hours choosing a movie and watch nothing
Delay sending an email because it ‘isn’t perfect’
3.1 Organisational level
Teams spend 80 per cent of time in meetings gathering data, 20 per cent deciding
Product teams delay launch waiting for “one more data point”
KPIs multiply but no strategic choice is made
3.2 Common cognitive tells:
Endless comparison tables
Asking for one more opinion
Reframing the problem instead of solving it
Feeling drained after thinking but not acting
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
