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Waakye Girl —Part 4
DAVID picked up the phone to answer the call. Surprisingly, it was from Stella.
“Good afternoon, Stella. I hope all is well.”
“Yes, David, all is well. I wanted to pass on some information to you. Yesterday my parents and sisters went to the guy’s house and tried to reason with him, but again he was very rude, so my father took me away. Early this morning I told my parents that I have had enough, and I would not go back. I will rather pursue a degree course as you advised, whilst continuing to work with them to sell the waakye.”
“Well Stella, I think you have taken a very good decision. You have all my support.”
“So can we talk when you close from work today?”
“Yes, of course. I will be there.”
Stella was waiting by the roadside. David stopped, and she got in.
“Good to see you, Stella. So, how are you feeling now?”
“I’m quite okay. I have a few regrets about having gone into a relationship that failed, but I don’t feel guilty because I went in with my parents’ blessing. Perhaps I should have stood my ground and refused to go into a relationship in which I wasn’t personally convinced about. But I’m looking forward. I am ready to start the degree programme. As I told you, I am interested in the accounting profession. Did you say Adwoa is studying accounting?”
“Yes, she’s doing Part 1 of the Institute of Chartered Accountants programme at the Polytechnic. She started last month. She leaves the office at 2pm, starts at 2.30 and closes at 7pm.”
“That’s very interesting. Because I spoke to my cousin who did a first degree, and is now doing the professional accounting course. She advises that I start with the professional course if I am so interested, because on completion I would be able to do a Master’s degree in Accounting or Finance.”
“Ei, Stella, since when did you become so knowledgeable about these things?”
“Well, I give thanks to you, because since you suggested it to me, I have been searching the internet, and talking to two of my relatives. So can I discuss the admission process with Adwoa tomorrow?”
“Certainly. In fact, take her number from my phone, and call her this evening. So you can go over the issues when we stop to buy waakye tomorrow.”
“That’s fine. Now I have something to look forward to. Many thanks.”
Stella called Adwoa, and learnt that applications would be closing in a few days. So Stella went online, submitted her application and paid the application fees, and three weeks later she joined the course.
She left the waakye joint at 1pm, got to school before 2pm and closed at 7pm. One of Adwoa’s mates drove to Madina after lectures, so he dropped Stella at Dzorwulu. Within a few months, Stella had been transformed.
Aperkeh had rejected her, but she was now a pretty, smartly dressed and ambitious accounting student, whilst still assisting her mother in the waakye business. She and Adwoa developed a great friendship, not only sharing course materials but also visiting each other at home.
Over time, she and David also developed a fondness for each other, but they never discussed issues related to relationships until much later. On Saturday evenings, the three of them went out to eat and enjoy live music, and they seemed quite happy together.
It was 7:30 at Parliament, the open air bar and grill where young guys met their ladies to chat in a pleasant environment. Aperkeh and his colleagues, with their ladies by their side, had already had a bottle or two, and the conversation was flowing rather smoothly.
Out of the blue, Boogie introduced an interesting topic.
“Hey, Aperkeh, do you know what? I saw your former woman, Stella, in a uniform, entering the Polytechnic. I didn’t know she was academically inclined.”
“I’m sure you saw the wrong person. What would a waakye girl be doing at the polytechnic? I’m sure she wasn’t the one you saw. Stella had no class, and no ambition, that’s why I threw her overboard. What was annoying was that a classless girl like that wanted to tell me what to do. She wanted to restrict my movements. She got angry when I got home smelling of beer. Annoying.”
“But Aperkeh,” Bookie replied, “isn’t that what any serious or sensible girl would do? You don’t expect her to sit there and watch you spend your salary on beer and girls, do you? Any woman who doesn’t complain is not worth keeping.”
“My brother, save your breath. She’s already gone. And I have replaced her with two classy girls. The show goes on.”
“I think you will soon realise that you made a mistake with Stella. That girl is really beautiful, and she’s got character, and I’m sure she’s the one I saw entering the polytechnic.”
“You must be joking, Boogie. I have two gorgeous girls at my beck and call, both graduates. Why should I bother with a Waakye seller? And take it from me, Stella does not have the brains to go to the polytechnic. Now, let me get some more beer.”
By Ekow de Heer
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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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