Features
When will the AU take its destiny into its own hands?
When Africa is mentioned, things that readily come to mind are poverty, conflict, famine etc. The narrative on Africa has been nothing to write home about. From West Africa to North Africa to the Central part of the continent, to the East and the Southern part, there is evidence of an unrest, a conflict or some other strife.
Currently, there is a serious conflict raging in Libya despite the COVID-19 which is ramping through nations and destroying economies. The other unenviable tag is a continent with a lot of epidemics like Ebola, which has been a thorn in the flesh. A deliberate effort at rebranding must be embarked upon to change the African story and this endeavour is non-negotiable.
The baffling question is why the African Union (AU) is in this situation when the continent is the richest in terms of resources, in the whole world? Respect is earned and not granted on a silver platter, and for as long as African countries and the AU as a collective, begs for assistance from donor countries, the requisite recognition as a partner of equal status to other trade blocs and continents would continue to be a mirage.
When other countries are adding value to their raw materials and exporting them to other places to generate enough foreign resources to increase their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to promote the necessary growth and living standards of their populace, most African countries are still exporting raw materials.
According to the insider.com, the Chocolate industry is about $103 Billion Dollars. President Akufo-Addo in one of his numerous addresses, stated that Ghana and Ivory Coast together produces about 65 per cent of the total world cocoa production, yet can account of just about $6 Billion Dollars.
This is clearly the predicament of the African countries and, therefore, the predicament of the AU. Until there is a deliberate policy to focus on value addition and hence an industrialisation, the revenue inflows would continue to be forever inadequate and Africa would not become the economic power that it should be in order to generate the required respect from the international community.
The COVID-19 disease exposed the continent’s lack of preparedness to deal with epidemics or pandemics and the urgent need for the AU to speed up the industrialisation of the continent as part of the integration process among nations of the continent. It is not as if we need to reinvent the wheel to be able to implement policies that would speed up the integration process.
There is the European Union (EU) which has been in existence for quite some time that the AU members can study and adopt or modify where necessary to give the AU project the momentum needed, to become really established to help the people of Africa and Africa descent both on the continent and in the diaspora.
A picture sent to me via WhatsApp showed a map of Africa with the natural resources available in each country clearly displayed. A glance at the picture removes any doubt about the fact that Africa is the richest continent in terms of natural resources. In the near future, petroleum will lose its importance due to the use of electric vehicles and the clamour for reduction in CO2 emissions.
The countries or continent with other natural resources will become the most sought after trading partners and it is for that reason that the Chinese have embarked on a serious project of establishing relationships with African countries and the AU as an organisation.
According to Wikipedia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the potential to provide a third of the energy requirement for Africa. The right leadership that can implement policies that fit into the overall agenda of AU in the individual countries is what is required to transform the AU into a global player.
This was the vision of Dr Kwame Nkrumah and is still relevant today as it was many years ago, and, I dare say, much more relevant now when countries are establishing alliances. There is no lack of personnel with the requisite skill in any field of endeavour to bring transformation on the continent. What is required is the need to eschew selfish agenda of the various leaders of the individual countries and Africa will become a very powerful force to reckon with.
The need to address the crossing of the Mediterranean Sea by illegal migrants from Africa through Libya is an issue that must engage the attention of the AU. The conflict in Libya is what has enabled this issue to fester. The AU must take charge by sending in an AU force fashioned after the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) model. Africa cannot always rely on foreigners to resolve its problems totally. When it initiates an action to resolve its problems, that would mark the beginning of the process of gaining recognition and respect at the world stage.
The illegal migration from Libya can easily be resolved if there is a stable legitimate government in place in that country which the AU is obliged to help establish. The creation of an AU force must be given priority attention, so that the Libya conflict can be dealt with as soon as possible.
When the desperate attempt to embark on illegal migration to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea stops, then the international community will begin to see Africans in a different light. At the moment, in the eyes of the world, Africans are a bunch of desperate and dangerous people who do not care about their lives. The AU would have to create the necessary environment for member countries to generate employment avenues for their populations, especially the youth to enable them shun the idea of illegal migration.
A deliberate policy must be adopted to instill in the African youth, a sense of self-worth and self confidence, that he or she is equal to any other person in the whole world no matter the colour of their skin. The sense of inferiority complex established by the colonial masters should be thrown away mentally, so that the African can be mentally liberated to pursue higher dreams.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement signed by 54 of the 55 countries of the continent, is one of the best things to happen in the life of the AU. It provides a wonderful opportunity for trading among countries on the continent. It is a vehicle with the requisite potential to quickly facilitate the transformation required to elevate the status of the AU to that of a respected player in the geopolitical arena.
The good book even says that “money answereth all things” according to Ecclesiastes Chapter 10, verse 19. Economic power is what gives nations and trade blocs the power to influence decisions on the international stage and, therefore, it is imperative for Africa and for that matter the AU, to become an economic power house to influence international issues. It is high time the AU was given a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, given our contribution to world economy in terms of natural resources. Resources alone is not going to give us the right unless we translate the resources into huge GDP and that is what would command the respect of the world.
Writer: Laud Kissi-Mensah, a social commentator
by GhanaianTimes
Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
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