Where Sleep is the Dream

A bed is often as good as who you share it with. Some sleep soundly on the beach or up some tree or not the loudest of market places whilst others roll around in frustration on the cosiest of beds.

Share your bed with gratitude, slowly counting every single blessing; of kindness and grace and generosity towards you... And then dream of you, being an agent of good.

Standing Still On Moving Sand

Our lives are worth nothing

But theirs is worth everything. 

We’re like rubber dumped wherever 

After being used for their pleasure.

Are we to blame for where we stand,

When all there is, is moving sand?

* For those we lost in the Melcom Mall disaster and my Auntie, who didn't get any Dr. at KBTH to see her.

The Brave Man's House (Ghana Elections)

As we approach the elections, posters advertising candidates have sprung up everywhere, busily advertising their wares.  We, as voters, must remember that at the end of the day, none of the promises politicians make will become a reality if there's any disruption of a conducive environment or war.

As Chinua Achebe said, let's remember we stand in the house of the coward, to show where the brave man's house used to be.

Commuting at Sunrise- Accra Style

This "trotro" was taking a short cut early in the morning. You'd think there shouldn't be that many cars on the road at that time of day but Accra is notorious for waking up early. Most people wake up between 4 and 5am to prepare to get to work.

Ghana's problem is not laziness. It's leadership. Too many people rush to work but there's very little or nothing to do. Unfortunately, over time most of these people become comfortable with getting paid to do nothing.  The day Ghana learns to maximise its human resource, that will be day our destiny will properly change.

Treasonous Words & Hungry Politicians in Ghana

I am saddened to hear that an over-misfed buffoon has been beating war drums in marketplaces and behind egg-crate walls. Who born dog? The saddest part is, since there is no elder in his house, the malnourished youth who lap his stinky plates have taken to the streets; shitting shamefully everywhere. Times have really changed in Ghana. Back in the day, not too long ago, a fool like that will be picked up and fed with hot coal tar through his behind, till his eyes popped like polished saucers.

As Ghanaians, we complain A LOT. We are always on radio complaining but what we don’t know, according to my Senegalese friend who now lives in this country, “Ghanaians are actually living in a bubble. You guys have no idea how special and blessed you are.”  You can’t call for war in a country like Ghana and not be a fool, a glutton, a goat, an ingrate or just simply somebody whose mother dropped him when he was an infant. 

I spend a lot of time traveling through this region. Go to Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Nigeria, Gambia, Mali. If you have a little more money, get to Niger, Guinea, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Cameroon etc and you will realize how blessed and privileged a people we are. Our only problem as a nation is we take our blessedness for granted and here is what I mean:

In Ghana, no parent worries about the safety of their children when they send them off to school in the morning. Nobody is looking for child soldiers or underage brides.

In Ghana, 90% of drivers roll up so they can enjoy some A/C, not necessarily because they’re afraid of being attacked.

In Ghana, 99% of our civilian population have never held a gun in their hands, and wouldn’t know how to work one if you gave them.

In Ghana, a girl or woman can travel all by herself or simply walk through her neighborhood without needing a man’s permission or bodyguard.

In Ghana, over 80% of our population have never witnessed an armed robbery or been victims of it.

In Ghana, a wife who’s going through domestic abuse doesn’t need ten witnesses to get a divorce.

In Ghana, if you announce there’s a bomb somewhere, people rush there to see it not away from it because they have no idea how dangerous it is.

In Ghana, any citizen (in fact anybody) can buy land, build and live anywhere they want no matter their tribe, language, colour or sex.

In Ghana, citizens are free to practice whatever religion they choose, including no religion.

In Ghana, when a police man stops you, your first instant reaction is not crippling fear, even when you just jumped a red light.

In Ghana, you can be black, white or green, wear a hooded shirt and walk the streets at night. No one cares.

In Ghana, women are not sterilized by force because someone thinks they’re having too many children. 

In Ghana, it is not a crime to have more than one child.

In Ghana, every citizen has every right to work and live in any part of the country as long as they can afford it. They don’t need a special permit.

In Ghana, no blogger has ever been jailed for any reason ever.

In Ghana, we don’t remember the last time a journalist disappeared for reporting against the government.

Most Ghanaians have no idea what war really looks like.

Most Ghanaians have never held the hands of a dying person.

In Ghana, no one gets stoned to death for adultery.

Most Ghanaians are of mixed ethnicity and multilingual.

The list is endless and feel free to add to them.

In spite of all the noises The NDC and NPP make in this country, the truth is the majority of Ghanaians, including myself, are  free atoms. We have no political affiliation. Since we, the free voters are the majority, why don’t we introduce a system where we always vote for the best behaved of the political parties. After a while, it will sink in to their stubborn coconuts and all this “all die be die, and “I declare war”  and "aluta continua" nonsense will end. I love Ghana. It is the only country I have.

Queuing for Biometric Voter I.D Cards, Accra Style

Gloria woke me up around 4:00 am so I could go and queue for the Voter I.D card registration. I grudgingly arise and manage to get there a little while after, only to find out people have been queuing since 2:00 AM. At some point, I couldn't fight the mosquitoes anymore so I run back home. Let's hope someone in the queue remembers me when I go back, otherwise I go straight to the back of the line. Wahala dey :)

Maggi Promo poster from years ago

I was walking through a Cameroonian Market, when I saw this poster with my photos from years ago; worn and tattered on the wall. It makes me think of photographs as babies.  Our duty is to raise them well, and you never know where they'll end up.

Enjoy!