Past Editorials
MLK - The Prophet
Each year on the third Monday of January schools, federal offices, post office and banks across the US close and celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK). This year, MLK day fell on this past Monday, January 15.
Popularly known as a civil rights activist, he is also known for his many speeches. The most popular is the “I have a Dream” speech he gave on August 28th, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
The most prophetic may well be the “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech he gave in Memphis on April 3rd, 1964.
From March till April of 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King went to Memphis several times to support the black sanitary public works employees who had been on strike for higher wages and better treatment. On April 3rd, 1964, he gave the above-mentioned speech in Memphis.
In the speech, he discussed the necessity of developing “.. a kind of dangerous unselfishness.” As an example, he cited the parable of the Good Samaritan from the New Testament. He discussed why the priest and the Levite did not help the injured man,
“….And so the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" That's the question before you tonight. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" "If I do no stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question.”
He finished his speech with these haunting words:
“And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say that threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
The next day he was assassinated!
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Kofi Annan, we are proud of you!
The former Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, arrived home to much fanfare today. Mbo ne ye! You have made all of MOBA and Kwabotwe proud.
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You were so good you were appointed to two terms. You reformed the UN. You stood up against an unpopular war. You fought for help for the victims of HIV/AIDS. You reminded everyone of Darfur. You led the UN to a Nobel Peace Prize.
Your tenure in the UN was not without controversy. Things could have been managed better in Rwanda and the Balkans. The Oil-for-Food program should have had better oversight.
In spite of all that, we are still proud of all you because you believed in the UN. In the words of Romeo Dallaire, "you are a man whom he found extremely "committed" to the founding principles of the United Nations." You said it best: " If the United Nations does not attempt to chart a course for the world's people in the first decades of the new millennium, who will?" In spite of the "Kofi-must-go" campaign by some in the US, you survived.
Welcome back home!
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Ghana @ 50!
Like most of you, I did not have a choice in the issue of my nationality at birth. But faced with a choice, some 24 years into my life, my vote was and STILL is a ringing, resounding “yes!!” for Ghana. This is God’s own country. When our national anthem (a truly deep prayer) begins with "God", it requests Him bless the country as a whole, not save some King or Queen.
I love this nation, warts, bad breath and all. There is no better place to live on earth. Even the potholes are 'functional' – how else can I stay awake when driving. Whenever I am driving in the US, I have to drink gallons of coffee to stay awake. No such problems here. I love this country.
I love Ghana, Rawlings and all. He has the dubious honor of declining the President’s invite to participate in the official anniversary celebrations. It appears to me that unless Mr. Rawlings has his way all the time, he will never be happy. But that is no news, and I think that we should forget about him and move on. Historically, past leaders have not been part of any significant independence celebrations. Ghana@10 (1967) was celebrated in the shadow of a coup. Nkrumah’s ministers were definitely not invited to any celebration – they were either languishing in jail or falling over each other to betray him. Worse, they were not even invited to the formal opening of the Akosombo dam in the same year, which was their baby!! Ghana@25 (1982) was also celebrated in the shadow of a coup and Limann’s ministers and even opposition MPs were definitely not invited to the Nissan Stanza celebration – they were either languishing in jail or falling over each other to take posts from the PNDC. Ghana@40 (1997) was marked by the NDC in their second term in power and I am fairly certain that there was no invite to the late Limann.
But warts and all, I do not think that a person marks a birthday simply because that person has achieved all or most of what he/she seeks to achieve in life. I think that a birthday marks two things. First, it affords an opportunity to look back and take stock of one’s life. Second, it is a stage at which you look forward and consider where you would want to be in the future. When you have done the above, you can decide where the balance should be, whether you will have a full blown birthday party, quiet time with your family or time alone with your God. However, at the very least, it is time to take a drink of water, coca cola, fanta, sprite, palmwine, et many other unmentionable ceteras. So, if Mr. Rawlings will not play any part in the official celebrations, fine!!. It is his own way of marking the event. He has looked at his life and Ghana@50 and decided that having been in charge of celebrating Ghana@25 and Ghana@40, there is nothing to celebrate now, on account of what has happened to him and his close associates over the past 7 years. That is his right. Democracy is beautiful. I love this country. At least he got an invite, an official invite with bells and whistles, delivered on behalf of the President by the very respected crème-de-la-crème in society. I challenge him to produce an invite to Limann for the two major independence celebrations that he supervised. But it is also a sign of our failure in the past, and maybe, reason for us to decide that going forward, we should never make a man think that he is the source of the very air that we breathe and give accolades like "Junior Jesus". Our resolve, like England after Cromwell, should be: “no more military adventurers.”
I have looked at my life and Ghana@50 and have decided that there is a lot to celebrate and be grateful to God for. I am proud that I made a choice to live and work here, and I have a firm, unshakeable belief in the ability of the Ghanaian to make something out of nothing. Yes, I have problems with some aspects of our lives, attitudes, POLITICIANS, etc!! But, all said, I, unlike Mr. Rawlings, find good cause to celebrate. 50 years into America’s nationhood, they were butchering/had butchered/were about to butcher themselves in a bloody Civil War. As ‘recently’ as 1789, the French were savaging themselves in another bloody revolution. In the late 1960s they were still staging coups in France!! Oh, and in the 1970s the Portuguese were still engaged in coups.
I love Ghana. We have come very far, from the days when we were forced to consider and eulogize Nkrumah as a “demi-god”, to today, when members of the ruling party can look a sitting President in the face, vote against his ‘anointed’ men, and then tell him that he does not own the party. We have come from the days when we were compelled to sleep at sundown and not wake up before sunrise, afraid, timid and intimidated by soldiers, who, having been armed with our own taxes, were using those arms to bully us. God has been good to us. We survived. Our spirits were not broken.
I love this nation. It may not be the US, Britain or France or some such other 'paradise' on earth. But I am fortified by the endearing words of Ayi Kwei Armah in his satire The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born:
“…Those who have gone ahead
With the soaring swiftness of the Eagle,
Let them go.
I will travel slowly.
I too will arrive…”
I am proud to live in a country with the worst-drafted-yet-most-effective piece of anti-corruption legislation: causing financial loss. Let those in office today, drunk on the trappings of power and cognac, who think that they are not accountable to anyone, think again. Said Shakespeare, in words that aptly and graphically befit some of today’s politicians:
“....But man, proud man,
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he’s most assur’d,
His glassy essence, like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven,
As make the angels weep....”
And, in rough translation of one of my most favorite highlife songs:
“If I live long, I shall see the cat and mouse playing together in a percussive ensemble to the shock and awe of mankind.”
We have come very far. The way forward, I believe, is much shorter than the way back. Let us press forward.
Remember the second verse to our national anthem. The key, powerful statements in that verse relate to serving this nation with our “gifts of mind” and “strength of arm”, toiling “night or day”, “in the midst of storm”, “in every need” and “whatever the call may be”.
Hail to Thy name, O Ghana
To thee we make our solemn vow
Steadfast to build together
A nation strong in Unity
With our gifts of mind and strength of arm
Whether night or day, in the midst of storm
In ev’ry need, whate’er the call may be
To serve thee, Ghana, now and evermore.
Let this be our mantra for the next 50 years and more. When "our powers combine" we are stronger than Captain Planet. I am proud to be a Ghanaian living and working in Ghana. Today is the last day of our past, and tomorrow, the first day of our future. Better days are ahead and they are all called "tomorrow".
If you read all the way to this point, thanks for your time. You are part of the reason why we should be happy at 50?!
Kojo “Ghana” Anan
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Zimbabwe - The House of Stone
I met a lot of Zimbabweans back in med school and they could not wait to go back home to the jobs that were waiting for them. Their economy was booming and jobs were abundant. The future looked very rosy. In the twelve years since we parted ways and the majority of them went back to Harare and other Zimbabwean towns, something has gone terribly wrong with the "House of Stone."
Inflation is at a whopping 1700% and there is no food let alone jobs. The opposition is being terrorized and Zimbabweans are fleeing in droves for South Africa.
What happened? Mugabe!!!
He epitomizes what happens when African heads of State "go wild" and get addicted to power. He is not the first and will surely not be the last. African governments are rampant with corruption and power-hungry individuals who will do anything to stay in power. They are financed by the toils of the very people they oppress and foreign aid. The institution of government is respected and cherished around the world and has a lot of advantages. On the African continent, it has done more harm than good. No where else are small governments needed than in Africa. Then, and maybe then only, will the people the governmenst are supposed to serve be more important.
Ghana, My Happy Home
I visited home recently after an eight-year hiatus…
….Accra is growing like someone sprayed fertilizer on the town. Very soon, Winneba will be a surburb!
….I’d forgotten how awesome Ghanaian cuisine is. Not the makeshift ones we enjoy outside – I mean the real deal. Like fufu, pounded by mean, sweating Egya Koo and mixed by Araba. Hmm! The tilapia, the waakye, the fried plantains…..
….I was sitting across Albert at Combert and asked, “How is business in Ghana?” At that very moment, the lights went out. It was an unscheduled blackout. With the calmest demeanour, he looked up at the fluorescent lamp on the ceiling and said, “This is business in Ghana.”
…..Don’t get caught in Accra traffic. If you plan to, make sure you have a pool, a barbecue grill and some meat in the car. You have time for a cook-out!
…..Watch where you build! That area might just be the next Zongo – really!
….Delta’s non-stop flight from JFK to Accra is awesome. The flight from Accra to JFK should be a night one. That way, one can get connecting flights from JFK. As it is, most passengers miss their connecting flights. Delta, hello!...there are people who fly to Ghana who live far from NYC!
….There is an air about Ghana – of success, opportunity, hard-work, improvement, a new beginning.
…Damn, but Ghana is hot this time of the year!
…There seems to be a new-found love for Humvees in Accra. The thought of that car’s gas bill makes me wince.
…Some really cool subdivisions are springing up. Check out Buena Vista homes by 2 Kwabotwe boys in Sakumono. Props to them!
…I tried Takai and loved it.
…Baseball is catching on in Ghana! What I really want to see is some hard-hitting gridiron action!
So, to all you expats out there who haven’t been home since “Osofo Dadzie” still played – GO HOME!