The saga of You and I

This piece is dedicated to the selfless souls of Ghana. Dead or Alive. 

Circa 1992. Two  young men. Youthful exuberance at its peak. They had taken a car belonging to the father of one of them. Only one of them knew how to drive properly. The other drove by rote. You would think being the son of the owner of the car, he would try to boss it over the other young man. It was my dad’s. The other young man is my cousin Harry. The car in question was a 1972 BMW.  The color  could best be described as Tie and dye; then brown and finally military green. We were proud of the car.  Some of you know the car. What if I had never allowed Harry to teach me the rudiments of driving? 

2010. Parallel parking. Two young men again. One is well  versed in the art of driving. He  can drive any machine on the face of this earth.  The other admitted to him his lack of knowledge in parallel parking especially in a reverse format alongside other driving skills. Today I am well versed in driving coupled with what I knew previously. What if I had not allowed Enoch to teach how to park in tight corners and sharpen my skills on defensive driving?

How many of us admit we are not capable of something? Admittance is not a sign of weakness. It is a strength to recognize someone is capable  or more than able in a particular field. Why then do we take our cars to the mechanics? Why do we engage masons/ builders to construct our houses? Why do we?  When we are assigned duties or tasks that we know nothing about, instead of seeking those capable of doing it, we choose to do it ourselves leading to aviodable failings. We rather choose to destroy  or relegate those who are qualified and with the necessary expertise. The quest for self aggrandizement is just so pathetic. What do we seek to achieve? I am not good in economics. I simply hate numbers. I will not venture lecturing anyone on how to run an economy or how to do anything involving numbers. If I have no inkling what to do or how to go about it,  I will recommend one who can do it. The question is are you cut out for that job or role? Recently, I consulted one of my childhood friends to aid me in reorganising my resume. He was surprised. His position and current educational level put him in stead to teach me. My humility allowed me to go to Eric for help. Will you do that? How many times in our lives have we not lost a good thing just because we feel too big or just cannot fathom the fact that the boy from the village can do it better. How many of you can set a trap for bush meat? Before Ebola? 

It is for this reason that I love my schools. Bishop Herman College taught equality and assessing each others knowledge. Many notable business partnerships have accordingly emerged. Guggisberg House in Motown preached humility.  I am yet to see a haughty member of that noble house. Then Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana.  The V.A.N.D.A.L.S. Talents abound and are tapped and developed according to their area of competence. ( Note: not every member of this august institution has this attribute including The Fourth John) I do not know about your school but allow me to make noise about mine. I also condescend to the fact that, yes these schools are not perfect. I believe other schools might have or have had better if not best principles and inculcated into their students humility and all.

If we as a people, cannot appreciate each other, then I guess the dogs and cats will. Visit the pet aisle at the supermarkets and you will agree with me. The story is told of a guy ( illiterate) who kept holding kenkey parties on a regular basis at his bachelors pad. He asked one of the guys to buy corned beef one time. The guy came back saying it was too expensive. There was an argument. He offered to show the aisle where it was cheaper. On entering the store he led his friend towards the pet aisle and pointed out the corned beef. it was dog food with the imprint of cow features on it.

 I believe it is time to do away with tribalism, nepotism, individualism, selfishness, greed and that general attitude of ” why should I promote him/her?” Remember, the fingers of the hand are never the same. They rather complement each other. They admire each other and live in harmony. When they fight and one or two leave, the rest become handicapped in their day to day functions. Do not forget, each finger and thumb perform a peculiar function that is exclusive to them.

Until we help others to develop, we can never develop ourselves. If we do not prop our own to stand, who will prop us?

The writer is a motivational speaker, poet and author.