Month: February 2017

Dear Tippa,
It is with a heavy heart that I write you this letter. I am very devastated but I find solace in something. The clothes I used to wear in 2005 are back in my closet. Poco a poco.
Big bro, have you heard the news? Crazy news paa but they say they say he is busy at work. I have read and equally listened to his SONA but Tippa, rhetoric is rhetoric unless it is backed by deed.
My first question and please answer me carefully. Why will the funds being taken from these so called sponsors not be distributed equally for educational and healthcare reform?
What will it take for a world class printing press to be set up in Ghana so we print at home instead of roaming other countries to do same? Why can we not invest in educators to formulate better policies that will inform world class curriculum and not “What is the head used for” type of questions? Free education needs money and sound policies and discipline. We do not need classrooms under trees neither do we need shoddy classrooms put up by greedy contractors. Will the classrooms have the basic necessities and accessories? Will it be digitized classrooms or still chalk? Will there be smartboards designed by KNUST for our own use?
Healthcare needs serious infrastructure. Tippa, I beg tell the President to ban his people from seeking healthcare outside Ghana. All government officials should make use of all the healthcare facilities in Ghana. By so doing, I believe they will work hard at improving the standards. Our healthcare facilities must be upgraded. People are dying of ailments that otherwise could be treated. These corporate bodies that are donating have no shame. They should donate by adopting departments and wings at these facilities and stop this nonsense of bootlicking behaviors. Please tell the President it starts with him.
Charley Tippa, will the President ride in Katanka on 6th March or another foreign vehicle? Will he wear Made in Ghana socks and underwear? Will the First Lady wear a wig ? Which nation’s wig will it be? Will her purse/clutch be made in Ghana? Will the ministers and other Government officials wear Made in Ghana clothing?
Tippa Irie, I remember the days when you wore rubber sandals not because you could not afford sandals but you wanted to remind yourself not all could make it to Achimota College. For you being in Motown was a privilege. You were one of few. I want you to remind the President that as we hit 60 we have nothing to show for it. KNUST comes out with inventions each year. Which of them are mass produced for our patronage? Tippa, Tippa, I bore rough. What use is knowledge if we do not put it to use? The very countries that we go abegging from, live thriftily and when we do get the money, we show off with the finest of vehicles and girlfriends.
Please Tippa, do not be angry with me but you know what? I am done!

Written noisily but silently
I remain #SILENTNOISES

NB: please check out this new website for Ghanaian Americans.   It is http://www.GAJReport.com.  It is very educational and informative. More soon.

So I thought. Chin in palm I reflected. What was wrong? Could we right the wrong? It looks like the approach is always wronging ( is there such a word) the wrong. You are wondering what I am writin…

Source: For God and Country

What at all is this? In this day and age, is the priority vehicles to ride in? How do these vehicles put food on the table? Are they exotic cars or what?  Adults behaving like kids.
Let me jump on the Free Education bandwagon first. So Heritage Fund brouhaha. Okay advance a solution. I hate it when all people do is find fault. What will that do? Advance a solution; put forward a solution. No matter how…… it will still be an attempt. Mind you, the free education is not for his kids. You could at least add onto his suggestion about how to make it better.
As for that white wig wearing guy who says he will work to make the tenure of  the President difficult, I wonder who taught him in school. A disgrace to his teachers. People are talking about Motown and GeyHey and other schools not qualifying for Free education status for their students. Let me say this: “One day the charcoal seller’s child will wear a white shirt”
I hear my namesake and his people are in KwasiaJuaso (foolsmarket) looking for a foreign coach. Again? Nanasins in capital letters.  iI guess they never learn. When Osagyefo was, he appointed a local Made in Ghana Coach. He believed in this man. This man departed this realm as a legend. What is the legacy of AmGt? Would be? or Wanna be? Sannie, tell your man to bring back Kwasi Appiah and allow Coach Appiah to be his own man. Allow him to do his own thing. Stop the blatant interference. Kwasi Appiah and others, born and bred in Ghana can do the job. i said ‘bred’ not ‘bread’. Stop licking your lips. Is that why you are going for Milo?
Reminder: it is an election into office not election into power! if power then go and generate power to businesses and homes. (Those of you who keep saying “erection into power” be wary. You might just awaken a sleeping giant.) You are elected into office to follow a constitutional mandate, not to do your own thing. Who born dog? Return the cars. I know you need the cars to keep those fianga girls hooked. They would rather ride in posh cars than do any other thing. Society is dynamic and where we see faults in a system, we must fix it. Are the citizens whose blood and sweat and taxes fools? Think about this. Buying cars for peanuts. Work for it. Use your earned money to purchase your vehicle of choice.  Keep the Government cars in a pool and use them from one government to the other. Put a blueprint in place. There are mechanics who are employed by the government to service these vehicles. They can service them for years. SAVE MONEY! Channel that money to be used for the purchase of new vehicles into Education and Healthcare.

I wish Nana you would pass an order barring any government officer from seeking medical treatment outside of Ghana. Not even Togo.
I am done.

This is the third part in the series-My Healthy Lifestyle. These articles have sought through the use of humor and common occurrences to put us on a critical path of thinking to enable us live healthy. It is never too late to start. Most of us shrug off the doctor’s orders and accuse them of being too book long or because we are friends with them we take what they say with a pinch of salt. How sad. If only we knew!

I use the key words ‘Westernized Connection’ for two reasons.
The first reason can be attributed to those of us resident overseas. As soon as we touch on the shore of the foreign land, we begin to adopt the lifestyle prevalent in that community. Though I must admit, the Ghanaian and for that matter the African diet is rich in carbohydrates, the consumption of red meat in huge quantities is equally not good for us. 1+1=2. That is double jeopardy on our health right there. Living overseas, we have developed a knack for the consumption of well done steak and goat meat and veal and venison at the least opportunity. Some have even equated the consumption of such to be a sign of good living. Good living? Today you find grills adorning most backyards or back porches. Almost all grill meat. Few grill fish. Why? How many times did you consume meat back home? Note that our grandfathers and some of our fathers did consume a lot of bushmeat which was also smoked before cooking and consumption. Some of our fathers and grandfathers upon travelling outside decided it was fufu with huge chunks of meat coupled with gallons of beer. Hard liquors was the foundation with multiple sticks of khebab before the main course. That was their version of appetizers. Today, you and I are copying and living same lifestyles which can lead to an early grave or a life burdened with health issues. But then our genes are different.

By dint of this affluent show off, those of us who live overseas, have infected those back home to try to live same in an effort to feel not left out. To me that is absolute crap but then that is the second reason. I have come to realize life is not a competition especially when you have family. You live within your means and do so healthily. Any attempt at following a band wagon might and will only result in an early demise. It is very easy to realize people are easily influenced by the West. After a week in Dubai, you hear one speaking like an American. You see ladies with all sorts of wigs and hairdos all in an attempt to like those Western celebrities so they can look glamorous. The guys with sagging pants irk me so. Even University graduates sport sagging pants and feel confident strutting about like a vulture. Show which part of Africa or Ghana that has sagging pants in their culture. Go on. So now you understand me when I talk about copying blindly even in the consumption of food?

Part of the way to address this canker is to preach healthy lifestyles. Instead of taking people’s money anyhow, I call on the churches to talk about this. I call on you to tell somebody to live healthy. After all, YOU are the Change!

#SILENTNOISES