Chocolate Love

I'm no believer in St. Valentine's day not because i do not believe in love, but simply because, clearly, anything 'St.' has to do with the Catholic faith and I'm not one, but that does not mean, i should condemn those who are celebrating the Patron St. Valentine, who is being remembered for all the things we've been told, and i respect those who tolerate me for things i do that has nothing to do with them.

we are different people with different aspirations and world views and it is our diversity that helps unify us and make the world a beautiful place, so i do not think that coercing people to tow our line will augur well for us as a people.  Can you imagine all of us clad in red outfits from head to toe, scattered in the valleys, plains and mountain tops, celebrating this day that has been declared and earmarked for love and anything that has do with it?

It is the different colors we are wearing, our thoughts, plans, goals and timings that has distinguished us from each other and i think it's good for us.

However, i have a problem with Ghanaians who have decided to celebrate this day that has outlived even their forefathers. The day has been declared as a day of love and you either join the legion of people all over the world to celebrate it as it is but going beyond to refer to this one day out of the remaining 364 days, as 'CHOCOLATE DAY' beats my mind. why this day?

I can tell you that most people are confused as to which of the days they are sticking out for. Some interchangeably refer to it as 'Chocolate day' and 'valentine's day'. if the Chocolate, produced out of Cocoa happens to be one of our chief exports or one of the products we wish to make popular among us, why not allot a special day for it where we all can join to propagate?

Is this chocolate day a national day to be observed? if yes, answers my question, then, does it override the Valentine's day? Did we name this day to compliment this day of love to make it grande? Maybe Ghanaians believe in love more than the Country the patron saint hails from hence the innovation.

I don't even remember the last time i nibbled on chocolate even though I consume Cocoa products so i will just help myself get a bar of Kingsbite Golden Tree Chocolate too, since I'm not expecting any from anyone while i wait for love to come my way.

Valentine Wahala

She was flashy as the red car she just got out from. She had this Brazilian hair beautifully fixed on her head, spirited in her colorful hand-knitted dress and grinning from side to side. She must be on her way to see the National Lottery Chairman for her claim or she must have heard more pleasant news than that, because perching across the street from where I was observing every movement within my periphery, nothing could have influenced such a gay behavior.

She locked the door from a distance by the help of the remote door locker as she walked care freely into the aluminium door that already gave way as she approached. Everything is now automatic and all you have to do is afford some and revele in an automated world which is usually not a world that is far from those living the manual life. They almost always queue up for everything; Queue up for waakye in the morning, queue for trotro to their various work places to make a living, queue up to elect Presidents, who won’t even fete for them and they seem used to it, looking at the simplicity and flair that characterizes their movements.

The flashy lady whom I’ll choose to name Araba in the context of this write-up, quickly came out as she entered, even with a gaiety that surpassed the one before, except this time, she was seen out by one handsome man in a neatly and starchy cream linen shirt with a matching coffee khaki trousers that has been ironed to remind you of those inspection Mondays in basic schools. They both were giggling and slapping each other’s back as if they were school children. One look at them could tell you the kind of relationship they share but I wasn’t ready for that hasty conclusion. I just fathomed, they probably might have done it before, but as to if they really are lovers or not, experience has taught me to desist from the practice of pairing happy people together just because I deem them fit.

I just looked on absent-mindedly for them to do whatever they had to do before the woman leaves for wherever she was headed to, after all I wasn’t there because of them. I was there because I was planning to execute a plan. It was valentine day and I needed an alibi to escape the entire craze in town. I was even tired of the cacophony of noises that was emanating from the Radio, Television and the die-hards who would celebrate everything that has a day earmarked for it. They are the same people who celebrate AU day, world Stigmatization day, world hand-shake day and all the nonsense days. 

The woman entered her car after planting an affectionate kiss on the man’s cheek which lighted his world from the glow that radiated from his face coupled with the rise of his cheek bones. Love is sweet I thought and reverted back to my own thoughts. 

Life is how you make it and living to suit someone does not really help me live my life so I decided to live my life no matter how the road looks uncharted. the experiences, the suspense, the setbacks, the expectations, the accompanying thrills and mostly, the results of our actions are those that come to thicken life’s plot, so I don’t see why I have to give all up to walk in someone’s shadow. i decided I was not going to be in the fray of those making baloney of what life ought to be and before I knew it, another car had come to park at the same spot the flashy red car took off from. My eyes dilated at the make of the car but it was to be more spectacular.

A beautiful svelte lady opened the door of the car and I thought I felt the trapped air-conditioned air hit my face because I felt my skin turn cold. It felt good but that was all there was to it. She stretched out one of her long legs and placed it on the ground, quickly followed by the second one, dramatic, right? She was now out of the car and what a sight to behold. Whoever said beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder must either revise his notes or we better make an amendment to that phrase. Some beauty transcends the eyes of the beholder and right there before me was one of the title holders.

She walked graciously and purposefully towards the aluminium door and my feelings told me, it was the same man. I did not envy him at all because apart from hosting all these beautiful women, I don’t know what else he does and does not know how much dues he pays to sustain these awesome ladies, so I just looked on. My plan was still intact in my mind as I kept tossing it. I knew I was not going to get anything nouvelle from my thoughts but it was worth trying.

This time, the woman stayed much longer than the first one and by her sweet nature and cocksure gaiety, I knew she was the one. If she wasn’t the one, why stay longer? The man must have a bunk bed in that room or better still writing desks in this era are not just big for aesthetic purposes, they could be used for many other purposes. I didn’t want to even go there because it was a long time I enjoyed something like that. I quickly conjured some images of my prolific hey days where I could host them like I was a consultant.

 

Before I knew it, I was jolted back into reality as the hitherto vivacious woman stormed out of the office leaving the door to bang behind, followed by the man who was trying to catch up with her brisk walk. Obviously, she was mad; she was very mad at something I was yet to know but the man was disturbed. His world is crashing I guess. My heart could only go out to him but I was quickly reminded by the plan I was fine-tuning in my mind. That was enough to make me mind my own business.

The svelte lady went straight to open her car door which was blocked by the man, but the man would not allow her to open it. The man wanted them to settle whatever difference they had before she left the premises but I was to learn that there was no difference to be settled. Apparently, the man was using a jug and his jug is now full and overflowing. He’s been caught. Yes, caught red-handed. 

Araba had smeared kisses all over his face and at the tip of his shirt color which the svelte lady found out, as they got rollicking in the office.

 ‘As3m aba’ in Kojokrom….

The Little things (I)

He jerked forward as he snapped out of his dozing, with eyes bewildered to quickly absorb the details of his surroundings. He yawned absentmindedly; picked up the newspaper he was reading from his lap and folded it. It slid through his hands when he slipped into nothingness. He was awashed by guilt rather than shame at the realization. How long have I been dozing he thought. He looked around and most of the passengers were sleeping in their seats too. Even though a few were awake, they looked miles away and deeply lost in thought, as the bus glided by the landscapes in the distance.

They had finally made it out of the traffic jam in the City after staying three hours in a seven hour journey and are now driving in and through Towns. They were now driving at top speed and he fathomed they could be accelerating around 120kmph. That is some speed for a Metro Mass Transport but he was too concerned on when he actually fell asleep and how awkward the sight would have been, because he was sure he was the first to doze off. Knowing that was simple because the last time he checked, they were in the City, stuck in a heavy traffic jam and the bus was barely inching forward. He also could not recall seeing anyone asleep when the bus moved from the transport yard.

It was definitely awkward because he was then reading one of the numerous Newspapers that made headlines in the city, but here he was without it and the Newspaper now spread out on his lap. Everybody has a problem he thought and sighed. “Life is hard” he heard himself say.

Sammy as he was affectionately called by everyone is a fine gentleman who aspires to be more than just another man in the community. He had a definite idea of what he was going to be and had meticulously planned and living towards that goal. Fate being so good, he happened to always find himself with the right people and at the right time and has grown devoid of fear because providence was always a companion until torrents of misfortunes decided to make his world their lair.

After two years of endless wandering all in the quest to job hunt, he finally landed a job far away from home. Even though, he was yet to know all about the job, he’s already accepted an offer. He was willing to do it all the same. Life was taking a toll on him. His plan to marry Dede was almost falling on rocks. There was no money to finance the relationship, let alone talk about rolling out marriage plans. He was getting tired of all the godly talks that made people live their lives just by professing faith. He had faith but he wanted to be employed too. He wanted to live all the good life too, so he had no option to jump at the opportunity.

The realization that he was beginning work the following month alone sent shivers down his spine. He was walloped with mixed feelings. Part of him was thinking about the nature of the job and what he should expect while another part of him was tailoring the job to suit his penchant and expectations. He’s the type that always wanted to get it right the first time and that has stalled some of his actions, so he was going in without caution this time around. He’s heard folks testify wildly about what destiny has brought their way and he badly want to join the fray to proclaim the good works of the Most High, so he broke the news to Dede the very night he had wind of the job.

As prayerful as Dede can be, she indulged him into prayers, a thankful prayer to God for ending her future hubby’s drought and by extension, their lack. She prayed extensively even to the chagrin of Sammy, but he dare not show it. They went through what he termed an ordeal after which they delved into their everyday chat, only this time, some of the themes were discussed with vitality and precision. They chatted happily into the night until Sammy had to go see Dede off under the moonlit night. 

In-between time, they had to get Sammy ready for the journey which also marks the beginning of his working life after doing a two-year national service. He did not have much to do himself, as long as his leaving was concerned. He was even outgrowing his usefulness in the neighborhood so it was just a good riddance. He would only have to break the news to his family and no one else. He did not really consider any of his acquaintances as a friend and that settled the headache of disloyalty, acrimony, encroachment into one’s space. After all, no unemployed poor young man with already failed plans has friends.

It was time and as usual Dede went to see her off at the Transport yard. It was departure time and for couples, who have always been by themselves, parting was dramatic but that was to be allowed. They waved each other until the bus faded in the distance. They had promised each other thoroughly to be in each other’s life, come what may. They also promised to keep in touch everyday via any of the numerous applications around, even if it’s just an hour before bedtime.

That night after checking in at his lodge, the only two star hotel in the township, he stretched on his bed to call expectant Dede who picked up after the first ring. The glow in their behavior reflected in their voice as they chatted away. Sam was the one who has travelled and definitely the one with a story to tell, so he narrated every bit of what he deemed news throughout the journey to Dede. They chatted about the town which he was yet to explore, his lodge and what to expect the following morning. They expressed love to each other as usual and went offline after what seemed like two hours.

Sammy has landed a job with a big mining firm as one of their Accountant trainees at the head office which was quite far from the mining site. He couldn’t believe his ears nor eyes; his senses perhaps, because his limbs were growing weaker by the passing minute. It was that weakness you felt when you suppress energy until it evaporates into thin air. He wanted to scream or run around in elation but he was in a corporate world and couldn’t let go of himself. He walked calculatedly as he was shown around by the Human Resource Manager. His orientation was to last for only three days before he was sent out for training in their mining school.

The employment letter, the Conditions of Service, the Salary and the perks there-in could only make him drool. It was too good to be true. Among the numerous thoughts going through his mind about the kind of life he would live was the thought of how Dede will receive the news should they talk in the night. Dede couldn’t help but schedule time for their wedding in the euphoria after calculating how much they would be making every month and every possible dime they could save towards their potential family but Sammy had plans. The plan was not sinister but he knew it will upset Dede who has waited long enough for this door to open for them. He had plans he did not even know of until now but he decided to keep it to himself. 

Days gave way to weeks and weeks culminated into months and before anyone could say jack, it was only two months short of a year since Sammy started work and was doing well. He was doing well on the job and liked by all and sundry, at least by those who matters. And as the days goes by, the recommendations and goodwill resulted in more responsibilities meaning more income but all too soon, his relationship was suffering. What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world for the price of his soul; they both began thinking just after ten months into the much sought employment. How time flies….

Tactically Incorrect!

I wouldn’t say my heart was broken by the performance the Black Stars put up at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Wednesday. Personally, they need to be congratulated because, i think they have come too far in the African Cup of Nations tournament and as patriotic and passionate that I am, I had no option than to support them this far and will even support them come Saturday, the 9^th of February, when they play their third or fourth place with the hawks of Togo.

However, I am sad because some group of persons is playing with the emotions of the numerous football loving Ghanaians and it’s not amusing anymore. Ghana is currently ranked at twenty-six in the FiFA/Coca-Cola World ranking  as against ninety-six for the Stallions of Burkina Faso and it really doesn’t make sense the way they outplayed the Black Stars team and dominated the game especially in the extended thirty minutes of their one-twenty minutes duel.

Football has changed but the word pedigree hasn’t. It has even become enriched and more worthy of the meaning it bears. History has never really helped anybody but it can’t be omitted from our discourse, after all, nothing happens in isolation. Ghana has a very rich football history ahead of the Stallions, not to talk about the two times we have participated in the FIFA WORLD CUP competitions, the various juvenile world tournaments, numerous African Cup of nations we have won, and the kind of leagues our players feature in, one would have excepted a demolition from the Black Stars but Alas!

There was nothing technical or planned about the way the Black stars played. They were just playing with one simple mind; not to allow a goal or at best, score one to their opponents, and that was enough to engage them for the one-twenty minutes they were going back and forth on the playing field. The team lacked character on the field with the exception of a couple of them. They looked despaired, worn out and psychologically inept. Most of them were assigned different roles which did not bring the very best in them and to think that we were experimenting at a tournament where stakes are so high is unthinkable.

A manager of an entity should be allowed to carry out his day to day activities in peace devoid of influence from any quarters unless otherwise, as long as the company’s objectives have clearly been clarified and handed over to him, but no one looks on while he does things wrongly, and if truly, it’s the tax payer’s money that pays them, then we the shareholders can at least say our mind, even if it won’t be used as a working tool.

Generally, black stars as a team can win a match on a very good day even without a coach. These players are already good and playing in top notch teams and have a lot of exposure and experience but may lack the ability to instill discipline among themselves with regards to training, selection, mentoring and other related activities hence the need for a coach and it is just practical for everyone to see the added-value he brings to the team.

In that, the Manager of the Black Stars may know what he’s doing but I think he lacks the art of imparting it, just like we all have had so many teachers and lecturers in times past but only some were able to teach us by really communicating to us. Some usually lack the know-how of the art even though they are well vested in the art, so by implication, I am saying that he may know his work but he lacks the ability to express it and the earlier we all know that teaching is an art and can only be effective if the teacher has mastered the art of teaching, the better for us. Simply put, not all teachers can teach.

Right from our opening match, that lackluster performance was displayed by our Black Stars when we saw the Congolese equalized the two goals we had scored earlier which continued through their subsequent games. Even though, they won all their matches with the exception of last night’s, they were always given a raw deal by their opponents.

These players must be made to understand that we are about twenty-five and counting million Ghanaians from far and wide and it will be edifying for them to know that accepting invitations to play for Ghana is not a favour they are extending to us but a platform and a privilege extended to them to make name for themselves by glittering and dazzling like the stars they are supposed to be.

It is not enough to always reach the medal zone thus raising the hopes of the nation in whose interest they are competing only to deflate our bulging and increasing happiness. This would have been the fifth consecutive times Ghanaians have gotten to the medal zone only to be defeated from the year 2008 when Ghana hosted the African cup of Nations. In our various works, when we do not perform, we are either made to pay by stalling our promotion or some are made to forfeit some of the perks they would have enjoyed. In extreme cases, you were asked to serve some kind of punishment, so why does it look different when it comes to our national teams? Are they not working for mother Ghana? Why do they keep calling them back? Is that all we have as a nation? 

I don’t think any player is indispensable and players should not be called up into the teams because of their long stay or age. Every Ghanaian player plying his trade either here in Ghana or any part of the world must be given the chance to justify their inclusion and selected on merit not forgetting their current form and the teams or leagues in which they play. We have to desist from inviting players on name basis or your past achievement. The stallions had ordinary players who were hungry for laurels and every one could attest to that by saying ‘the stallions deserved a win’. Yes, they deserved to win because right from the second half, the odds have been against them which saw one of their goals disallowed and one of their players sent off.

It’s time the syndicate at the GFA is shuffled or changed to bring in results. We want results and it’s achievable by all means necessary. The cup drought that has hit the Black Stars is flooding our senses, we want a change. We don’t want to go into tournaments hoping and wishing to win. We always need that mental build up and psychological prepared to win at all times and they didn’t have to hold press conferences for us to discern their seriousness because it will be evidenced on the park like we saw in the Stallions.

Ghana Black Stars and their handlers must rise above mediocrity and give us a renewed energy and psyche to rally behind them because no one likes a team which lacks purpose. We want our heads raised up above the waters, that is why the Ghanaian team which will pass as the worst of our time needs to be reviewed and the necessary changes effected. We want players who are passionate like Bance who will be seen all over to the delight of everyone. I can’t say much than to wish them well in their third place match which comes off on Saturday.

Dear God

I would have written this letter long time ago but I was contemplating on the medium to post it, coupled with the fact that I don’t have your BB pin, no phone number for voice call or whatsapping you and I didn’t have your e-mail address too, which has made it so difficult for me until I realized that you don’t need all of the aforementioned media to read from me. I am even convinced you are the one helping me to articulate my thoughts and reading them as I type the black prints on the white background.

I am apologizing for the tone of this letter which is unlike the very few complaints and thanksgivings I have brought before you in the past, and I pray that you forgive me if I should be harsh and indifferent in my supplication. The truth of the matter is, I am confused and disturbed in these turbulent times. The purpose of our existence has now lost on us as a people and we don’t even know what is good for us anymore. It is even difficult with acquisition of knowledge that can help us submit good arguments to suit our caprices.

Heavenly father, the matter at hand is whether we should allow Gays to have their skewed and warped rights ensured and protected. I don’t even know if they publicly wrote to the highest law making body of our country to be allowed to legitimize their gay activities but I know for a fact that they have congregated at a few places to announce their presence and to also make us aware of their existence as a group and now, the whole country is deliberating whether they should be drafted into society or not but for the mandatory law making body; Parliamentarians.

This has brought about more counter-attacks and open criticisms and almost dividing the nation into those who do not care whether it is legitimize and actually want them accepted because they think, it won’t have anything to do with the economy nor their income and those who publicly do not accept it and don’t want it accepted into our society. Some are of the view that, Pastors rape, people steal, alcoholism is rife even though the Bible speaks against them, so why should we zero in on the gays and hold them to ransom as if they are the cause of our woes? 

It is even interesting when those advocating for the protection of the rights of these gays vehemently protest that they would not take it lightly should a member of their family or a friend be found culpable. So what are they trying to say? They don’t care? Why shouldn’t they shut up already if they don’t really care? It has become fashionable to appear knowledgeable and macho in front of our audience thus leading people to advocate for things they do not really believe in or even understand.

Lord God, for these people to come out soliciting for recognition means they have been around for a long time hence their ability to group and form an association, so why would they test our pulse by wanting us to recognize them? Do they want us to be accomplices to their perversion? What at all do they want from us if they have already been at it? I find it difficult to understand. 

There are those who think, these people are humans, ofcourse, and should be allowed to do whatever pleases them and also deserves all the love there is, to probably make some of them have a change of mind and I ask how so? A group of people fighting tooth and nail to integrate whatever gayism means into our society and someone is telling me that when I accept them and their request with love, they will change afterwards and I ask, why can’t they accept my initial no? They are even quick to list the myriad of sins you are guilty of and that is more like defending their own rights or that of the declared gays.

Too bad, my predisposition is too strong and influential on my world view that some things cannot sit well with me. Despite my inadequate education, I have come to believe that, I don’t need much education to know the difference between right or wrong or to see and know evil when I see one and I am grateful for that grace of yours. 

Father Lord, just like Satan who knows his Bible so well, all they tell you is "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned…” which has made the whole fight a retreating one. Would you please take over and fight for yourself? You have fought for yourself in the days of old, so why does it appear like, you have left the fighting among ourselves to do?

They also say, Ghana is not a Christian country, so it has to allow people do what they want to do but I think differently because this goes beyond Christianity and I’m yet to come across any religion that ascribes to a man having sex with his fellow man. It’s just unnatural for all the religions and defeating to man as a race because even animals are yet to descend into the gutters. Our complex minds and fully fledged thinking capabilities you’ve given us as higher cognitive creatures have been put to naught and I am sure, you are disappointed in us by now. You should be having a regretful feeling by now for not endowing animals with the brains rather.

Dear God, if you don’t start killing people for their perversion like you did in the days of old, you will only regret more if humans start asking you for their rights. Humans feel free to change laws belonging to you because you seem non-existent while they hold on fast to the laws of men who make laws with spoons in hand clanking onto glasses full of their preferred wines. I am even afraid of men who can abhor other men from marrying more than one but allowing men to marry themselves and they seem to be the only people with rights. Sex between man and woman is rightly approved universally, so why don’t we have right activists defending the rights of prostitutes, whatever their crime is?  

Heavenly father, please, let the Genocides, Tsunamis and all those natural and unnatural disasters that kills innocent people massively come to an end so you direct those deaths to those who will not live and let us live. Since you are the God of death and war, empower us to kill in your name as Christians because your kingdom must be taken and guarded by force. I am not taking serious those who are proclaiming how they can co-habit with the gays even though they won’t have anything to do with them because they are clearly exhibiting their ignorance and have forgotten that, ‘thou shall not see evil nor speak nor hear evil…” 

Were there not learned men advocating and defending the rights of the gays and lesbians that were destroyed in Sodom and Gomorrah or the story is just a myth?

We wanted things done in our own way and started indulging in pre-marital sex until it became normal in society and when people started going all out, we then start decrying the act and its related consequences on us as individuals and a society, so please, do not let us have our way because we will still come back to you. Save us as a people and do what you have to do. You either look on and let us start fucking ourselves in the ass or you prevent it from happening because I cannot fight on your behalf any longer, I can’t fight to protect the sanctity of your already shredded Kingdom and Scriptures since it is bound to be subjected to intellectual analysis by fallible men who can even be attacked to the point of death by a common Mosquito. 

Maybe, you have to make the right activists wise enough to extend their generosity and call-to-duty to defend the rights of Thieves, Prostitutes, Cocaine dealers, Wee smokers, Polygamists and whatever anyone deems necessary and possible, as long as, it doesn’t endanger anyone’s life. If it shall come to pass, then I also pray that you shall ensure that there are gays in the families of those right activists and those who don’t care enough to see it passed as a law.

Finally, I would like to thank you father for an answered prayer.