An unfortunate Ghana

Why do some people, maybe even a lot of people, seem so unhappy these days in Ghana? No scientific study here – just what we get from the much talked about "public domain", helped by the now ubiquitous "social media" and of course by direct interaction with people – in the flesh.

What struck me is a mixture of hunger and anger. Hunger, not so much starvation or famine, but that in financial insecurity to provide and maintain. Anger, well, just about anything can make people angry, but in this case, mbadive doses of dissatisfaction, disaffection and disappointment are the main cause.

Recently – about three weeks ago – I was walking around my neighborhood, lost in my own thoughts of unhappiness; On the same path behind me, walked three young men in work overalls and rubber boots, also engaged in their battle. They were obviously workers returning home after work. My walk was quiet, but they were faster and they caught me very quickly. By the time they were about to pbad near me, one of them exclaimed that he had found a coin of 20 Ghanaese pesesewa on the floor.

They did not seem particularly enthusiastic about their good fortune and were rather upset by the uselessness of the Ghanaian currency and the fact that twenty pesewas could not buy anything of value and that all was bad in Ghana. My ears stood up in front of that one!

Although my spelling in twi was inadequate, it was not difficult for me to understand the spoken language: "… Noma nkor yie koraa …"

Did they make the NDC, the NPP policy? I did not understand that in their tone; just a statement of fact. Did they express a contemporary chorus of despair? It seemed more likely.

I removed a few things from this very brief encounter and, with other events around me, I had the impression that they did not seem happy. Twenty pesewas is not much in terms of purchasing power but money is money: Pecunia non olet! Money does not smell, no matter how small, then, for twenty people to provoke such pathos among even members of the so-called "working clbad", it points to despair: something is wrong, whatever thing is not going well …

Arriving at the end of my walk and entering my home, I could not help but understand how misfortune is omnipresent in the country and surprisingly surprising even those who hold political power and some even who have a lot of money! Something is not going well: nkor yie koraa!

In this atmosphere of misfortune, I also could not help but notice that even an activity supposed to be a unifying factor for many Ghanaians, football, had become a serious cause of misfortune. When the Black Stars left AfCON'19 a fortnight ago in Egypt, I spoke to people who were jubilant openly! Not very enthusiastic myself, a number of fanatics thirsty for the "beautiful game" have said that for the Black Stars to bring the Cup back home so that some people can claim political credit, we could also all sink with the Stars! Not to mention the presence of Nana Addo-Dankwah Akufo-Addo in Ghana's opening match with Benin, when Ghana drew 1-1 with our neighbor of ECOWAS, Benin. His presence there has been openly questioned. Why? Because an unhappy country that was not united under his direction saw his gesture only as a political gimmick to score political points. It is the true disposition of an unhappy country.

So why and how did we take this route? We can go as far as March 1957 to do an examination of conscience, but why go that far? December 2016 will do very well the case. Many Ghanaians (the majority) during this month have made the decision that they were thinking and waiting, would bring them happiness. The decision told the NDC the exit and the NPP opened its doors … On January 7, 2017, it was the new dawn, at least according to the majority.

With the NDC apart, the NPP has now decided to do nothing more than the Flagstaff House Executive Office! There were high expectations because the nuclear power station had promised to deliver a lot.

The plagiarism of the first day through a "national cathedral" that divides, pbading through the Ghana cedi, through the marches in the public services, oil, food and insecurity, do not s'. is not improved. before. And then, the word C, Corruption, had become the scandal agenda after scandal. And the constant reference to the Mahama administration did not make things easier, every time the inept management of the government of one thing or the other became obvious! It had become a loophole of "No Show, Blame it on Mahama".

A cascade of self-inflicted damage accumulated and became, if not exactly the case for the jokes, but serious squeaks: 100 million US dollars for a national cathedral "priority" (even if the funds had to come from private sources), the failure of other electoral promises (a district, a dam, a district, a factory, a district, a US dollar, etc.) that did not see the light of day, this has very quickly leads to crises of disbelief and disapproval on the part of voters. even ardent optimists … The unleashing of misfortune.

In 2016, it was not a shock, but a very virulent and often ruthless call to distrust on the part of those who thought that a more "competent" group was waiting behind the scenes. "Civil society", "media", "men and women of God" and even traditional leaders, all sung in the same proverbial hymnal: Good or bad, get rid of Mahama and her administration! All schools, hospitals, airports, markets, roads and the brilliant international image of Ghana abroad mattered little, it was enough to get rid of the man! Nana Addo-Danquah Akufo-Addo clean the stables and drive Ghana to nirvana! He himself made such allusions and was given the mandate. And now "nkor yie koraa!

This article would simply send salt to Daboya if it reduced the last words to compiling a compendium of the exploded bubble of 2016: the government of family and friends? Vigilant attacks? 200 USD for a useless room of parliament? Shady government contracts? Selective political prosecutions? Violent media intolerance and persecution? Again and again … The voices of outrage from 2016 have become rather quiet. Embarrbadment? Unhappiness?

I'll leave that to people like Kevin Taylor's "With All Due Respect", citizen's posts on Ghana's now attacked websites, and countless video commentaries that every day are made by ordinary people. to express one thing: Misfortune!

Oh yes, some people are happy, very happy to gulp taxpayer largesse, but even the party hosted by Ken Ofori Atta at the Ministry of Finance to celebrate a bond issue has failed to erase the general unhappiness that currently prevails in the territory … You can ask the young soldier who protested openly in his uniform against the project of building an ostentatious Parliament building. His misfortune caused him to sacrifice himself because as a soldier he had to be aware of the consequences. The poor boy is paying dearly for his misfortune at this moment …