Giving it up for Ghana March 12, 2007

9-days after Ghana turned 50, im just getting this piece of info….shame on me!!!…where have I been……talking of the definition of being CURRENT tokunboInfos about Ghana:
- Ghanageek talks about it, 
- Wikipedia gives some history,
- the BBC talks of the architect of Ghana’s Indepence, and gives us some pictures of the celebration.

I hereby give Ghana my kudos and a big BOW!!! I never knew – now I know. On two occassions-3 and 2years ago, I had been to Ghaha-Kumasi, to the KNUST, with the first two letters “K” and ”N” referring to Kwame Nkurumah. I enjoyed my trips, took many pictures and made many friends for keeps. What attracts me to Ghana is the peaceful environment – its almost in the air, and everybody just walking peacefully, minding their own business, no wahala – compared to Lagos-state hustling-life-style.  If Ghanians were white, I would have said my observations had a reason, but considering they are as black as I am, some even blacker, I remember I wondered “what is the secret of this people“.  To be entirely honest, there are a whole lot of things that Nigeria can learn from Ghana…lesson#1 is: how to line up at a bus-stop. I was so surprised to see a tall man lined up behind a child at a bus-stop. The thought that crossed my mind was, if this could happen in Nigeria. I remember an instace I wanted to enter a taxi(504 station wagon) on the campus. Being the first in the line, I wanted to take the front seat. After I sat down, the driver had to inform me that I was to go sit at the back. Asking why, he explained that sitting arrangement started from the back. I had to go verify such info from a Ghanian friend-who confirmed it to be true.In fact, the level of public orderliness that I saw in Ghana was the most amazing. Perhaps amazing is an over-strong word, but for the fact that black people like me could choose to live in peace, I mean PEACE in their own land, while we(Nigeria – the giant of Africa) are living in pieces, a lot of thoughts ran through my head. I stayed for 3-weeks on each of the 2-occassions I visited. I looked around for jalopi cars, but all I could see were decent looking cars and houses. Not that things were perfect, but I didn’t expect Ghana and Ghanians to be ’so far off’. I was so surprised to see a well-dressed, as in decent looking bus-conductor in Kumasi. I thanked God that I did not just dress up in a t-shirt. I would have felt ashamed of myself. He wasn’t hustling for people’s luggages, he wasn’t shouting curses to passengers and other bus-drivers, he wasn’t hanging on the doorway, he had a sit in the bus, he sat down, he wore a shoe and socks - he was just himself. In fact, he even had a disc-man and shaking his head to the beats he was listening to. I was so surprised to find decent 14-seater buses. The most interesting part was that we sat in three’s on a row. I compared what I saw to the 4-5 per-seat overload that has become a norm in Lagos state. The bus-conductor was so respectful that I had to go ask a friend if things were like this everyday from a friend. Having lived abroad myself for many years, seeing such a sight in Africa was truly a surprise, while comparisons ran in my brain with where I was coming from.

Not that things were extra perfect, but too many surprises hit me right the face in Ghaha – considering they were happening right here in Africa. How I wish other African nations can take a leaf or two and emulate.