Poetry

I'm really excited to be back to the blogosphere after a long break. To mark my return i present two poems: The Return and Why are you so weak? Looking forward to get lots of reactions!

The Return

I know I have erred my darling

For all the days that I was gone without notice

The journey was long and tiring

And I fell into a hole

Without you there were no sweet dialogues

There were only_____________monologues!

So let the celebration of love and expression

Herald the return of our long lost union

As we wave the dreary, weary, cold nights goodbye.

Why are you so weak?

This question you posed to me

When we revelled under the mango tree

In the centre of the village square

Proved a handful for I racked my brains

So hard and long yet…no answer was in sight!

Then you sounded so worried

And cried for a thousand minutes

In my arms where you found temporary solace

The redness of your eyes told a tale

Of the anxiety that pervaded your entire being

Yes, that night when I returned home

Clothes drenched with your tears

Remains firmly etched on my mind

I recall with astonishing detail your very words

That encapsulated the feelings of the moment

For I share in your joys and sorrows

And that was what I always wanted you to know

Remember our rendezvous at the village dance?

Yet you left when it counted

When you could have shown the world you really cared

With the merchant's son, you left to the big city

Pretending you could get used to its glitz and glamour

I know what you thought then, that money was it all

No wonder you failed to detect

The subtle deceptions of your "lover"

Who was about to defect

Now you know t'was a big illusion

Truth is life is worth more than a couple of bucks

And true joy lies in simplicity-of friendship, honesty and loyalty

Your red tomato eyes tells it all: that pain dominates your soul

Thus you spend all days and all nights mulling over

The consequences of your action

So why are you so weak?

You are weak because you are moved by sight

Of things that hold no permanent value

In fact, you are blind!

Celebrating Obama

For a minute on Tuesday, 20th January, it seemed as if the whole world was enchanted. Every one's attention was arrested by one event-the swearing in of America's new president Barack Hussein Obama. The occasion invoked great feelings of accomplishment, relief, happiness, joy and definitely hope in people all over the world. Many commentators have effectively deliberated on the subject and its implications for the world's future. But i would like to add my own voice to the discussions making the rounds.

Obama's elevation to that position of great honour is a product of sacrifice, hard work, dedication, faith, and a great deal of perseverance, relentlessness and optimism unseen in leaders around the world. In addition, the occasion aroused strong emotional feelings among the African American and minority communities in the US. This feeling has been shared by black people everywhere-in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. The emotional arousement that the Obama inauguration ignited, especially among black folks, is due to the unpleasant experiences of slave trade, colonialism, segregation and apartheid that the race was subjected to in the world's sinful past. The trials of those old bad days, though they have been long gone, had left a feeling of unequalness, timidity, hopelessness, and lack of self expression and identity in an entire race of people.

Thus, for many blacks in the US, President Obama's emergence has been a great awakening, renaissance and appropriately a liberation; it is a primer preceding the final step of the journey to equality. Back home in Africa, the joyous reception given to the news is ample proof that we on the mother continent share in the joys, anxieties and expectations of our kith and kin in the diaspora. For many on the continent, the Obama inauguration has also raised hopes of Africa increasing its share of the American development aid, an unlikely event in the advent of the global financial crisis. Followers and fans of great African and black leaders of yore would also rightly rate Obama in the lofty group of the Marcus Garveys, Kwame Nkrumahs, Julius Nyereres, Martin Luther King Jrs. and Nelson Mandelas.

But Obama is a phenomenon that transcends race. It is testimony to how dreams, positivity and passion can transform the life of a person. It is an indication of the triumph of his message of hope over fear and misdirected aggression. It is also an exhibition of how one determined person is set on a path to change the history of the USA and effectively the world. He carries on his shoulders the dreams of men and women, blacks and whites, literates and illiterates, Christians and Muslims, the world over. Obama, as indicated by many analysts, also reflects a new way in which America relates to the rest of the world, which would hopefully tone down the rising wave of anti-Americanism.

Fianlly, Obama's decison to focus on domestic issues may just be what America needs to come out of its current economic doldrums. His economic stimulus package, and focus on developing sustainable energy sources, is a step in the right direction and would go a long way to reignite the global economic engine and promote environmental conservation.

In summary, Barack Obama is being celebrated the world over for his illustous achievement, and elevating the image of America in the world. His presidency is an indication of greater things to come for the entire world. The world is watching closely how things unfold in America in the next few years. Yes we can!

Smile The Beloved Country, Smile at The Storm

When South Africa's Alan Paton wrote Cry The Beloved Country in 1948, it was to protest against the injustices that pervaded South African society at the time. Paton's book sought to highlight fear, sabotage, racial segregation and looming entropy infiltrating South Africa in those days, in order to force the world's attention to his country's direction. Paton aptly demonstrated that the restrictive governance system, in which South Africa was operating in yester years, was inimical to both whites and blacks and when left unchecked, could ultimately lead to the destruction of the country. The book however ended on a positive note, indicating that all was not lost for South Africa, and that after all there was light at the end of the dark tunnel. That dark tunnel turned out to be the oppressive system of apartheid. Cry The Beloved Country has been rightly adjudged to be one of South Africa's greatest literary successes, attracting in its wake rave reviews, movies, plays and other inspired work.

The current Ghanaian situation is no where near what pertained in the South Africa of those days. On the political level, Ghana has just emerged out of a very close elections, scoring full marks (or nearly full marks) in the process. Never mind the hegemony and cross-party accusations that characterised the days leading to the final declaration of results. Socially, there is relative peace in the country with largely equal opportunity for all irrespective of ethnic, religious, gender or political leaning.

However, the critical hurdle that the country has to climb comes in the form of development and social progress. Fifty-two years into the post-independence period, Ghana is still struggling to come to terms with basic developmental landmarks such as education, health, agriculture and now ICT. Poverty still stares the masses closely in the face. It is as if the life of chronic deprivation, want and squalor have hugged our people so tightly, the way super glue sticks to stuff, that they cannot disentangle themselves. Here in lies our shortfall as a nation.

In a related development, the World Bank has waved red flags at the current state of the Ghanaian macro economy. Recently, the World Bank country director warned in a January report that despite recent growth, both the fiscal and balance of payments deficits of the country were "unsustainable." Additionally, we are currently enjoying a respite due to the rapid decline of the price of crude oil on the international market. But I ask myself the question: "if this trend should continue, what are the implications for the country in mid 2010 when we start exporting oil?" I am no economist, so i leave this to those who are more qualified to answer. But my lay mind tells me that things are going to be quite tough within the next couple of years and we must brace ourselves for it. Also we should lower our expectations with regards to the potential revenue we would get from crude oil sales.

But all is not lost. The resilient Ghanaian personality has been through some pretty rough times and come out strong. We have been through colonialism, many coup d'etats, famine and we are still moving on. What is required now is a concerted broad-based social initiative to lift the country out of the quagmire of poverty and underdevelopment, and to pull the chestnut out of the raging flames. That positive Ghanaian attitude that refuses to waver in the face of the storm, the tendency to smile calmly, irrespective of the situation at hand, must be called into action.

To wind up, struggle, politically, socially and economically, threaten the development efforts of many countries. Ghana's current situation should not be a disincentive to the country's known hallmarks of hardwork and excellence. I therefore exort every Ghanaian to put their hand to the wheel and do service to the motherland. Yes we can! Smile the beloved country, smile at the storm!

Celebrating The Beauty of Ghanaian Democracy

So on January 3, the dust settled and the new president in the person of Prof. J.E.A. Mills was declared by Uncle Kwadwo Afari-Gyan. There was rapturous cheer from the 50.23% of the Ghanaian electorate who endorsed the NDC in the second round of the 2008 presidential elections. Understandably, most of the remaining 49.77%, who voted for the NPP in the second round, heaved a sigh of relief that all was over. Bottomline-About 95% of Ghanaians were happy about the way the elections went and how the democratic process dictated the choice of the country's leadership for the next four years.

Ghana's solid democratic credentials were further enhanced on January 7th, when the new parliament and head of the executive were sworn into office. The icing on the cake was the unanimous election of the Rt Hon Justice Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo as the first Ghanaian female speaker of parliament. This was ample demonstration that Ghanaians are comfortable with having female leaders in senior positions, as two of the arms of government are now being run by women. I await the day that a worthy daughter of Ghana takes up the presidency of this republic.

Then the inauguration ceremony proper gave us many reasons to celebrate. All the key actors on our political stage were there to grace the occasion, indicating that the new president enjoyed goodwill across the political spectrum. Again the acceptance speech of President Mills was very heartwarming. His friendly overtures to the losing contenders, especially Nana Akufo-Addo, and his promise to build a just, secure, prosperous and better Ghana is an exhibition that he has what it takes to be a good president. We expectantly await the actual implementation of all the lofty ideals beautifully encapsulated in his speech

Following on the heals of all these great achievements, considered by many connoiseurs as trailblazing by third-world standards, Ghana has been receiving great applause by her peers in international circles. Congratulatory messages keep pouring in from far and near, and the country's general goodwill in international circle is increasing daily. From Togo, through Nigeria, Libya, UK to Canada, Ghana is once again being celebrated as the darling of the international community and her accomplishments touted to be worth copying by those countries who are still wallowing in the scourge of dictatorships. Never mind the fact that some of these countries are also struggling with their own systems of government!

What the Mills presidency has to do is to take advantage of this goodwill and continue chalking ground-breaking developmental landmarks, like President J.A. Kufuor before them, in order to further the development agenda of Ghana. One other major task of President Mills is for Ghana to be more vociferous with regards to her traditional foreign policy initiatives which has been aimed at exploring the possibility of African unity as envisioned by the country's founding fathers.

In summary, Ghanaian democracy is definitely on the rise taking into account all the exciting developments of the past few weeks. We look forward to all the parties involved in the governance of the country working together that it moves forward. The successes of Ghanaian democracy are definitely worth celebrating!

Lessons From BarCampGhana '08

I know that by now my avid readers would be on the verge of dying from thirst due to the fact that, over the past two months, there have been no new entries on The Gamelian World. I am extremely sorry for this apparent desertion but let it be on record that, over the course of the past few months, i had to attend to other equally pressing engagements. Today's entry, as appropriately titled, is a tribute to youthful initiative and how such endeavours would inevitable spur the development agenda of Ghana and Africa.

On 22nd December 2008, i was part the group that participated in BarCampGhana. For starters, a barcamp is an unstructured gathering of people, an un-conference where people share ideas on topical issues. This is markedly different from a regular conference where experts hold sway on all issues under discussion. The organisers of the event envisaged it to be a gathering of like minded people in science, technology and business to discuss and interact in a fun environment. One theme that run throughout the deliberations was Ghana's place in the global scheme of things. The programme largely met its objectives and hold significant learning points for all aspiring future leaders.

Firstly that young people with the required initiative and drive can achieve whatever they put their mind to. The programme itself was put together by young Ghanaians who had the vision of advancing the use of technology in various spheres of Ghanaian life, in order to bring about the development we've all been yearning for. Similarly, some of the great innovations put on the table were from home-based young technology entrepreneurs-another pointer that the realisation of the dreams of young people is a possibility in this country.

Another key learning point from BarCampGhana is the need for the adoption of a progressive approach to doing things. Typical conferences have been criticised for not producing the requisite results because of disengagement of the audience at certain points of the event. One feature of BarCampGhana were the break out sessions. These sessions featured diverse discussions points that allowed participants to join any discussion of their choice. This ultimately promoted an atmosphere of engagement, contribution, learning and idea-generation. The point i want to make is that in the future, event organisers should not only stick to the way things are known to be done but to involve some level of flexibility and versatility.

A final learning point from BarCampGhana was the manner in which time was respected. This broke the perennial jinx of poor time management that plague most Ghanaian events. The event started on time and most of the key note speakers turned up. This only goes to show that Ghanaians' disrespect for time is something that we can easily overcome if we continue to demand of ourselves the highest standards when it comes to time management.

The only slight hitch of course was that the "big men and women" themselves did not show up at the time they were supposed to, begging consideration due to the pressure that mounts on them when the close of the year approaches. The negative consequence of the above is that their experienced perspectives were missing during most of the break out sessions. The organisers could make it a point to "be on them" and get them to come at the right time next year.

Putting the above together, BarCampGhana has been a shiny example of how youth initiative is on the verge of spurring massive development through technology in Africa, there are many lessons to be learnt from such proactivity, and the elderly generation must lend a hand to these efforts in order to support the young ones.

In praising the developments that took place at BarCampGhana, let me put on record that the exciting ideas that were brought to the fore at the event should not end on the floors of the venue as we have seen time and time again in Ghana. We must all make the effort of ensuring that these dreams are brought to life. Again, we must also take the message of BarCampGhana, as wished by the organisers, to the various communities in Ghana. This is to ensure that science technology and business are appropriately seen and utilised as the drivers of wealth and development in modern society.