I HAVE A DREAM

Insanity is doing something over and over and over again, yet expecting a different result – Albert Einstein, may his soul rest in perfect peace.

Independence day is here again, and just like the human female at that time of the month, the mood swings, the cramps, the mess of the few indecent ones, name them, cannot be unexpected. 60 years down the line (something that has baffled me all my life) we stand at the brink of failure, waiting for a little push, but not to success. Today, the streets of Accra shall be adorned with the famed colors. Roads will be block, V8s shall patrol the streets. Children shall march on empty stomachs, a few people will collapse, and even fewer ambulances will be available. Eyes will be glued to televisions; patriotism shall be the talk of town. The rulers of the land shall sit, and the Ghana Cedi will be lost all in the name of independence day but the bigger question is, are we truly independent?

The oxford dictionary defines independence as “free from outside control; not subject to another’s authority” but more importantly, “not depending on another for livelihood or subsistence” and most importantly, “capable of thinking or acting for oneself”. Yes, words cannot be minced. I look at all these and wonder… Are we really free? Probably, if being free equates to peace. Are we independent? Hell yeah, today is independence day right? Are we capable of thinking for ourselves? Of course, we are that smart to allow the Chinese to pollute our water bodies for some few dollars. So congratulations Ghana because you have met all the criteria for independence according to the oxford dictionary.

60 years, even though I feel is a misnomer, is no small feat. So let’s play a game. Let’s call it when I’m 60. What do you hope to have achieved by the time you are 60? You can tell me in the comments. But to mention a few, we all hope to have had the best of education, saved enough for our health, living in our dream house with the woman we love, saved enough for the education of our kids, travelled the world, probably the CEO of our company, or maybe the big boss elsewhere. The dreams are so big that sometimes we hardly sleep at night and the silence can be so loud that wish we could pull the future forward and live right in it right now but some things are beyond our reach and we need to play to the tune of nature.

60 years post independence, and our beloved has done nothing but failed the youth, deprived our aged of a peaceful home call, made the future bleak for the kids, and the wellbeing of the people ae not considered. We hide behind the 60 years and think we are a young country. Really? Life doesn’t start when we are no longer under parental control. It’s starts there, right there in the womb. Right there in the womb where our parent’s genetics can give us diseases we will carry for as long as we live. Right there in the womb where thalidomide can decide whether we get limbs or not. Right there in the womb where our mother’s ignorance can make us see the light or go back from whence we came. Right there in the womb where our mother’s promiscuous life can deform us. That’s where it starts. And then every step or misstep, every decision or indecision, every good or evil, will make us or mar us.

We live in a Ghana that is no different from the one our father’s fathers lived in save a few Kuffour’s Hotel and Dubai interchange. We live in a Ghana where we value propaganda than policies. My Ghana can rear guniea fowls and feed them in Burkina. Yes! That’s our Ghana. My Ghana cannot construct the Kumasi-Accra highway even though it is the busiest and economically important highway. Our parliamentarians enjoy their ex-gratia as much as they enjoy absenting themselves from parliament. Our presidents are quick to ask for houses as much as they are quick to abandon affordable housing. Our politicians are quick at heckling speeches than reviewing documents before they sign. I am no economics genius but I feel we can generate enough income from our harbors and toll booths all around the country. This and many more can we do if we really are 60.

But as Martin Luther (may his soul rest in perfect peace) said, I have a dream. I have a dream that one day our leaders will commute with us in our famous “trotro” and spare some money for national developmental. I have a dream that one day our parliamentarians will sacrifice their ex-gratia for a hospital in that village. I have a dream that one day our National Health Insurance will be as strong as it once was. I have a dream that one day we will not borrow from China that has more mouth to feed than we do. I have a dream that one day every region will have a university, a tertiary hospital and an airport. I have a dream that one day every child will at least have tertiary education. I have a dream that one day Ghanaians will patronize Apostle Safo’s goods.

Today we will sing an anthem that is the most powerful and sweetest I’ve heard in my entire life. But now it is as empty as the people who sing it. Indeed, God has blessed our homeland as the opening verse rightly says but the rest I fear might have been cast into the fiery chasm of Mordor. Our nation is neither great nor strong, we are not bold to defend the freedom and rights of our people, we cherish humility and honesty no more, and the worst of it, we cannot resist the oppressor’s rule. So why do we sing? Why do we even stand when we know we will sit when freedom and rights are being trampled upon? Why do we stand when we know we will sit and watch the tax payers money go down the drain? But I know I will stand also for I am no better than you all. I know I will still stand because I have been taught to follow. I know I will stand because above all my love for our beloved still prevails.

My dear Ghanaians, there is a charge for us to keep, and that is to make our voice loud and be heard. Forget the ice bucket challenge. To hell with the mannequin challenge. Today and as long as we live is the “#Ihaveadream4gh” challenge. I cannot say all because I do not know all. Let us make sure they know our dreams. Let us sing them loud and clear. I know they will listen and I know our leaders are competent to act. God bless our homeland Ghana and God bless us all. Happy Independence Day.