GHANA COMMENTARIES, by Anna Esi Hanson

Ever since my English literature class in my third year at the university, the poem “Look on His Works” by A.A Amoako has never left my memory. This splendid piece of literature was about Saddam Hussein. A.A Amoako started this poem, with the words; “The world loved to hate this Dictator and knew him more by his first name. A son of Adam, Adamant in his policies… He built adamantine walls around his foes……” Yes, our world surely loves to hate its dictators. We only have to label someone as a dictator whether deserving or undeserving, and sooner or later, everyone learns to hate. In a nation like Ghana, which cannot seem to find a leader who possesses the willpower to lead this nation higher, could a dictator not perhaps solve our problems? In all truth and fairness, who is a dictator? Can this word be defined solely based on terror or tyranny? Indeed, our society and livelihood, somewhat depends on fear because fear sometimes keeps people in check. It is the fear of a con

I am a bit concerned about Ghana. It is the reign of double standards! People are always making comparisons and justifications! People are always making excuses! Whenever I read the comments from readers, I am a bit taken aback! Whenever I read comments on features of other writers, I am generally disappointed! Let us call a spade, a spade! Enough of the comparison! It is disappointing, when people conveniently stray from the issues confronting this nation! Instead, they trivialize it! Some even have the effrontery to request that you talk about something else! It is as though what they imagine to be important really is important. Some time ago, I wrote about homosexuality in Ghana and received varied responses; someone requested that I rather wrote about abortion, because to the person, that was more important! Another asked me to talk about corruption! But at that moment, I needed to tackle homosexuality! On another occasion, I wrote about doctors in Ghana, and seve