GHANA COMMENTARIES, by Anna Esi Hanson

Ghana is 57years old. On this occasion, and like several others, I am in a dilemma; should I jubilate or weep. Should I shout ‘hurray’, pop champagne, give a toast, sound the trumpet, light explosives, play the drum, as normally happens with birthdays and other milestones? Milestones of achievements or success perhaps? Or should I bow down my head and weep? Weep for the underachievement and underdevelopment I see around me. Weep for the people we have become, as suggested by a friend a couple of weeks ago? Where are the visionary vistas? Can they be found in our leadership of misappropriations, bribery and corruption, bi-partisanship, selfishness, gluttony, to mention but a few?   A leadership of misguided priorities, if any! Can they be found in a citizenry of lazy, corrupt, nonchalant, passive, selfish, tribalistic, and godlessness? For today, I can only weep. I weep for men like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the big six, who were instrumental in the fight for our freedom....

"In our world are people who live in perpetual joy and happiness… Others have been confined to perpetual sadness… This is a life of no escape… They suffer in pain… Their pain, concealed… Their tears unshed… Their pleas, unheard… Their scars, unseen… There is no escape… They suffer in silence… The world of silence is one of darkness… The world of the silent is one of several stories… Stories better left untold… These are stories of hidden truths, the bitter truth perhaps... Better left unsaid, better left unheard… For this, its victims had prices to pay.”…

For those who know me personally, I have always been a fan of President Mahama but considering all that is currently facing this nation, I must ask: Bosso, how far? Because all around me, it is so so wahala!!! Bosso, how far now? This country is facing several hardships. This bus seems to be steering off course, and so, we need to alert our driver. For a fact, most countries are facing hardships. It is a global recession. My Italian colleagues would tell me that, on the average, most people in Italy earn below their average household expenditure. In the United Kingdom, things are no different. Even in America, God’s own supposed country, things are quite tough, and have been for a while now. What then becomes of our poor economy? Our economy, that is so reliant on foreign aid. Our economy that depends on foreign economies! In a country where we go carrying collection bags at various summits purposely for funds for almost all projects. A country that goes a-borrowing each tim...