Talensi: A Town I Never Knew

As Talensi gets richer by the second as the by-election draw close, we are once again forced to have a look at the theatrics in our politics. I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of this by-election they will be the town with the highest GDP in Ghana. It is an uncovered truth that sharing of ‘pre-electoral’ goods to electorates has gained media attention nationwide and it without fail eats me dry.

Bags of rice are reportedly been flown to the place like migrants crossing from Libya to France. How I wish these grains under the arrest of some political cohorts would have actually been grains that could have been cultivated up north to ease on the importation of rice which somehow affect the poorly performing cedi. Monies are allegedly being carried in school bags for distribution. How I wish these school bags would have been filled with exercise books to give to the schools in that area for students to use in their schools. It is truth that even with the so-called Free Basic Education many exercise books cannot see a student through a term of the academic year.

Roads are being constructed at lightning speed and street lights are being fixed with torches at night. Houses are being connected to the national grid as it continually puts more pressure on Akosombo and I am certainly sure ECG will become more ‘dumsorific’ by the end of this by-elections as they will put out lights left, right and centre. How I wish they will appreciate that their importance of existing is not only limited to an election but rather they can demand accountability from government at any point in time.

Indeed, fate has it that this is the best time to hail from Talensi, a town I never knew. Many of their family members likely to be in Old Fadama may have trekked to the town to be beneficiaries of these timely blessing following their eviction and evacuation.

Away from these personal thoughts to some worthwhile juxtaposition, as the United States spends billions on space explorations we are yet to have a complete road network linking any two major cities Ghana, not to even talk of a railway line. As the Adomi Bridge prays for survival, the bridge over the Mississippi River still stands after over a hundred years. As Japan is moving at lightning speed with trains, we are still trying to sweat our way in traffic on potholed roads which are fit to organise an international oware competition. As we continually get ‘dumsorfied’ because the sun has dried up parts of the River Volta, Russia is having plans to invest millions into solar energy in the temperate region it finds itself.

If our politicians, as they preferred to be called, really believe they deserve the soiled thumbs which will be put on printed ballot sheets, then I think it is high time they treated our nation with more respect and dignity as they do these electorates. Ghana has come too far to be behind and it is about time we rise.

With all these politics which allows people to enrich themselves in a short while in our country, I am sure if there were to be an Albert Einstein in Ghana, he would prefer being a flag bearer of a political party to being the mind behind Relativity Theory that no politician in Ghana will have interest in. Oh Ghana, our pitiful state is really sad. But I believe in Ghana, and rise we can. But When?!

Author: Edwin Kotey
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