Ghanaians Letting Opportunities Slip Through Their Fingers ...

... Then Cry Foul "In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his course succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot"------Mark Twain. Surely, the year 2006 should be a year of action impacting positively on Ghana and Ghanaians. It is overdue the time we extricated ourselves from the negative actions and inactions compounding the miseries, poverty and negativities intrinsically associated with the African in general and the Ghanaian, in particular. We have by our self-serving actions relegated ourselves into subservience, living at the periphery of the Whiteman's socio-politico-economic mercy, kicked in and out at their whim, as deemed appropriate to their lopsided prosperous designs tipping advantageously in their favour. Who is to blame? The Ghanaians in general, with you and me inclusive, have us to blame for refusing to proactively live above reproach, doing the little rational things, at the appropriate times.

Many opportunities have for quite sometime knocked and been knocking on our door, with the explicit aim of offering us a golden gateway or getaway out of our peculiar Ghanaian affronts, on a silver platter yet, we ignorantly by acts pertaining to stupidity, let them always slip by. Is this a curse or an intentional resignation to self-inflicted nonchalance slave-status whereby the master, in this case the Whiteman, must provide the subject all their needs through spoon-feeding? This disgusting way of life and living, should cease if the Ghanaian anticipates courting any respect from their contemporary Whites; breaking free not only from their suffocating grips but also, from the negative attributes of which the Blackman is conspicuously tagged on the forehead.

For how long will Ghana and her continental Africa continue to stagger, stagnate or retrogress in this technological advance age of material abundance to some, especially the Whites through common sense and ingenuity, while we sit on our laps twirling the fingers, lost in daydreaming, hoping against hope, priding ourselves in accolades that go with our near-meaningless on-paper scholarly qualifications devoid of their practical essence?.

In the void of our incessant supplications and prayers for manna from the Great Heavens, we out of frustration and desperation, entreat the Merciful God for the abrupt end of the world. Oh, what an avoidable calamity to invoke upon our heads. All said there is an escape window or exit from the knowingly or unknowingly self-inflicted hardships which, but we grope to find or refuse to find. If we would only behave like the proverbial ant but unlike the grasshopper, doing the right things at the right times and in anticipation, we would be propelled to greater heights similarly as the Whites that we always prostrate before for our basic needs of life, as inhibited persons, thereby costing us the little godly respect we have for simply being humans.

We have had a few Ghanaians who have attempted to exploit their unlimited potentials to the benefit of all yet, they have been frustrated midway by the lack of foresight into the ultimate usefulness of their empirical endeavours, towards the economic emancipation of Ghana, by the very people they intend to redeem. What a regrettable fate indeed? We need to bow down our heads drenched in stinking tears, weeping our eyes out. The usual detrimental egoistic attitude of, "all for me but nothing for others" or "if I can't have it, then nobody will", and lastly but not the least, seeing life as a competitive race meritoriously to be won and crowned, by me and me only, are the root causes of the upward detrimental depressive state in which we seem permanently mired.

Now moving on to the reasons for this write-up, I have the following to bring to the attention of the rank and file, the Ghanaian communities both at home and in Diaspora to see for themselves if given further attention to, and explore the issues raised, can quick start stabilising the balance evenly or tipping it in our favour.

Ghana in particular and Africa in general, are far greatly endowed with virgin forests with most medicinal plants, the exploration and exploitation of which could immensely impact on our efforts if any, to liberate ourselves from the protocol strangulations remotely issued from afar, thus, the Whitman's land, to catapult us into prosperity.

However, the attempts made by two naturally endowed Ghanaians in this field are met with scorn. Firstly, one Nana Kwaku Fri, a fetish priest of Kwakufriso at Asante Nwase claimed in the early 1990's to have found a cure for the HIV/AIDS disease. Many patients among who were the Ivorian in majority consulted him for treatment. Though it turned out not to be a cure as claimed, the treatment according to the patients and some medical staff, could hold in check the speedy devastation always suffered by the victims of AIDS disease, thereby helping to prolong their lives although, already condemned to death. The then government never bothered to take him serious so he was obliged to travel to Japan hoping to gain recognition for his medicine. The Japanese disproved his claim but wanted to know the very herbs of the supposed AIDS concoction. What does this tell you? Your guess is as good as mine; with the usual intention to secretly steal the product, method and knowledge from the never-good enough and never should-be good Blackman.

Nana Kwaku Fri had to escape from Japan for his sheer life, he asserted on his arrival in Ghana from what had become his misadventure though, well intended. A few days or weeks into his return from Japan, he committed suicide or got murdered under mysterious circumstances, the usual trait of the hand of the master at work. The chill that was sent up my spine at the news outbreak of his untimely death over the radio as I was by then holidaying in Ghana, nearly incapacitated me. How on earth could we not protect this man, a ray of hope, but let die prematurely? Had his concoction not the same effect as the current adorable and kowtowing for antiretroviral drugs for HIV by the Whiteman? There is currently no known cure for HIV/AIDS but drugs to slow down the consequent ravaging effects on their victims, same as Nana Kwaku Fri had, so no mockery should have been made of the man but rather assisted financially, physically and morally in his attempts to secure a cure for the disease.

I can personally vouch for Nana Kwaku Fri's ability to cure other ailments which none of the current pharmaceutical drugs can, yet, he was never taken serious for the fact of being a fetish priest and an herbalist. Oh, what a shame. “A prophet is without honour in his own village, town, or country". Sadly, some of these modern day supposed "miracle-endowed" priests, evangelists etc, were happy when he died under that circumstance, making a mockery of the works of the devil and the end result of those taking after the Devil. They totally disregarded his usefulness to society in other areas of life; least said, about the mention of the HIV victims he treated.

Now, we have another Dr. Oheneba Akwasi Amoako, an herbalist in Accra claiming to have a cure for HIV, having already treated HIV-positive patients who now test negative. Before and after treatment, his patients are referred to hospitals to undergo laboratory tests to confirm their illness and cure. The man's letter to President J.A. Kufuor as asserted on Peace FM to his discovery has gone unanswered. He has then been compelled to write to Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the UN, Presidents Chirac of France, G. W. Bush of the USA, the German Chancellor, Premier Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and the World Health Organization (WHO) to notify them about his find. Will anything good come out of this desperate attempt? No.

How would this man bother himself writing to all the mentioned personalities if he was not certain about his claim? Why shouldn't the President of Ghana acknowledge such an important letter if not for the curiosity of the find, but by courtesy? Dr. Oheneba Amoako is obliged to write to outsiders because of the stonewalling on the part of the President and others in Ghana; indirectly and unknowingly signing his own death warrant. He has signed his death warrant because the powers that be, and the giant powerful Western pharmaceutical companies bent on enslaving and milking Africans dry until God's doomsday, will never allow the good-for-nothing Ghanaians to come out with anything good that will either curtail, their dominance over us, perception about us, profit maximization selling us their drugs, or be able to stand up tall and compete with them. Whatever becomes the eventual demise of this man must be blamed on the typical Ghanaian stupidity, myopism, lack of vision and lack of interest in practical solutions to our uncountable ills.

Ghanaians are sitting on wealth; are in the midst of plenty yet poor and hungry, all for lack of foresight and outright stupidity bordering on selfishness. Why should we help him to become famous and super-rich if his find turns out to be true, so an ignoramus may reason? For this simple reason, irrespective of the find's benefit to humanity and Ghana in particular, let it be buried under the carpet; let people die, let Ghana forever remain in doldrums. What a typical evil-mindedness of the Ghanaian?

Since almost all medicines have their base in plant and animal material, Ghana with her abundant herbs could excel in the field of medicinal drugs if we would take keen interest in our aspiring herbalists. China is good at that and America is now into raw herbal drugs, which without artificial engineering or adulteration, has no or less side effects. The sleeping African giant should wake up as time is running out, no more room for sluggishness, nonchalance, stupidity, laziness, curled up in two wailing-praying for the good Providence to rain manna from the old good Heavens, in this time and age. We need to be up and doing as the onus of constructing Ghana is squarely on our shoulders but none else. Ghana or Africa can better be constructed by Ghanaians or Africans through our solid initiatives than any other pre-conceived false notions of total reliance on the Whites. We therefore need to put to good use through maximization, our naturally endowed human brains and the natural resources evidently abundant in Ghana.

I SUGGEST AS FOLLOWING:

President Kufuor should by necessity and obligation, not only reply to the man's letter but invite him to his office for acquaintance and for further information on his claim. If he never received the man's letter owing to a saboteur in his office, at least he has heard it on the radio so he has not any excuse for refusing the man a reply; analogically, proverbially justified with, "When it rained at night while you were asleep and could not notice it, could you not tell when you awoke to find the field wet"? Whether he believes the man or not, he is required by the ethics of his office to acknowledge letters relating to matters of national interest and this one under discussion carries more weight than that. I personally know President Kufuor to fall far short in this regard but that is not the bone of contention now.

The Ghanaian Diasporas through their various associations should show interest in the man's find, contribute financially to become stakeholders or shareholders once ascertained of the veracity of his claim from some of his patients with hospital evidence. I am ready to help, in the hope of Ghana having achieved a great feat likely not only to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic but also, rake in financial benefits to reduce our overdependence on the Whites.

Ghanaians should appreciate, patronise and promote made-in-Ghana goods, the only first step in the right direction to breaking free from the killing cocoon in which we are ignorantly embedded. By our own ignorance, we have underrated our self-esteem thereby permitting others to capitalise on it to cause us further humiliation and pain.

Dr. Amoako should inform Mr. Nelson Mandela, the former President of the Republic of South Africa of his find and prospective plans. Mr. Mandela unlike President Kufuor, will acknowledge his letter, offering the necessary help and advice. He should further inform the "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation", as these couple are really interested in helping cure the poor of life-threatening but preventable diseases, hence investing heavily in research, medicine procurement and hospitals. Interested African-Americans fighting for the welfare, the equality rights for Blacks must be contacted e.g. Jesse Jackson, Cosby etc.But preferably, Ghanaians themselves should help to make it 100% Ghana's discovery.

Finally, both engineering and re-engineering must be encouraged in our Higher Institutions of Learning and those doing re-engineering like Dr.Apostle Kwadwo Safo of the Kristo Asafo Mission, is assisted morally, financially and applauded. The emerging economic giants like Malaysia that we look forward to emulate have come thus far, through re-engineering or copycatting, formulation of visionary and well implemented government policies. It is therefore sad to see some selfish and feeble-minded Ghanaians writing off the Apostle as Mr Nobody in the field of invention and hence, asking for his "patents" in his various engineering claims. Are his practical achievements not there for all to see, and are they not self-sufficient to his uniqueness in Ghana and among Ghanaians? If we had ten of his calibre in Ghana, coupled with honest, good-intended, well implemented government policies, Ghana would be like Malaysia and South Korea that we crave for.

One thing I know for sure is those who engineered the killer HIV-virus now seen to be controlling the world population especially that of Africa; yielding them money, wouldn't take it kindly to Dr. Amoako's find. The HIV is there for a purpose which they want to maintain as such. It is there to regulate through monitoring, our population as a result of getting tired of our over-reliance on them for anything that makes life worth living. But that shouldn't obstruct us from attempting to set ourselves free.

Sadly, we have mountains to climb to reach our prosperity but not a step in the right direction has been taken yet, concluding from our deplorable behavioural attitude to things. Instead of blaming ourselves for our failures, we oftentimes blame it on the Whites. What hypocrites we are? One sure fact is the Whites want is to remain subhuman, obvious through their covert policies but do we accept that relegation? Of course yes, as evident in every twist and turn of our own actions and attitudes, a few of which is described here.

Long live the awareness in Ghanaians to our duties to Ghana and humanity!!