She Is Bereft Of Words

The sixty-six-year-old woman is pitiful and frustrated. She stands obscure in the deepest shade of catastrophes and calamities. Her hands are manacled behind her back. She keeps on calling the name of her late first son, 'Kwame, Kwame' in a melancholy voice. She is in wretched health; she grows pale with fright. The noblemen and women surrounding her, who I mistook to be her comforters seemed to be so perturbed; so anxious. Although they show signs of caring, a sense of pessimism remains. A layman might think they [noblemen and the women] love this poor woman. Nevertheless, they are scoundrels, sycophants, flatters, and kleptomaniacs. They are wolves hidden under the skin of sheep. I see them as just charlatans. The current state of the woman reminds me of the song of Charles Kwadwo Fosu (Daddy Lumba)- 'Yɛ Ne Wo Sere Kwa.' (They only laugh with you.)

They are the source of the woman's hardships. Whoops!!!! This is very pathetic.

I can conjecture my readers are faced with the conundrum of trying to figure out who the 'She' in my write-up is.

Well, if that is the case then, I am talking about Ama Ghana. A mother of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

Historically, Ghana is the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence, her precedent in 1957 inspired other countries to seek liberation and 17 African countries gained independence in 1960. Why should a country that has long been regarded as a pacesetter tend to be a follower? A cry of shock and disbelief emanates from my soul whenever I hear this from the noblemen and women "Ghana is resource rich: Ghana is the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa and Africa’s second-largest producer of gold".

In 2022, Energy Capital and Power, an Africa-focused global leading investment platform for the energy sector, revealed that the leading African gold-producing country and sixth in the world is Ghana, with the country’s gold production amounting to a total of 117.6 tons in 2021. Comprising roughly 90% of the West African country’s total mineral exports and 49% of its total export value. Despite Ghana being one of the largest producers of gold in Africa, we are in abject poverty. It’s high time we ensured the proper management of our mineral revenues.

We are tired of their semantic noise. We need leaders, not readers. It is in an adage that a good leader knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way. They should walk this adage then.

I have learned to understand that cocoa plays an important role in socio-economic development, opening up the rural economy for integration into the national economy and enhancing trade. If Ghana is the second-largest producer of cocoa in the world (after Côte d'Ivoire) with a market share of about 20 percent, then why is it that prices are not set at levels that ensure fair incomes for cocoa farmers? Their efforts contribute significantly to the country's total foreign exchange earnings. It is high time we deconstruct the definition of democracy by Abraham Lincoln - Democracy is "Of the people, by the people, and for the people" NOT "Of the family members, by the family members, and for the family members". If we believe in education, then toeing the line to this definition will create the key to success.

Let us arise for our ailing motherland beloved countrymen, this is the right time to get up from our keister to fetch the water of resuscitation for Ama Ghana to quench her thirst. Economic woes and corruption have taken root deep down in the fertile soil of our dear nation. Hypocrisy had shackled the noblemen and women's minds, leading them to forget about the next generations. Forests are where animals can breed but trees are all gone because of greed. Let's praise the best and criticize the worst.

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