The Answer, Still Blowing In Wind : Rhetorical Questions To Inspire Social Transformation In Africa With Particular Reference To Ghana

Deeply troubled by very depressing recent socio-political news from Africa in general, and Ghana in particular, especially, as regards the Chinese invasion cum their neo-colonization moves on Africa, corruption, filth, heaps of garbage dumps, kidnappings, homicides, and vigilantism among others, I felt there is a need for attitudinal change among our us.

The sleeplessness caused me to get on the shuttle and took a deep flight into cyberspace to help induce sleep. As I dribbled on the net aimlessly hoping to net a goal, I serendipitously opened a link on the Gye Nyame platform after deleting many unannotated clips to avoid any surprises. Gye Nyame is one of my priority sites because we are friends from the heady days of the Pro-Democracy struggle.

I opened the link and Bingo! There were Peter, Paul and Mary passionately doing a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “ Blowing In The Wind.” How telepathic?” I said to myself. “Eureka!” I shouted and pounded on my desk. However, as unexciting as I can be sometimes, and unlike Archimedes, I didn’t run through the streets of Dallas naked shouting:“ Eureka, eureka! “ (“I have found it!”). Not that it mattered much even if I did, knowing it was at the crack of dawn so not many people would have witnessed an alarm bell ringing. Got it? “ You dirty mind you.”

It was apt. Though Dylan wrote it during the turbulent sixties, It’s still relevant today. Sharply focusing on my mind’s eye was a panoramic view of some disturbing clips I saw not long ago - mountains of garbage heaps in African market places and inner cities with the nouveau rich in their V8s arrogantly speeding through the cities, some on unpaved roads sending pollutants into the air for the underprivileged to inhale.

After listening to the song for the umpteenth time, my spirit was down; I started wiping tears from my eyes; my heart ached and my head spun around. As I dried my tears, I said to myself, “ This impenetrable senselessness is unacceptable.” “ How long must we allow this criminal neglect to persist?” I asked myself. My intermittent partial blindness due to the flow of tears notwithstanding, I reached for a pen and a writing pad, and in a pensive mood, paraphrased Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the wind,” christening it, “ The Answer, Still Blowin’ In The Wind .”

How many years must Africa exist
Before it becomes advanced?
How many centuries must Africans subsist
Before saying enough is enough?
Yes, ‘n’ how many civil wars must Africans fight

Before they’re forever at peace ?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

The Answer, Still Blowin’ In The Wind .
Yes, ‘n’ how many years must our problems exist

Before they go away?
Yes, ‘n’ how deep can we bury our heads

And pretend there are no problems?
Yes, ‘n’ how many years is it gonna take

Before we’ll be economically free?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

The Answer, Still Blowin’ In The Wind.
Yes, ‘n’ how much bribe must an African pay

Before he gets what he wants?
Yes, ‘n’ how high must our garbage piles be

Before they’re forever cleared?
Yes, how many homeless people do we need
Before we feel their pains?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

The Answer, Still Blowin’ In The Wind.
Yes, ‘n’ how many years must a man struggle

Before he achieves his goals?
Yes, ‘n’ how many children must go hungry

Before we hear their cries?
Yes, ‘n’ how many women must be kidnapped

Before they are rescued?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

The Answer, Still Blowin’ In The Wind.
Yes, ‘n’ how many countries must China help

Before we’re completely colonized
Yes, ‘n’ how much longer is it gonna take

Before we’re truly free?
Yes, ‘n’ how much plastics must clog our gutters

Before they’re forever banned?
The Answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

The Answer, Still Blowin’ In The Wind.
Charles Biney
From my ghetto.
✌🏿Dedicated to all the movements for social transformation throughout Africa.