What Does It Mean To Be A Ghanaian?

When I was a young journalist, I used to resent the constant trooping of Ghanaian delegations to foreign countries to attend conferences. Couldn't all that money be used to build schools, clinics and other things that our people needed? I wondered.

And then I had to go on a delegation myself. I was in the company of a Nigerian, an Indian, a Somali, two Angolans, a Senegalese and a Brazilian.

We visited many institutions in several countries, where we were invariably invited to say something about our countries.

I found out that whereas only polite applause greeted the mention of the names of the countries of the other people in my group, wild cheers almost always greeted mention of the name Ghana.

This was because most of the missions and delegations Ghana sent abroad time had been making excellent speeches on our quest for freedom and our desire to co-operate with other countries to achieve world peace and friendship.

The efforts of the delegations had won the friendship of the people of many countries for Ghana. And so, whenever I was introduced to a gathering, they knew the name “Ghana” and associated it with Africa's struggle for independence.

I learnt that as an individual, I mattered little to the rest of the world. But “Ghana! … Ghana! Ghana!”, on the other hand, meant something to almost every individual I met abroad who had heard of the country.

No wonder I feel personally disgraced whenever anyone does something that reflects badly on Ghana.

And that's partly why I have taken the risk of sounding like a broken record by writing constantly against the existence of galamsey in our country.

To be perfectly honest, I just cannot see how it's possible for a human being equipped with the power of reasoning, cannot see how stupid it is to destroy our rivers and streams in search of gold.

Humans need good water to drink in order to stay alive. Yet “human-Ghanaians” are deliberately destroying Ghana's water-bodies, as well as their sources.

Galamseyers can see, as they use bulldozers and Chan fans to churn up the beds of our rivers and streams, that the water is changing colour; that the free-running of the water is being interfered with, as the water-course is diverted towards an unnatural dead-end, where it cannot flow on the natural course it had carved into the earth over thousands of years.

The water, thus diverted, stands still and turns into a crater of greenish algae. It becomes a poisonous mixture of decaying matter and the residues of mercury, arsenic and the other deadly chemicals employed by the gold-diggers.

Villagers and townspeople are deprived of their drinking water and have to purchase sachet water to drink (if they can afford it!) What happens when they do not have enough money to buy sachet water?

They may collect muddy water and boil it before drinking. But if boiling the water can kill microbes, it cannot altogether eliminate the remnants of the chemicals.

So, cancers and all assorts of diseases that used not to be common in our rural areas, are now prevalent there.

When I was growing up, people in my village mainly died of old age.

People like Nana Afia Korang; Nana Yaa Wusuaa; Nana Afia Ataa; Nana Abenaa Nookwaa; Nana Afia Boatemaa, Nana Nisuoasa; Nana Maniasa…

All of these ladies grew up to a ripe old age by drinking from two rivers – Supong and Twafuor. Their offspring now drink sachet water (when they can afford it).

It is evident that the offspring will only enjoy at most two-thirds of the lifespan granted to their ancestors by Mother Nature.

And that will happen, in spite of the amazing advances that have been made in the science of medicine.

We have to remind ourselves again and again that it's because of this unnatural situation – which some of our own people have wrapped around us like a cursed cloud – that we must ALL fight relentlessly against galamsey.

We should further remember that in any worthwhile battle, all cannot be expected to go smoothly. In a shooting war, for instance, armies can run out of arms and ammunition or other supplies. Nevertheless, an army tries to move constantly forward. Retreating is an intolerable disgrace which no self-respecting army will inflect upon itself. It just isn't a viable option.

Similarly, in a war against social aberrations (like galamsey) there are bound to be major obstacles: the people who used to make money destroying rivers and forest reserves but can't do so any longer, because of 'Galamstop', will resort to all manner of subterfuges to reverse the situation to what is known in history as “status quo ante….” [The situation as it was before…]

Indeed, it would be an abnormality if such a fight-back did not occur.

Now, the fight against galamsey is not for any individual, or even a generation, but for all who have been deposited, or will grow up in future, on this beautiful land we call Ghana.

The Akufo-Addo government is trying to stop galamsey and reclaim our water-sources back for all of us. We should, therefore, unite behind it, for if we do so, we shall be acting on behalf of succeeding generations not yet born.

Do we want them to be born only to curse us as “THE GENERATION WHOSE GREED DESTROYED GHANA'S GOD-GIVEN DRINKING WATER FOR ITS OWN CHILDREN?

If we don't want that obnoxious distinction to be applied to us, then our duty is clear: we must n keep the morale of the struggle against galamsey high, despite setbacks.

Our cause is right. It deserves to succeed. And it SHALL succeed.

Damn the machinations against it!

www.cameronduodu.com

From Cameron Duodu