Harry's Bag

I ’m a great fan of spy and action movies, and a lover of spy novels (my favourite author in that genre: Tom Clancy, and the best works read so far is Without Remorse , and Patriot Games ). Watching those movies and reading the books, I have very often come across the phrase “actionable intel”, and I’m sure many other readers of that genre of novels have come across it too. The term is used to refer to intelligence (information) that can be acted upon or used practically. Simply put, actionable intel is information that can be used for good gain. In the current world of work, employers seek staff who can provide actionable intel as against those who will provide information that is not useful or that cannot be acted upon to provide results. It is more about the demand for the practicality of theories learned, and not just regurgitating the theories for their sake.  My Christian friends, ours is a calling to portray or practicalize our faith, to “show working”. It is true that “ [Fo...

  “Show me your friend, and I’ll tell you your character”  – A Ghanaian Proverb (a direct translation into English) One of the statements we often heard as children in Primary and JSS, when teachers were referring to a group of “bad” boys was to mention the name of the gangalia (gang leader) and add “and co” to refer to the others. You would hear something like “Yaw Jon and Co”. When I grew, I came to understand that the “Co” was the short form of “Company” and that it referred to more than just businesses. It referred to one’s friends, notably the group of people one surrounded themselves with.  Paul of Tarsus made clear the importance of company to oneself. He put it succinctly in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that “Do not be misled: Bad Company corrupts good character” . The Apostle is said to have quoted a Greek poet, Menander, demonstrating his grasp of contemporary literature. However, the lesson is solid: your life is impacted by the quality of your company! And this “compan...

  “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” – Psalm 105:15, KJV I bet you have heard this short sentence too many times it sounds cliché now. I bet you have heard it quoted numerously by pastors and church members alike. I bet you have heard it quoted by church members in defence of their Pastors when a controversial issue crops up, or when the people at the centre of discussion are church leaders. And I bet you did not know that this verse was in Psalm 105 (oh I can bet my salary lots of people do not know where it is in the Bible). The whole of Psalm 105 details the history of Israel, the people set apart (or chosen) by God. It recounts how God kept the promise he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob about giving them the land of Canaan; “Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance” (Psalm 105:11). Verses 12 to 14 recount how as a small group (ostensibly in the days of Abraham), they moved from place to place. Indeed verse ...

“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven .” - Luke‬ ‭10:20‬ ‭KJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ Last week, a friend and I went through the Weekly Bible Lesson book for Methodists. The topic focused on Jesus sending out the 72 other disciples to go and preach. When those 72 came back, they reported “Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name!” Jesus replied and told them to be happy rather because their names were written in heaven.  This year the world was hit with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Ghana got its share of the infections beginning March this year (some think we got our infections earlier). In order to stem the tide of infections and “flatten the curve”, social and religious gatherings were banned. Some companies asked their staff to work from home and finally the state instituted a partial lockdown of the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi Metrop...

Two men walk to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Tiptoe Lane Area, to buy mobile phones. Both buy phones wrapped in brightly coloured polythene bags and walk home jolly. One unwraps his polythene bag and takes out a beautiful new smartphone in a box. The other opens his polythene and takes out the contents, his jaw dropping in surprise because he got a bar of soap instead of a smartphone in a box. His surprise is even more amplified because he thinks to himself “ how did the other man get a smartphone whilst I got a bar of soap even though we both bought from the same area? ” Lots of people have bought soap instead of smartphones at the Tiptoe Lane area. Yet others have bought very good smartphones from this same Tiptoe Lane. There’s a morbid concern about love relationships and marriage these days among young people. The concern has been accentuated by social media pages and groups where people share their stories both good and bad. In sharing these stories on the good-bad sca...

How does anyone pay about GHC 1,500 a year for membership of a gym? I mean gyms are attractive: bright lights, loud hip hop music, enthusiastic sweat-glistened patrons clad in attractive sportswear (you should see the young ladies, damn I wish I was young again) . But GHC 1,500? C'mon maen. I'm not the only one who has found gyms attractive. Loads of people do, and they are trooping to gyms to shape up, among these are married women who feel the need to get their shapes back after childbirth or a close shave with a shapey sidechick. To most of these women getting a figure 8 makes them sexy enough to keep their husbands. All this is good, but dark stories are emanating from the bright gymnasiums ( that's the full term for "gym", but you know that right? ). Stories of steamy sex involving the married women and male gym patrons after the vigorous exercises. No, I'm not talking about rape, but consensual sex between the married women and male gym patro...

Many many years ago today, a star was born. A boy, the mere mention of whose name brought joyto locals, and got foreigners wondering in amazement.  The mention of this star's name created juxtapositional emotions of love and hatred, hope and disillusion, and strength and weakness among both locals and foreign powers. He was loved, and he was hated. He brought hope to many and disillusionment to the greedy few. He represented the strength of the colony and personified the weaknesses of the elite.  His name and legacy has been assaulted innumerable times, but whether in life or in death, the poor boy from Nkroful has surmounted it all. Though his body has died, his name still lives, his ideological blueprints still live, and most importantly he's still more highly regarded and remembered than all his awfully shortsighted elite contemporaries.  Nkroful's Star, sleep soundly.  Achimota's Pride, rest well.  Ghana's only Showboy, rest in pea...

Our Father who art in Heaven, Good evening. I sit in this air-conditioned room in my hotel naked as the day you brought me unto this earth. Father I write this letter to you because I am quite curious about a question that my friend Estelle posed on Facebook. Well, since you know all things, I want to pose it to you so you can tell me the answer. I promise it will not be too difficult a question for you to answer. The question, simply, is “Where was Adam when the serpent came to tempt Eve”? Now let me go and refer to my Bible so I can make my case with all confidence. I’m back. The Bible made me know that the serpent questioned Eve, and Eve answered as she knew how. The Bible again makes me know that Eve ate the fruit, and gave some to her husband “….who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 2:6, NIV). Adam was not there when the devil came to tempt Eve and God I beg to ask, where was that nigga? When Estelle posed this question, I answered that because the nigga was a ...

Dear Grace, First of all, thank you for holding the fort whilst we (your children and husband) were away working, schooling or travelling. On 7th July 2017, you were not in the fort when we rushed in. You had fought your life’s battle and it was ended. Only your two framed pictures in the hall reminded me of you. I could only glimpse your lifeless body the next day. I was sad, I almost cried. You have only left me with memories.  I remember a lot of things you did with us. You were our teacher, I remember the multiplication tables David and I had to learn. You were my confidante, you knew all my female friends. You could almost put a face to all their names. You were a defiant fighter too, those who crossed you saw that too well. You gave me a template of how a wife should be and I remember praying to God asking for a woman like you for a wife. I remember how you once stood behind the door shouting “Kojo oye, kojo oye” (Kojo, it is ok) when my dad was lashing David and I for ...

Dear God, It’s been a long while since I wrote to you. The last time I wrote to you, it was to talk about Ghana’s dumsor. Today it is 3 different things oo so brace yourself. First. God, are you a Ghanaian or is it just during football that you become Ghanaian? Are you a Ghanaian? Are you sure you are? Sir, I wish to submit to you that the country Ghana, and Ghanaians, are thieves and dishonest people who will steal and cheat at the slightest chance. Sir, this is regardless of whether we are politicians or not, whether we are NDC or NPP, and whether we go to church or not. Can you believe that a recent report on investigations about the fire that gutted Ghana’s Central Medical Stores revealed that the place was deliberately set alight to hide shady dealings that would have beeen revealed in a forensic audit scheduled for the day of the fire? People – Ghanaians, Christians, Muslims, NDC and NPP sympathisers – deliberately cost the country huge sums of money and consequently, live...

Us: “How long is it from here to Atuabo?” Them: “15 minutes only” After almost 8 minutes Us: “How long it is from here to Atuabo” Them: “5 minutes” Us: “Ok” After a few metres forward Us: “How long is it from here to Atuabo?” Them: “30 minutes” Us: “Eiii, Hahahahahaaa. When are we going to get there? Maybe we should go back” After exactly 11 minutes’ drive. “Atuabo Gas Plant! Wow. It is beautiful oo” “See, that is gas being flared” Ghanaians are bad at calculating distances and time, very bad. All we sought to do was to see the Atuabo Gas Plant, and we were on the main Axim-Elubo road, at the junction that turns in towards Atuabo. We – my colleagues and I – had gone to work and on our way back we wanted to see the Atuabo Gas Plant. The dialogues above were the times 3 different people we asked told us how long it would take from the Junction, farther in, and even farther in respectively. The town of Atuabo – pronounced “Aduabo” by typical Nzemas – ...

“A well-designed welfare state can actually encourage people to take chances with their jobs and be more, not less, open to changes.” ― Ha-Joon Chang, 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism “The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses. It is about the egos of the elites.” Thomas Sowell Enter Welfare State. The welfare state (German sozialstaat; Italian Stato sociale) concept refers to a situation where the state plays and maintains a role in the protection and promotion of the social and economic well-being of its citizens, often through the creation of welfare or (the more fashionably named) Social Protection programs. It is thought that the state through these welfare programs create a safety net meant to shield the poor and vulnerable in society. Enter “Chalk”. Ghana’s Vice President’s wife went to Kukurantumi to donate computers to a Presbyterian School and a headmistress or headteacher (whichever applies), asked her to convey to the...

My Dear God, There is a piece of advice given to strikers in soccer. They say if a striker enters the penalty box, he should take his time with everything he does. “Be composed and deliberate in your movements because the slightest touch from an opposing player would result in a penalty”. Father, this is the same way some of us behave when we enter the toilet, ei sorry, the shanks. We are very composed and deliberate in that “penalty box”. I used to take my storybooks there to read, and these days I often take my phone there so I can browse and read comfortably no matter the type of shanks – bomber latrine or water closet. What is important is that the shanks must be clean and well aerated. In fact, I was happy when I read the news of the World Bank promising to give Ghana $60 million to help stop open defecation. God, you know what open defecation is so I will not attempt a definition of it, with all the gory details. The project is supposed to start in the 3 Northern Regions, ...

“ For forms of government let fools contest, what is best administered is best ” I still remember this quote. It was a question which I had to answer in my second year political science exam in the University of Ghana. I remember I did not know how to go about answering this question and for 20 minutes I just sat still wondering what it meant, and how to answer it. The lecturer – who considered almost everybody a buffoon – had outmanoeuvered us all. The other lecturers could not come to terms with how to correctly answer the question. Well I made an “A” in that course so I guess I answered right. The meaning of the sentence up there is not in doubt. The speaker meant simply that forms of government were not as important, good governance was (as in “…what is best administered is best”). So the question remains what good governance is or means. Is good governance necessarily democratic? It must be said that the western world has been particularly lucky (or is it blessed?). Goin...