Harry's Bag

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, ...