SUCCESS.........

One thing I’ve been praying for for a while now is that no matter how successful I become, I remain humble, conscious of the needs of society around me, I remember my God, and those who got me to where I am. It’s something that has been bothering me because I see what some of the so called successful people around me do and I hate it. I really do. I see the kind of exploitation that goes on and it bothers me. Fortunately, I’m not from a poor home and money isn’t really a major issue for me. I learnt a long time ago not to put my future, happiness, life, in the hands of another so no one has that kind of control over me. I read about certain people all the time and upon meeting them, I notice traits I dislike and I know that is not how I want to end up. I see people do horrible things to others for one very simple reason; because they can. Because they have that power. This may seem weird but I see wealth and power as a blessing, but also a responsibility. No matter how much money I make, I need fulfillment. I need to know and feel that I’m making a difference. The more money I get, they more I have to give away. One thing I would never want to do is to exploit people. You see people on the news and stuff and you think they are angels on earth, get a little closer and it’s different. I believe they started out with good intentions but when the money, fame and recognition came, they got blinded, and greed and selfishness took over. You worked hard to get to where you are, but once you could pay people to work for you, once you could pay them meager amounts of money and work them like dogs, and they have to take it because they have no choice, once you have the power to do that without being questioned, would you? You go on about how unfair it is to do xyz but what if you could do it and get away with it? Would you? This post is directed at all those in positions of power and wealth, what are you doing with it? I believe I strongly that I am on the path to becoming a successful person, but I pray for character, integrity, empathy so I do not end up like some of the successful people I know. I was ‘inspired’ to write this because of something that I saw somewhere last week. I just shook my head and felt so much pain for the exploited persons, and disgust at those who put them there. How do they sleep? I doubt I could.

Success is something everyone strives for, but I would like to entreat everyone reading this, successful or not, to pray for strength of character so that when the success comes, you are not blinded by it.

I read something that said ‘many men can withstand adversity but if you really want to test a person’s character, give him power.’ I pray that my character is strong enough to ‘withstand’ any amount of power that comes to me. This is not directed at anyone in particular but of course, whoever the cup fits should feel free to wear it. One final question to those in positions of power and wealth, should there be a coup or disturbances of some sort, will your house be the first to be looted, or will people gather round your house in a bid to protect you, your property and your family? What are you doing with what you have?

May the Good Lord guide us all.

Goodnight

Why Ghana Performs so Poorly at the Olympics

Okay…….. so the Olympics is coming up ad our proud country Ghana is a participant! Wooo hooo!!! Get out your pom poms every body!! Give me a G! Give me an H! Give me a…………… where’d everybody go?? L Guess it’s because everyone is aware of the sad but true fact that Ghana our beloved country is very likely……. To blast i.e. (not do too well) at the Olympics.

Why is this though?  I believe that it is because of the poor recognition given to sports by the government. The only sport given SERIOUS attention is …….. wait for it…………. football *gasp!*. I have heard of instances where Ghana has had to forfeit certain international competitions because the government says it does not have enough money. (A certain individual whose surname rhymes with Lome comes to mind). Only those who are REALLY good are given attention and those who aren’t that good, but would be, with a little coaching are neglected.

I don’t think the reason for our poor performance is the fault of the athletes, but rather, the whole organization and attitude towards the Olympics.

I want Ghanaians to understand what we’re up against. Many of the sportsmen and women who compete in the Olympics have been training from a very young age, and for many, that is virtually all they do. Some people even start as early as 2 years. In Ghana, aside from football of course, many of the sports are seen as hobbies and not given anywhere near as much attention as they deserve. So compare our situation to that of some of the others and you get a vast difference in performance.

Yesterday, a friend suggested that it would help if we had schools dedicated to sports as in, they learn science, math etc like any normal school, but special focus is given to sports. Everyone must be given the chance to engage in sports so we are able to spot those who are potentially good and train them. even Tyson Gay, one of the few men who have been able to beat Usain Bolt in a race, started of slow at first.

I’m not sure about thcurrent state of the The Ghana Olympic committee office but the last time I passed by there, it wasn’t a very pleasant sight. That is all I will say on the Ghana Olympic Committee. I don’t know too much about what goes on there, I don’t think they are being too effective, but then again I could be wrong because I admit that I am not speaking from a very informed point of view. They may be facing certain challenges beyond their control that we don’t know about, but I think they could and should be doing a better job.

Our poor performance each year at the Olympics is basically an illustration of reaping what we sow. if we see sports simply as a hobby and treat it as such and we go and compete with people who have dedicated themselves from a young age to strive for excellence and are backed solidly by the people and the government of their respective countries, really, what do we expect to happen?

Unless there’s some form of drastic change, I don’t think there will be any improvement anytime soon. I believe we have  good and potentially good athletes (probably more potentially good, who should be given proper training to be better) and given the proper training, a change in attitude and a whole lot more support, I’m sure Ghana would excel but until then,  in my humble opinion, Ghana will blast and will continue to blast.

Another suggestion;  a drastic change in attitude. I just read an article on myjoyonline “It’s all over for Ghana” , the attitude of whoever wrote is was so NEGATIVE it was just saddening. I’m all for being real and stating the facts, but I feel that if you’re going to criticize our performance, the least you could do is give at least some form of suggestion as to how it can be made better. Imagine any of the athletes who competed reading it, how the heck are they supposed to be motivated next time they compete. If that say “the people don’t believe in us so we just won’t bother next time.” It’s like telling someone “ you’re a fool, you’re such a fool, seriously, you’re a fool” let’s assume the person is a fool, whoever is speaking would be stating facts, but not really doing much to help the situation. Investigate further into why the person is a fool and see how you can help.

The performance was actually poor, but I’m not blaming the athletes, I think it’s an issue that the government and whoever is in charge of sports and the nation as a whole need to address. Vida Anim is an amazing athlete, arguably one of the best on the continent. At continental games, she shines, but when it comes to worldwide events, not so much.

By all means, we should give the Vida Anim’s and the rest the support, but we should also look into training the next generation. Let them start from a young age and they should be encouraged every step of the way. We should start looking at more sports and not just focus on the popular ones like athletics because the competition in those fields in a whole lot higher than in other fields.

In my opinion, the issue is not talent, but attitude and dedication. Once that is sorted out, I believe everything will fall in place. Winning medals is an extremely hard feat, but the fact is, it’s not impossible. We are up against athletes who live, eat and breathe sports and have the solid support of their respective countries. Until our attitude towards sports (football is not included) changes drastically, the only thing we will continue to get from the Olympics will be the experience (and perhaps a medal or two here and there).

I’m not trying to be pessimistic here, I’m saddened and frustrated by our performance and I’m merely stating what I feel the problem is and giving suggestions for improvement. I love my country as much as anyone and I’m sick of seeing us go to the Olympics and come back medal-less. I want to see us march into the Olympics with a smile on my face and not a shake of my head. I want to see Ghana excel but until something drastic is done, it’s not likely there will be any change in our poor Olympic record.

Change your attitudes and give more support to sports, we can do it!!!

The Other Side of Islam

One thing that Ghanaians enjoy is peace. There are some tribal issues here and there but generally people have learnt that much of it is unnecessary and unproductive and those who still hold biases have learnt that it is better to keep it to themselves. What I am really grateful for is the fact that Christians and Muslims in Ghana live together in peace. During the Sallah, those who have Muslim friends go over to their houses and celebrate the breaking of the fast with them. Muslim holidays are observed in Ghana, and about the only thing we don’t do is observe Friday as a holy day and practise the sharia law.

I don’t really have any problems with Muslims, especially those in Ghana. When I was in Achimota, I went for a few of their services and it wasn’t too different from the Christian service. I remember one service in which they were talking about how upset they were about how the al-qaeda were portraying their religion. Someone actually told me “those people are not Muslims, don’t call them Muslims.” The Muslims asked if any Christians were around, and invited them to share their views on Muslims and Islam as a whole. The only time I had any problem with anything that was said at a Muslim service was when certain resource persons were invited, who made certain comments about Christianity I wasn’t too happy with, and even then, I just walked out. I was in their turf, wasn’t much I could do.

Some say if the Muslims in Ghana formed a larger percentage, it is possible that they would try to impose their religion on us. Honestly, that’s not something I’m going to argue with because I’ve been told of a verse in the Quran that says gives Muslims the right to enslave anyone who does not accept their religion.

I took the time one day, to talk to a Muslim friend of mine about some aspects of the sharia law I found a bit disturbing. She was quite eager to inform me about anything I wanted to know about and we ended up having quite a long conversation. Here are a few things I was educated on.

·         

      The law about having your limbs cut off if you steal

She said, they look at your condition, the reason why you stole. If you are a poor person, and you steal an apple or a piece of bread or something like that, they won’t punish you because it was done out of poverty.

·         The law about women being stoned if they commit adultery

According to my friend, they can only stone you if there were four (or five, forgotten the exact number) people present to witness the act. She said that was put in place so that it would be highly unlikely for anyone who committed adultery to be stoned. She also mentioned a case that took place some years back in Nigeria about a woman who was found to have committed adultery. The woman was set free because her lawyer mentioned that verse in the Quran so they had to let her go.

I look at the religious conflicts that take place all over the world and I just find them UNNECESSARY. You don’t worship the same God so what? He or she is still a human being just like you, of course there’s the major concern over where the person is going to spend eternity but there’s only so much you can do. I don’t think the fact that a person doesn’t share the same beliefs as you means the person does not deserve to live.

I think the religion of islam is misunderstood by many, mainly because of the way it is portrayed by the media. Think about it, the MAJOR  news stories on Muslims usually involve bombs and attacks here and there in the name of islam. Because of that, people judge by what they see. If you don’t live around any Muslims and all you here is al-qaeda, book haram etc, especially if a loved one has been affected, it’s only human that some form of negative impression would be formed. There are some people, of course who would take pains to dig deeper, but really, how many?

Once again, I am grateful for the peace in Ghana, especially that between Christians and Muslims; it is something many countries don’t enjoy. Think it’s mainly a matter of agreeing to disagree and respect mine, I’ll respect yours form both sides. Those who judge Muslims should actually take the time to get to know one or two (I find that they usually delight in talking about their religion. My friend went on and on and on……lol) they are eager to show people the other side of Islam. If people actually did that, I feel the world would be a better (and a whole lot more peaceful) place.

J C DeGraft's "Sons and Daughters" : Between the lines

So this was actually an assignment that I was given two weeks to put together, but did in a period of two hours because of procrastination and I thought I had an extra week to hand it in. I'd studied the book back in Achimota but doing it again in University, especially having to examine it from a different angle really made me see what J C DeGraft sought to do in his book. The plot is simple, Aaron and Maanan are unhappy about the career choices that their father has chosen for them, they try explaining it to him but he doesn't want to budge. If you actually think about the book though, you see that it's more than just a play, but J C DeGraft is seeking to make a statement and highlight certain issues in the Ghanaian society today. Lots of people look down on the arts and don't see it as something that can be taken as a proper career. I think J C DeGraft is addressing that, looking at the issue from both sides i.e. the fact that things pertaining to the arts are not really given much recognition in Ghana and is not always lucrative, and on the other side, the fact that one should always follow their dreams. Anyways, so I thought I should post it because I think everything I can say about people pursuing their careers of choice especially when they are met with opposition has been said in the assignment.

oh by the way, I'm yet to see what I got in the paper, but hopefully it'll be good :)


SYNOPSIS

Aaron and Maanan are two of the children of James and Hannah Ofosu. There is tension in the Ofosu household because James Ofosu wants Aaron and Maanan to pursue engineering and law respectively. He is especially sure of his selected career choices for them as he chose business and medicine for his other two sons and they are thriving in their fields. His career choices for Maanan and Aaron are not going as smoothly and they want to take up dancing and painting instead. Maanan is especially unhappy about being pressured into doing law because she works in the same office as her father’s friend Lawyer Bonu who has been making advances at her and also polluting her father’s mind against her selected career choice of dancing, and planting ideas in James’ head suggesting that something might be going on with her and Aaron’s friend Awere. Maanan explains the situation to her mother Hannah, who sympathises, and when they try to explain the situation to James, he blows up and sees it as a conspiracy to get him to give in to Maanan’s wishes to become a dancer. Later during the day, Lawyer Bonu comes to visit Maanan, professes his love for her and subsequently makes a move on her. a struggle ensues in which Maanan bites lawyer Bonu’s hand, causing him to shout in pain. The commotion downstairs attracts James to the scene. He is shocked to see with his own eyes cold hard evidence of the serious allegations that have been made against his dear friend. James sacks Lawyer Bonu from his house. George, one of their older sons, now a successful doctor, walks in as James and Hannah are discussing the events of the day. George serves as a voice of reason and helps to soften James’ mind towards Aaron and Maanan’s selected career choices, pointing out that he happened to like the career James chose for him. George also informs James that Awere has started to make money from his paintings and has sold one for two hundred and twenty pounds.  Feeling defeated, James gives in and decides to let Maaanan and Awere pursue their selected career choices.

UNIVERSAL HUMAN CONDITION

The play reflects the mindsets of many Ghanaians back when the play was written and even today. It reflects the lax and perhaps small-minded attitude of many Ghanaians towards the arts. Many Ghanaians feel that for one to make it in life, one must be a lawyer, doctor, engineer etc. Recognition is given to professions like law, medicine, business etc to the neglect of professions like playwriting, acting dancing etc. Many Ghanaians take pride in talking about their successful son/daughter who is a lawyer, doctor, engineer etc especially to the envy of those around them. subjects in the arts are regarded as hobbies and nothing more. To many Ghanaians, to pursue such careers would be regarded as disastrous. J C Degraft explains both sides of the situation by adding the undeniable fact that professions in the arts are not known to bring in as much money as some of the others, especially in Ghana where the market is not as big as outside so we can sympathise with James by perhaps seeing things as “just wanting to protect them.” This view, though understandable is not the best because it limits one’s thinking and drives one to work because of money and not because of passion or interest in the profession. The play also opposes the view that educated people are superior to all others and can do no wrong. Lawyer Bonu is the most educated person in the play, but has very shaky moral values. This is shown when he deliberately pollutes James’ mind towards Maanan pursuing a dancing career, when he knows perfectly well there is nothing wrong with it, and also makes advances towards her. in contrast, Hannah, though illiterate, is one of the more sound-minded people in the play. She sees things from both sides and serves as a voice of reason. Education is highly important in one’s professional life and in one’s personal life as well but not being educated does not in any way mean one is a bad person. Indeed, there are many who would have wished for any education but were to able to gain one because of circumstances, and also, there are many who have had little or no education, such as James Ofosu, but have been able to make something of themselves

CHARACTERISATION

James Ofosu is one of the main characters in the play, Sons and Daughters, by J C Degraft. James has not had much of an education, but through hard work, has managed to provide a decent life for his wife and four children. James believes that any profession one engages in must bring in money. One’s interest in the profession is secondary. This is shown through his pressuring of Aaron and Maanan to pursue engineering and, despite the fact that they want to go into  painting and dancing respectively. To James, the sole importance of pursuing any profession is to bring in money and nothing else. He does not believe in or support any profession that will not bring in money and believes that ‘money makes the world go round.’ James also believes in the importance of education and looks up to Lawyer Bonu because of his education and solid professional background despite his shaky moral values. Because of jame’ admiration of people who have had an education and a solid professional background, James allows himself to be manipulated by Lawyer Bonu and seems to follow Lawyer Bonu’s advice blindly and will not hear or listen to anything negative about his dear friend. Despite all his faults, it is undeniable that James Ofosu’s heart is in the right place and all he really wants is to see his children succeed and that all his toils have not been in vain. James represents the small-minded attitude of many Ghanaians who believe that the only way to succeed is to pursue careers that are highly respected by society and pursuing careers in the arts like dancing, music art etc is a sure way to fail

I personally feel J C DeGraft uses his play, Sons and Daughters as a platform to highlight certain issues in the Ghanaian society. I think J C DeGraft is calling on all individuals, especially the youth to pursue their careers of interest.  The house of the Ofosus is an example of a typical Ghanaian household and the problems the Ofosu’s face are quite common. J C Degraft, himself a playwright, uses his play to inform Ghanaians that going into professions like law, business, medicine, etc are not the only paths that lead to success, and if one has an interest in any the arts, such as dancing, writing, music, etc one can also choose to pursue those as a career. I feel that either directly, or indirectly, J C Degraft in Sons and Daughters has served as an inspiration, and perhaps a mouthpiece for many aspiring writers, dancers, musicians and all those who want to pursue careers that are belittled by the society. The play pulls and encourages individuals to follow their dreams no matter what the circumstances. J C DeGraft offers one final word of encouragement in the last line of his play when Awere put it “…………………may we each be given the strength to achieve our heart’s desire on our work.”


Mimi Ansaa Koranteng

“OKAY SO I’VE BROKEN YOUR HEART, WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO????”

          Hearts don’t break; they pump so get over it!!!

On quite a few occasions girls have been the victims of a broken heart due to the actions or inactions of some of the male species. I observed that a lot of the guys that put the girls in these unfortunate conditions are unconcerned about the effect it has on the person who was once the object of their affection (or at least, seen to be). This encouraged me to talk to a few guys to find out the reasons behind their indifference to seeing girls hurt. There have been so many different situations in which girls have been hurt, whether, it’s a boyfriend of five years whom you lost your virginity to, or the guy who just pretended to like you for whatever reason, hit-and-run etc. I asked a few guys about it and came out with some interesting results.

*These are verbatim quotes that were written as they were said with very little editing.

Kwabena says ‘we’re going out, and I decide that I don’t feel the same way about you anymore, so let’s break up, I’ve broken your heart, what do you want me to do? The whole point is for us to move on, and there’s no moving on if I care that much because if I cared that much, it means we have to go back out because honestly, you don’t want to break up. The only way for me to help you is to go back out with you again,… and be nice…. and I’m not ready to do that, so what do you want me to do? So the only option is to act like I don’t care. Because sometimes when we break up, it’s bashing the guy, it’s bashing the guy that the girl is crying but we can’t honestly do anything about it because we’re going back to square one…..’

On the issue of girls being used by guys, especially with the ever popular ‘I gave him my virginity’ Kwabena says ‘Look, let me tell you, these days eh, boys are foolish, but of late girls are even worse than boys. Chale, prevention, just don’t open your legs till he puts that ring on your finger.’

Jeremy feels it could be one of three things ‘either he never liked her in the first place, his feelings faded, or it was mere lust.’

Ekow explains that the reason that guys have a hard time understanding when girls are upset is because guys are just not very emotionally sensitive. ‘If you want to talk to me, and you’re crying, I will just concentrate on the fact that you are crying and won’t really listen to what you have to say’

Kofi, who was amused by the question replied ‘ah, they don’t care, because it’s not their heart, if it’s their heart, then they will care.’ When probed further, he said ‘even if they care, they won’t show it because he has to be ‘the guy.’  

Ben had an interesting take on this issue. He felt that if the guy is close to his mother and has sisters, he will generally show respect for women, but otherwise, if all his role models are men, he wouldn’t care, or ‘maybe he’s just an idiot.‘

Some guys are convinced that the girls are the problem, and they bring the hurt upon themselves because of pressure they put on the guy or doing things to hurt guys, so, therefore feel the girls are basically asking for the hurt through the things they do. Be it through gold-digging, lying, cheating, but the thing most guys complained about was pressure and emotionally sensitive nature of girls which some found a bit overbearing.

Frank feels ‘girls are evil people so we hurt them to get back at them.  They lie, they mistake your kindness for weakness.  Sometimes, they're all over you so you just do things to hurt them to get back at them.’

James explains that sometimes we girls put too much pressure on the boys ‘dabiaa na I love you, why don’t you call me, come and see me, some boys don’t like that kind of pressure, so if you always act that way, some boys will just act cold towards you.’  

On the ‘sorry’ issue, Ryan says ‘I know I've done something wrong but I don't call you to tell you I'm sorry, but you call me or text me to tell me, and then I apologise. Then you tell me it's too late, and I'm only saying sorry because you've complained. Then the next time I do something, I apologise, and then you tell me I've already done it, and I don’t mean it, so why am I saying sorry. So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to go left or right? So next time I do something intentionally to hurt your feelings, I won’t say anything, I'll just be in the middle.' When asked why he would do something deliberately to hurt a girl, he replies, because ‘you've done something to hurt my feelings’

I was given a scenario in which a girl was visited by a boy in a car, who bought her a few gifts. Not too long after that she left her boyfriend (who did not have a car) saying, he did not seem to be going anywhere in life, and started getting involved with the guy with the car(Let’s call him Car Boy). So Car Boy analyses the situation and thinks, ‘so if I didn’t have the ride and the money, would she still be with me?’ so he has his way with her and leaves her. In this situation, is it right to say the girl brought it upon herself? Is this supporting the view of guys that girls are ‘evil’? Who do you feel is the bad person, and who is the victim?

               

                Calvin felt it was entirely the fault of girls.(Sounding just a little bit like an activist for male supremacy)’ You see, girls are very wicked and heartless and have committed a lot of atrocities towards boys, so in order to avoid being victimized, we hurt them before they can hurt us, especially, Legon girls. When they come here and their eyes open. They stand on the balcony, and they see the cars and they want it. They decide to go for guys who don’t care about them at all; guys who just want to have sex with them, just for the material gain. We see it coming so we hurt them before they can hurt us. To avoid being hurt, we put our feelings aside and act like robots.’

Roger simply says ‘girls eh, hmm, you people…..’ obviously at a loss for words.

I also realized that a lot of the ‘not caring’ is as a result of them just not being concerned about the girl, or the situation. I have observed from a few breakups that guys have an easier time moving on. If the girl is the one doing the breaking up, she usually seems torn by the decision, and in some cases, goes to ask the guy for a come-back, which usually irritates the  guy, and ultimately does not work. In cases where the guy is the one who has done the breaking up, it usually means he has taken the time to analyse the situation, weighed the pros and cons and come to the decision that he does not want to be in the relationship. Basically, it was over for him before he ended it, so he had a head start in the process of getting over it.

Nii feels “guys don't care about hurting girls they don't like/love. The fact that they might be intimately involved with a girl doesn't make them feel obliged to show love or affection towards the girl. Chances are, if a guy hurts a girl the girl either brought herself and the guy just ceased the opportunity to mess around or the guy probably did like the girl but somewhere along the line she wasn't really who he expected her to be, and could care less about dealing with her drama.”

Ian feels the guy probably doesn’t care because ‘he’s moved on, so he’s not bothered by it anymore’

            Stanley from the US, from his observations feels that a lot of the girls that get hurt by boys do so because of their desire to be with the ‘bad boy’, who have no intention of serious commitment and end up hurting the girls. Basically, by going out with those kind of boys, they have it coming. He says “it’s such a hard question; I don't always think its guys that hurt girls I think girls hurt themselves at times.  They do this by choosing the wrong type of guys

 a lot of times girls want the guy who is fun and exciting and not the guy who is a little safer. you know, but when guys are at fault they do it because of insecurity, hurt her before she hurts me type of thing,

 get out before I get too attached.’

Some guys actually disagree with that assertion that they don’t care, and feel it’s more them hiding their feelings.

Seth says ‘As much as all men/boys try to hide it they actually feel a little amount of guilt when they hurt others, especially the opposite sex. What exactly they do with the guilty feeling is what makes the difference. You see if we think you deserve to have known better and you got hurt in the end;its your fault, not mine. Would you blame the examiner if you got an answer wrong just because you failed to read instructions? So the underlying issue is that we might all feel guilty but depending on the situation in which the girl got hurt or the state of the mind of the boy; we shall never know whether it was intentional or not.

                Jeremy also says ‘I don’t think I can help you there because I don’t believe guys don’t care when they hurt women anymore than women care if they hurt someone. Remember, a lot of what guys say is pretence, but they do feel the hurt as well, even if they did the dumping. Often they are after the physical, although it may be misconstrued as an emotional attachment, but even under those circumstances, they still would rather not hurt anyone because they feel it too. ‘

                Whether it has to do with the male ego not wanting to show a softer side, or taking revenge for the ‘atrocities’ of girls, or girls being too clingy and emotional, girls have suffered a lot in the hands of guys. The purpose of this article is to find out why so both sexes can come to a resolution on the problem. A lot of guys have complained about being victimized by girls, so in the next article, I will be talking to girls to find out why they have made some boys so bitter and feel the need to hit back at them.

                As you can see, there are a lot of different opinions on this issue. I do not feel there is any single correct answer, rather, different ways of looking at it. Perhaps both sexes expect the worst of each other, and when the worst is what comes out, we do not understand why. Are guys heartless, do girls bring the hurt upon themselves by the things they do? Also is this ‘hurting’ business as a result of ‘I’ll hurt you before you hurt me’ on both sides? Shouldn’t both males and females put aside their prejudices against each other and learn to trust and care for each other a lot more? Is the whole issue about them not caring or more about not showing their emotions? You decide. My name is Mimi Koranteng, thank you very much for reading.

INTRODUCTION

Now, by the Grace of God  I'm done with school and have more time on my hands so I can start to take this blog seriously. I guess the purpose of this post is to basically give you guys an idea of what to expect from this blog. So I think and daydream a LOT. Why did this happen? What did I do to cause it? what can I do to make it better? And more importantly, what can I learn from it? I think about lots of issues happening in the world, especially Africa; why all these wars? I believe there’s a general cause but what is it? Bad leadership perhaps? Or could we also blame the attitudes of the people. (one example that comes to my mind is that of a particularly rich and so freaking potentially successful country that is unfortunately, QUITE  messed up and it’s sad because it should be nowhere near where it is right now). I think about my dear country Ghana too. We may not have as much mineral wealth and resources as some African countries but I want you guys to think about this for a second, under Kwame Nkrumah’s leadership, Ghana had the second highest per capita income in Africa, surpassed only by South Africa. That shows that its not only about what you have, but what you do with what you have and also supports the above hypothesis that bad leadership could be to blame for Africa's troubles. I think about everything being politicized in Ghana. Virtually everything is linked with the NPP and the NDC (or as Shasha Marley would say, boom-boom and waa-waa lol). Even though, I’m sympathetic to one particular party, I believe we should stop the blame game and take responsibility for our actions, and sometimes those of others, sitting around complaining won’t do JACK to change anything. I think about countries like Mexico too. Can the drug war be stopped? And to the more controversial question, should marijuana be legalized, because honestly, people have easy access to weed so really, what difference would it make?  I write poems as well. poetry serves as a form of release for me, helps me get out my feelings. Lots of my poems tend to be sad, but chale whatever man, (giving The Hand) I mean, I don’t feel what I’m writing how can I expect you to? I’m quite happy now so I’ll try to write more happy ones, currently working on (okay thinking about) a poem called smile J. I think about religion as well. I think about my faith, Christianity. Why the decline? Why don’t people believe or want to believe? Why the stereotype about Christians being boring nerds who have no life, what can be done to change it and make people more eager to give their lives to Christ? I think about Islam; I have nothing negative to say about the muslims in Ghana, but some of those outside aren’t exactly doing a great job of showing us that “muslims are peace loving peoples’ (I mean pardon me if I’m wrong but I don’t see how bombing and killing people promotes that ) . I don’t read the Qur’an so I actually don’t know what exactly is said about such violent acts. I believe (and want to believe I’m right) that those in Ghana have got it right.

A little bit about myself, I like to think I’m a nice person J. However, I suck at being fake so if I don’t like you or you irritate to me, I’m usually horrible at hiding it. I tend to worry a lot sometimes, really trying to stop. I think I’m just scared of making mistakes and regret.  I’m usually either really interested in something or I just can’t be bothered about it. I tend to be absent minded sometimes, usually when I’m not interested in what is going on, I just start to think about random things. I can’t stand being bored and sitting at one place and I hate, hate, hate monotony. I’m a little shy as well, another thing I’m trying to stop. I get self conscious sometimes so I like to be around people I feel comfortable with so most of my friends tend to be quite crazy, ESPECIALLY my male ones. Another thing I am different, I spent much of my life trying to be like everyone else, trying to fit in, but I’ve realized, that’s not what I was born to do, so I have learnt to accept, embrace my individuality. I hate getting into arguments with people, especially unnecessary ones so I try to stay away from people I feel I won’t get along with and I believe in being civil and mature about differences. If someone annoys you SAY it, but be nice about it because I’ve discovered that with lots of people, it’s how you say it that makes all the difference.  Most importantly, I am a Christian. I would be nowhere near where I am right now without God (for the sake of clarity, Jesus’ Father, I really don’t think that when we say god, we all refer to the same entity). I have been blessed beyond measure and I believe that with God, there’s nowhere left to go, but up. So I hope you like this blog, I’d really like to know what you think, please feel free to leave comments and as soon as I set up an e-mail, it shall be communicated to you so you can reach me personally.

Stay blessed all, and Enjoy your day J

x

University education in Ghana, formality??

For quite some time now, the quality of education offered in Ghanaian universities has been described by many as questionable; especially with regards to first degrees in the humanities. A lot of students also have small businesses which they start on the side while in school, then go on to do full time after work. Again, these businesses usually have little to do with what they are studying in school. I think it is safe to assume that perhaps the main benefit of university for such people would be the contacts that they have been able to make while in school. Many university graduates go on to work in places that have very little to do with what they studied in school. They manage okay, but the question is, if they are not applying what they have learnt, what’s the point of going to university in the first place?

I don’t think these issues are specific to the university of Ghana but it’s probably best to write about places I have first hand information about.

A lot of the courses treated in the humanities are not really regarded by those studying them as relevant. To avoid controversy, I shall refrain from being specific.

Perhaps, because of the large class sizes, the quality of education is compromised because the alternative would be to have most of the people stuck at home with no education. It’s a bit of a difficult situation because on one hand, we have the masses being educated, but the quality of education being offered to them suffers because the lecturers are unable to give them individual attention, and on the other hand, we could decide to reduce the intake of students in order to afford them more quality education, and deprive many others the opportunity for education. The quality of education offered in the university of Ghana business school, medical school, law school is undeniably good, and the class sizes are tiny as compared to those in the humanities.

In the university of Ghana, students are basically taught to pass exams and not much else. If this is not the case, why is it that some students do not come for lectures, some even travel and come back about two weeks to the exam period and still pass? Students are not taught to apply the courses studied in everyday life. Someone raised a point that most of the courses taught are actually relevant but we do not see this because emphasis of learning is on memorizing and reproducing and not application.

This is in no way suggesting that the universities in Ghana are not serious, but it would probably be better if the style of teaching was changed to involve a lot more application, because as it is now, it is usually a matter of chew-and –pour and some students who decide to memorise the material given them without necessarily understanding the course fare better than those who decide to actually take their time to understand what they read and I don’t know about you reading this, but I think it’s unfair.

I think because of the class sizes, the quality of education has been highly compromised and students are not getting what they can and ought to acquire from university education because the government wants more people to be catered for. Perhaps opportunities should be provided for students to go and work in the fields of their courses during the vacation and this can form part of their assessment so that students can feel that they are actually putting what they are learning to use and are not just in university for the sake of it.