Imagine a typical village in Ghana that has not been spoilt by ‘civilization.’ It is tidy. The inhabitants may not have much, may not need much – all the stuff, the excesses and trappings of ‘civilization.’ A case in point is Gbalahi, a suburb of Tamale, on the road to the landfill of the metropolis. There are the gorgeous indigenous round mud huts depicting serene family compound homes. There are no broken down vehicles packed permanently by the roadside or plastic trash flying around to spoil the look.
You can’t say the same about some major and minor urban centres. A drive through some parts of our 51 year old country reveals clutter, nonsensical footprints and signatures of neglect, confusion, chaos and indifference. Take a ride through the heart of Kumasi and suburbs of Accra especially Odokor, Madina, Adenta, Kaneshie and even East Legon and you will witness clutter. Brokenness abounds. There are multi-coloured and multi-sized shacks, kiosks and ‘containers’ as well as tree stumps and tree branches on road-sides, and ‘potholes’ next to ‘baby-coffins’ on roads.
There are also cancerous-looking zigzagged road shoulders competing for attention, without any rhyme or reason. At times, one suddenly comes across heaps of sand which do not belong on the edge of a road but is left there anyway, standing! Signboards of varied sizes and shapes are placed on road shoulders, posing dangers to road users. You could find car tyres, and signs like “Cement sold here” sticking into roads and drivers must swerve around them to save their lives. At any gutter-front and across unimaginable filth, anyone could mount a contraption of a stove to roast and sell ripe plantains – no questions asked; a living breathing restaurant across a gutter is completely acceptable. We are in a free-for-all regime in which anything goes. No voices are raised, let alone fingers of authority lifted to enforce bye-laws.
Between Accra and Kumasi, there are broken down vehicles abandoned in years past with no intent ever to be removed, but which are left permanently parked by the roadside ‘graveyard’ – rusting away quietly in the tropical sun and rains. The brokenness poses tremendous risks to motorists and all road users. Some of these broken down vehicles have their ugly rusty behinds boldly sticking into roads, waiting to usher unsuspecting folks into the afterlife where they will receive little or no welcome. Some of our roadsides look like victims of abuse, vandalism and of traumatic national disasters in the likes of tornados, cyclones, tsunamis or earthquakes.
The implications of clutter are deep. Clutter suggests confusion, disorder and a hot mess. Why is it that underdeveloped/developing societies/communities tend to exhibit more clutter than developed societies/communities? Clutter has the tendency to seep into the deep crevices of ones mind. Living in cluttered spaces can have a deep and long-lasting impact on one’s psyche, self-worth and world view. Clutter is like a smokescreen or a wall that one has to cut through to reach, see, touch and feel the beauty of the soul. Clutter is therefore covering up the beauty of our country, presenting a layering of development over under-development. Unless we pretend that clutter is just a natural and necessary aspect of hot tropical vibrancy!
The poignant words of Elle Wiesel, a holocaust survivor ring true. In a famous speech entitled: “The perils of indifference,” he said: “Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is always the friend of the enemy.” Is it that we don’t care enough? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that roadsides are not turned into ‘grave-yards’ for garbage? Why are we allowing this rapid descent into indifference until what is not acceptable becomes the norm?
How does one explain the disturbing unkempt grounds in respected organizations, and of partially chipped edges of staircases that remain broken for prolonged periods without repair? It is not uncommon to find bumps and cracks on the grounds of some organizations – all waiting for visitors to trip, fall, and break a limb or two and become handicapped and a liability to loved ones. And if you think of the sad fact that much of this country is not handicap accessible, the irresponsibility of carelessness becomes even more annoying.
Personally, whenever I feel a sense of depression or get too busy to take good care of myself, my living space becomes cluttered and my teeth begin to yellow. So I’ve pondered: Could it be that cluttered neighbourhoods in Ghana are suffering from a certain level of depression?
The growing clutter in urban and peri-urban areas cannot simply be an outcome of poverty. When I was growing up, we didn’t have much; we were for the most part poor. But there was order, not clutter. Our current growing clutter can therefore be attributed to deeper issues. I’m not a psychologist neither do I pretend to posses more than an elementary knowledge in the subject matter area. I therefore entreat some of our psychologists in our universities, our beloved ‘ivory towers’, to provide us with a more informed analysis of this matter. It is this: is there any relationship between clutter and under-development? In other words, are we lagging behind in development because of our increasing clutter and disorder?
Beauty is mesmerizing and generates peace and tranquillity. Clutter, on the other hand, is dysfunctional, ugly and annoying. Look around you – at cluttered roadsides and neighbourhoods. Envision what you would have preferred as against the continued descent into more clutter. Let’s have a national conversation on this matter. Here are a few odd suggestions.
Where are the eccentric artists in the country? Where are our Picassos? I thought every society has its own band of artists who just love to doodle around! They should take over some cluttered spaces. Save us from ourselves and bring some of our neighbourhoods to life by giving us something remarkable so we could stop and stare and admire. Colourful creative chaos of artists will definitely look better than the madness we have at Odorkor. Artists can transform selected parts of Ghana into local and foreign tourist attractions with murals and paintings. Children can join in too through school projects in “Children Colour Ghana” initiatives to express themselves.
On my treks through Ghana, I’ve noticed one odd beauty. Next door to Linda Dorr Restaurant at Bunsu, there is a small patch of field with flowers, well kept. It almost does not belong there. And it’s beautiful. We need more or such. In a tropical climate with good amount of rain water, you would think that at least for parts of the year, flowers would decorate our horizon. For instance school children could nurture shrubs, fruit plants and flowers on main roads near their schools. Flowers can brighten up attitudes and calm the nerves. Or, we are too consumed with ‘bread-and-butter’ daily bread issues to bother about decorations and ornamentations! Not!
As a country, should we consider instituting a “National Clutter Alleviation Day” to ease off some of the ‘ghetorization’ of our neighbourhoods and the increasing expanse of clutter and disorder that seems to be growing and engulfing us? Or – never mind: Once upon a time, there was a ministry for the Beautification of the Capital City! Whatever it accomplished is nothing to write home about.
No comments:
Post a Comment