A man died last week; People rejoiced!

The announcement of a certain person’s death two days before Easter was received with a blizzard of cheers and raw unadulterated jubilation. As the elders say, it is only when a frog dies that you can know its actual length! That is just the nature of frogs! Otherwise, we know frogs mainly by their annoying sounds of croaking and grunting. Whilst alive, frogs pull their limbs inside, as if permanently ready for a jump, and to hide in dark muddy corners! 

I was shaken when I heard of the death of Mr Tony Obinako (not his real name of course). That night, I could not fall asleep. I stayed wide awake, contemplating about the deep meaning of life. For the next couple of days, I was dull, very quiet and reflective. It felt as if I was watching a lengthy horror Nigerian movie. As several scenes in the awkward narrative that culminated in Obinako’s death unfolded in the imaginary movie, I asked myself: What at all do human beings want earthly properties for? 

OPEN EXPRESSIONS OF JOY

Whilst being quiet and shaken by Obinako’s death, I bore witness to very open, visible and loudly expressed joy that overwhelmed my understanding of the world. I pointed out to more than a dozen people that their expression of joy over someone’s death was very awkward and that it was even unnatural. Some said that I was weird to be surprised at their joy. The following were some of the remarks from people as they discussed Obinako’s death.

“Finally, God has done it! Glory be to God almighty!” “We thank God!” “Eh, God is really good ooh!” “We thought ghosts had lost their powers and no longer existed like in the olden days! These days, ghosts may delay in exacting vengeance but Obinako’s death is proof positive that ghosts still deliver!” “Didn’t I predict that he will die soon? You see! There was no way he would have survived the extent of wickedness he unleashed on many people!” “He got what he deserved! But it took too long for this death to occur!” “He did not deserve to live!” “His death calls for celebration! We better find a bottle of Champaign to cheer up!” “May that monster’s soul rest in hell so we can have peace! He should have gone sooner!”

Typically, it is assumed that as we grow older, we probably would have seen and experienced just about everything so cannot be surprised. But I had never heard or witnessed such a phenomenon all my life—of open expression of joy over the death of a person. How could such jubilation be explained?

HOW OBINAKO EARNED JUBILATION OVER HIS DEATH

The said Obinako was exhausting in many ways. On the exterior, he was a calm gentleman who you will not guess could hurt a fly. He was handsome with the looks to be a heart-throb for the daughters of Eve. But when you got up close and personal to him, he shocked you and caused you to doubt your ability to understand human beings. He was like a whirlpool that will rudely and violently turn your world upside down and inside out. 

The alleged crimes Obinako had committed were the types for writing novels. It was suspected that he committed two murders. There were stories about him that suggested that he was a rapist. There were several evidence of him as a schemer, liar, grabber and insensitive; and generally as a very smooth operator. He was known to have cheated people out of properties, having sold two houses that had been bequeathed to children in a Will; and squandered the proceeds from the sales. He arranged for macho-men to seek out one of his sworn enemies for an attack. 

There were attempts to get the criminal justice system to deal with him but he was so slippery that he somehow sneaked out. He was a pocket lawyer of some sort and was often seen around the court house in Accra chasing after one case or the other because he always had a number of people he had filed law suits against.

Last October, he was ordained as a pastor by one of the new breed charismatic churches. So instantly, he went under the cover of clerical protection and was spotted around town wearing a clerical collar around his neck. It was when he suddenly popped dead last week that I realized the extent to which he had hurt several people. 

Without a doubt, his death has saddened his close family members and some friends, who are mourning him. But it is the sheer number of people who have reasons to rejoice over Obinako’s death that I find very striking and unusual.

OBINAKO’S LESSONS ABOUND

There are many lessons in this story of one man dying and many people jubilating. To the best of our ability, we must strive to live flawless lives. We should treat others well and not intentionally cause them pain. It is not for nothing that various versions of the Golden Rule is found in all major world religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism): “Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.” 

Man proposes; but God disposes. As I replayed the incidents that seemed to have finally led to the death of Obinako, I came to a much fuller realization that we human beings do not understand this life. We are here today; then gone tomorrow. Everything can end instantly even whilst we are busy making other plans. Life is truly fleeting! The aspects of life we do not see may be more extensive than what we see in tangible forms.

Whilst you are busy planning wicked moves against people, remember that your maker could decide on any day to take your life away and all your evil intentions will come to nothing. The day before Obinako died, he threatened some people and bragged that right after Easter, he will unleash terror on them. He did not know that he will not be alive to celebrate Easter! Whilst he was planning, the universe had other plans for him. 

If Obinako could reincarnate, would he do things differently after eavesdropping on people’s outward expressions of joy over his death? But more specifically, what would you (dear reader) do if you were to live in the moment, with full realisation that you are not guaranteed tomorrow? How would you want to be remembered? Would you live life as a monster and wicked schemer like Obinako, over whom people will rejoice when they hear of your death and exclaim—“Good riddance”? Or you will live as a good, loving, kind, helpful person who will be greatly missed when your death is announced? Let the choice be the latter. We should all work toward attaining a progressive human-centred life.

Dorisdartey@gmail.com

A tale of two different national time-keepers

Over a period of four working days, I had the opportunity of being a member of two separate delegations to meet two of our leading duty bearers. Unfortunately, the experiences were so different; as different as night is from day. Whilst one experience was an admirable class-act, the other one was horrible and a very low-blow to decency and respect. For both encounters, appointments were scheduled about three weeks ahead and went through processes of confirmation and assurances of confirmation.

BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLE OF TIMELINESS

My first stop was at the Jubilee House for a scheduled meeting with the Vice President on a Friday. Although we were scheduled for 4pm, our 10-member delegation decided to gather at 3pm, an hour earlier to ensure that we will be together, and on time. By 3:40pm, all our team members were ready, seated in the Vice President’s conference room. At exactly 4pm, a staffer walked in to announce that the Vice President was ending another meeting so will run five minutes late. Then, at exactly 4:05pm, he walked in! With that, I bore witness to an excellent example of a duty bearer setting a beautiful example.

In a grand display of courteousness, he walked to each of us to shake hands and welcome us. The meeting went on for 45 minutes. At the end, he again walked to each of us to shake our hands and thank us for coming. The timeliness was respectful, professional and fully loaded with dignity. The experience was a best practice example that should be emulated in all state institutions. There was no wasting of our time or of his time. It occurred like a well-oiled machinery with a no-nonsense sort of efficiency. 

WORST PRACTICE EXAMPLE OF TIMELINESS

The fourth working day after Dr Bawumiah’s display of best practice time-keeping, I found myself in an awkward situation at the health ministry. Our survival depends on our good health. For that reason, I consider the Ministry of Health as one of the most critical ministries because poor handling of health could spell death. 

I was a member of an eight-member delegation to meet the Minister of Health. Four of our team members had travelled long distances for this meeting. Two came from Wa in the Upper West Region, one from Bolgatanga in the Upper East, and two from Tamale in the Northern Region. The remaining three of us were your average Accra folks. Our appointment with the Minister was scheduled for 2 pm. It had been confirmed through letters, telephone calls and face-to-face contacts. Our team decided to assemble 30 minutes earlier (by 1:30pm) to be double sure that we were on time.

By 1:40, we began to sense that something was not right. By 2:36, no one was around to see us; and we waited and waited at the reception hall downstairs—without the decency of an explanation. After our team leader pressed and literally lobbied for the powers that be to give us audience as scheduled and promised, at 3:15pm, we were invited to go upstairs to the conference room. Finally, at 3:30pm, one and a half hours after our scheduled appointment, a deputy minister appeared with an entourage of some sort. 

He gave a casual apology, explaining that he did not know anything about our appointment and that he had just been asked to meet us! At the end of the meeting, I made it my business to point out to the deputy minister that the ministry is ill, since it cannot even keep appointments. His attitude was that we should be grateful that he met us!

My take on the poor attitude displayed by the Ministry of Health is that when a person from upscale in officialdom is very late in meeting ordinary citizens, it presents a stark reminder of who is the boss. It is the person’s ego on display, and a glaring disregard for others owing to a warped feeling of self-importance.

PREZ NANA, LEAVE A LEGACY OF TIMELINESS 

How come the Vice President displayed respect toward us by being on time but the Minister of Health showed us so much disrespect by keeping us waiting for a whopping one and a half hours? In the end, he did not show up! Rather, he sent a deputy who had not been briefed about the purpose of our meeting. 

What is the policy of President Nana’s administration on timeliness? My experience at the Ministry of Health suggests that whatever good examples the presidency is setting is only skin deep and is not permeating into the fabric of government. There is no way change could occur at the top if the old mess is left to fester at the ministries, departments and agencies of governance. If the chieftains of Jubilee House respect the citizenry but their representatives do not care a hoot about us, then the president might as well stop putting in the effort!

Time is no respecter of persons. The kind universe allots to each of us the same number of seconds, minutes and hours in a day. It is 24 hours for a president or a commoner, male or female, a university professor or an unemployed depressed youth. It is the same 24 hours a day that roll into weeks, months and years. 

The interesting fact about time is that when it is gone, it is really gone! You cannot retrieve the time you wasted yesterday and make use of it today. Time is the boss and has a mind of its own. Time is the finite gift of the universe to living beings. Time is therefore a privilege. It is the quality of what we do with our time that makes all the difference. Wasting time is therefore tantamount to wasting one’s life.

When you have the majority of your population rolling by and wasting their time, they are by that wasting the national time and life. If we could compute the number of hours people waste when they go to work, the results will shock our national consciousness. Just observing the extent of idleness at some government offices gives me the chills. Some people have perfected time-wasting tactics. Chatting endlessly about inconsequential personal matters; or going on extended breaks even though they arrived very late for work. 

Indeed, laziness lurks in our national shadows! Our disrespect for time casts a large dark shadow over our collective effort to attain progress. Our national lackadaisical attitude toward time needs healing. Whatever President Nana and Dr Bawumiah could do to set the clock of Ghana to make us a time-respecting society should be done. If they succeed, it will be their greatest legacy to Ghana. 

dorisdartey@gmail.com

One household, one latrine: The success story of Ajumaim By Doris Yaa Dartey. The WatchWoman Column. 30 March, 2019

Truly, not all that glitters is gold! My recent travels to some small rural communities in the middle-of-no-where Ghana had demonstrated to me that the bright city lights of big cities probably just shine onto sub-standard existence. Accra, the city of my birth, which has become ungovernable, has much to learn from some well-functioning villages. 

AJUMAIM IS RICH, NOT POOR

I visited the small remote community of Ajumaim in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam district in the Central Region. As you enter Ajumaim, which is located on a hilly ground, the initial impression you get is that “Oh! They are really poor!” The narrow red-earth road on which you make your way to the village has a diseased surface, with holes and cracks. The thatch houses communicate deprivation. This village is like an afterthought. Yet, it is a farming community that contributes in putting food on our collective plates. 

Regardless of the usual under-development challenges they face, they have succeeded in getting their acts together. Ajumaim is a very clean village—swept clean with care and love. Plastic waste is absent. A green waste bin sits at a vantage point, empty! There is no drop of garbage anywhere. Ajumaim is a well-organized village. You can feel that there are elders in the community. There is order! There is leadership and effective local-level grass-roots governance.

In consistence with the cleanliness, every household in this community has its own latrine. No one defecates in the open. The household toilets are very clean, with no flies in sight. The toilets do not emanate any stench. Of course, the residents are very proud of this achievement. Without a doubt, the success story of Ajumaim is packed with lessons for several parts of Ghana, especially our major cities like Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale. 

The government of Ghana did not finance the construction of their household toilets. The inhabitants placed so much value on the idea of well-kept hygienic household latrines that they put their money where their hearts and values are located. 

Beneath the poverty-looking exterior, Ajumaim challenges you to rethink the concept of poverty and of development. Poverty should not just be about deprivation. One may lack in certain areas but have surplus of other requirements that enrich decent living.

HOW DID AJUMAM BECOME ODF?

From time immemorial, families in the isolated farming community of Ajumaim did not have household latrines. Whenever nature called them, they all responded with visits to the bush or an open pit public toilet —children and adults alike. That was the social norm. It was not an issue of concern. They were exposed to snakes, rain, sunshine and other vagaries of nature. But there was the matter of dignity.

Then sometime in 2016, a civil society organization visited the village and encouraged them to stop open defecation. They were receptive to the idea. A few households constructed their toilets, comprising of dug holes and slabs. But they found the slabs to be frightening because they were not firm. But in no time, new types of latrines were introduced to the community.

Looking unassuming, the Chief took a leadership role, effectively using soft power. Together with his elders, they set the rule that all homes in Ajumaim must have toilets. The district assembly got involved and sent environmental health officers to the community to encourage and guide them to construct household toilets. The intervention of the Assembly helped in increasing awareness. If the space inside their homes was inconvenient, the toilets were built a short walking distance away. 

The elders created a map of Ajumaim, which shows the location of each house. It was posted on a wall in the centre of the village for all to see. As households built hygienic toilets, the success story was marked on the community map. This highlighted households that practice open defecation for all to see. This act presented community pressure and shame, and resulted in conformity to the social dictates. 

Offenders of open defecation are fined Ghc10. The natural leaders of the town volunteer their time to go round Ajumaim to inspect the toilets. It is required that: the slabs are covered to keep flies away; the space is kept clean on a daily basis; there is a super-structure with a roof to ensure that users are protected from the rain and sun; and assures them of their dignity.

Also posted on the community notice wall are the sanitation bye-laws of the village, to which every resident adheres. The laws are successfully enforced. For the past two years, Ajumaim has been open defecation free. The Unit Committee Member, Samuel Donkor is a champion opinion leader. With an outspoken voice and a determined attitude, he is a natural leader who makes things happen. 

I entered four household toilets in Ajumaim. Of course they are not water-closets but they offer privacy, cleanliness and the high-level of dignity human beings need to keep their heads up in society. Every latrine I inspected had a tippy tap water station for handwashing.

It is estimated that the household latrines will last for about 30 years. This implies that if the community remains on this track, the children and those not yet born will cultivate the habit of using clean toilets. Open defecation will become an abnormality for the new generation, and possibly crush what was normal in previous generations.

Of the 157 communities in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District, 42 of them, including Ajumaim, are Open Defecation Free. This leaves 115 communities either practicing open defecation or using filthy public toilets, which are poorly maintained. Ajumaim has a population comprising of about 100 adults and children. It has no school. It has one water pump, which is located a long walk away.

THE POWER OF VOLUNTEERISM

Volunteers in Ajumaim contributed immensely to its open defecation free success story. Daniel Kweku Acquah is a mason, who volunteered his time and skills to construct toilets. The Assembly organized a five-day training for him and other artisans as Community Technical Volunteers to acquire the skills on proper latrine construction methods. So Acquah is skilled to give proper guidance to residents.  

Whenever a family decided to construct its toilet, they approached him and he guided them on how deep and wide they should dig, and also helped them to make the slab. Generally, the residents helped each other to construct their latrines. Hannah Baah cooks for free to feed the workers. She also inspects household latrines to ensure compliance with the neatness rules the community had collectively agreed to live by.

So today, Ajumaim can brag of being open defecation free because its citizens came together to volunteer and support each other. Love can birth human dignity.With a little help, this village can become a show-piece of development in a few years. Its success can potentially rub off positively on neighbouring communities that still practice open defecation, are unorganized, and not clean.

dorisdartey@gmail.com