My Dream Road Sign!

That feeling when what you've been missing arrives, then you realise just how much you needed it, and you can't believe you've lived life without it (how did you even do it). That's how I felt when I saw my dream road sign.
And then I researched and found out that my dream road sign already exists, except it doesn't seem to be in use in Ghana, where I'd say it's very much needed. It wasn't included in the signs I had to learn and was tested on for my driving test (DVLA, really!!!). Unless it wasn't in existence at that time.

You know how it is like when you use a particular road so much that you could practically draw it in your sleep. You know where all the potholes are, or so you thought. And then one day you use this road knowing there's a pothole at a particular spot you can't avoid, but since you know this road so well, you know the speed with which you should go over the pothole, only for you to pass over this pothole and realise just how wrong you were. The rains and drivers with need for speed plying this road frequently, have resulted in that pothole metamorphosing into a pit.

You weren't supposed to drive over that pothole! You were supposed to stop, get out of the car, and push it over the hole! Too late, your car is most likely already damaged.
It really would be helpful if some warning was given as soon as you got onto that road. In other parts of the world, they're nice enough to give you this warning.

Not in Ghana.
But all's not lost, because I discovered this one right here in Accra.

No need to design new road signs. Roads and Highways, you know what to do!

The thing I don't get is there isn't a single pothole on that stretch of road, so why the sign?

We are One!

Oh my!
I haven't blogged in like forever (that'd make me forever, forever years old?)
So, I saw something today, that got me thinking, and then I thought and thought and thought, and decided to put this piece together.
It's not like I don't think on a regular basis, it's just what I saw got me thinking enough to want to put this together. And it's not like I don't see things on a regular basis either (trust me, driving in Ghana, you will see things paa).

For example there was this day I was in traffic, when I saw a trotro (bus) come to what appeared to be a stop (what appeared to be because it was still sort of moving but very slowly) and then a stone dropped, then the trotro came to a complete stop. After a few minutes, the stone was lifted up, and then the trotro went on its merry way.
Figuring out what had happened had me in stitches (I actually forgot I was sitting in annoying good ol' Accra traffic and running late for work).
This is what I figured out: The brakes of the trotro do not work, so the driver had a stone in the bus tied to a string. When he wants to stop, he gradually brings the bus to a stop using the gears, and then drops the stone next to the front tyre to bring the bus to a complete stop (ingenious huh?) I so wanted to get a picture of that, but the trotro moved before I could. But really, how is this bus still on the road? Does it have a roadworthy certificate? Is it roadworthy?
That's not what this post is about anyways, so moving on...

This morning, on my way to work, there was this car in front of me, and I couldn't believe what I saw inside.

NPP & NDC together, side by side

Yes, souvenirs of the two leading political parties (yeah, I stand to be corrected by anyone who does not want to accept that Ghana really is a two-party state) in Ghana.
Interesting.
And then the driver turned into the yard of the Ghana National Fire Service, that's when I saw the driver dressed in uniform. He's a fire officer. Then my mind went into overdrive. Working for the Fire Service means he is working for the government. To be on the safer side, he represents both political parties equally in his car. After all, we really do not know who will come out the victor in the upcoming elections, and he wants to keep his job. Yep, that must be it.

But seriously, it had me thinking. That's how it should be. It's not a do or die affair. We should all just chill. We are Ghanaians, aren't we? Side by side, working together, we can make Ghana a better place, transform Ghana and change lives for all of us regardless of what our political affiliation is.

Let's remember to put Ghana first before any political party.
We are one!

The Oxymoron of Our Presidency

An oxymoron is defined as a phrase in which two words of opposite meanings are brought together. Eg.
1. Clearly Misunderstood
2. Exact Estimate
3. Small Crowd
4. Open Secret
5. Happily Married (very debatable)

Writers often use an oxymoron to call attention to an apparent contradiction, and it does cause the reader to pause and think for a bit.
So, I have paused, and I am thinking...
Better Ghana?
I still don't get it. Ghana hasn't been better for me since 2012 (but that is what I was promised). Unless it gets better before the next election.
Has Ghana been better for you?

Now it's,
#TransformingGhana
#ChangingLives
and we haven't yet seen the bettering of Ghana.
But, transforming Ghana from what to what? Who put us here? Changing lives from what to what? Again, who put us here?

Where does the campaign team of President Mahama get all these oxymoron of campaign messages? These are just campaign messages. I don't want to get started on the messages from the government.

Honestly, I'm starting to think of another addition to the definition of an oxymoron (if there isn't already a word for it). A phrase/sentence should be thought of as an oxymoron too, when it is made by a particular person/group of people.

Nope, I am still not into politics.
That just means no one political party has convinced me beyond reasonable doubt that they are ready, able and willing to actually make Ghana a Better Ghana, Transform Ghana and Change Lives.

Still We Get It Wrong?

Let's say there's a sanitation problem in my city. Before I go making noise about it and complaining that whichever person or body is in charge of ensuring the city is kept clean, isn't doing their job well, wouldn't it make sense to first clean the gutter in front of my house, weed my front lawn, encourage my neighbours to do same, and other neighbourhoods as well, then, I mobilize them all, so we make noise about the general sanitation problem? Or?

It takes about an hour for me to drive from my house to work. I leave home at about 7am and (hopefully) get to work by 8am. By 7am, I'd say day broke about an hour and a half before and the sun's most likely out.
This morning, I set off from my house, drove through my neighbourhood, through quite a number of streets in Accra and I couldn't help but admire the bright lights. Oh no, not from the sun, but from the outside lights of some houses and some shops (which weren't even open). I encountered these bright lights all the way, through where I live to where I work. This happens every morning. The bright lights, I encounter in different areas depending on whether there is a dum or a sor in a particular area.

How about we get our house in order then we make noise? I won't deny that there's a problem in the country now and we (myself inclusive) are really suffering. But has anyone stopped to ask how we got here? Has anyone stopped to ask how they contributed to us getting here? Oh yeah, trust me, we all contributed. Yeah, there's a higher power we can lay all the blame on, but bottom line is, we all had a part to play.

So yeah, #dumsormuststop
Have you played your part to ensure #dumsormuststop?
And yeah, I love my Ghana, that's why I speak out (spare the rod...), but still, we get it wrong! And oh, I didn't even vote in the last elections or the one before. So, suffice to say I have no political inclinations?

Efua Dentaa Relief Fund

Warning!!! This is going to be a very long post. I got to make up. It's been ages since I've been here.

Quite a number of things have happened over the last week. There was valentine's day. I don't really care much for val's day. It just usually takes away the shine from my birthday. I don't believe I have ever received a val's day present and a bday present all in the same year ever. I usually get one and it's for both days or I just get a bday present. Why? Cos my birthday is the day after val's day. The only perk I can think of for having my birthday so close to val's day is that people will always remember my birthday. Well of course, there are always those moments when people call me on val's day or the day before to wish me a happy birthday (cos they know it's somewhere near val's day but they aren't too sure of the exact day). I'd say the one that really really did it was when one friend of mine called me up on val's day a couple of years ago and said, and I quote "happy belated birthday in advance". Seriously?

So, after val's day was my birthday. Yay! I'm a year older, wiser, smarter (I hope) and I am forever grateful for all my blessings. And then the day after my birthday, my house got broken into by burglars. Why some people choose not to work and break into the houses of those of us that work to make an honest living beats me. Why don't they just do what Kwaku Doe does and beg on the streets for money if they don't want to work. At least that could be considered as making an honest living. Yeah, so I am down, trying to get over that. I am still angry especially thinking of the stuff they took but at least it happened during the day while I was at work so then I wasn't around and I didn't get hurt. It seems that's the new trend in Ghana. Thieves breaking into your house during the day when there's no one at home instead of at night. At least that ways, no one gets hurt in that process. Anyways, yes, I am still accepting contributions to the "Efua Dentaa Relief Fund". Just let me know if and when you would want to contribute :D

This post has already got real lengthy (I am seriously considering breaking it up into 2 different posts). Yes, I will break it up into 2 and tackle the issue I wanted to from the get go in another post (ok, so that means I got to rename this one. Yep, I got just the right title).

The original post I wanted to put up will be up later this week (probably tomorrow).