What do you think hampers the patronage of Open Source in Ghana?

...Sounds on da ground and seens on the see-ins

There has been a lot of controversy in Ghana lately about the recent National Honours Awards and who deserves awards and who should be giving them out. Naturally, we would want 'Ghana' to give out these awards and not the president of the nation or a bunch of people with various interests. So what if Ghana was a person? What would Ghana have to say to its people? If Ghana was a monarchy, the king would be Ghana. We don't have that. My buddy, Okyeame Kwame personifies Ghana in his Kwame Ghana song and tells us what Ghana has to say to its people. 6th march 1957 was a Wednesday while July 1st, 1960 was a Friday. Maybe Kwame Ghana's message sums up the thoughts of Okyeame Kwame, who after all is a Ghanaian as well.

Okyeame Kwame is a hiplife musician from Ghana. He is an original member of Akyeame, one of the first rap duos in Ghana. He's one of Ghana's finest rappers and one of the most respected. His first solo album was Bohye ba and he followed it this year with M'awensem (my poetry). Songs on his second album take the form of stanzas (mostly four lines). Some of his tracks include Medo mmaa nanso mempe mmaa, Woso, Odo nkyen, Tutu, Mbre, Mate ahwe ne do mu, Hello Maame, etc.

Kwame Ghana starts out like a dirge. Kwame Nsiah Appau is not happy about the current state of Ghana. He argues that Ghana is not happy with itself, apparently, it (he/she) is dying. The lives being lived by its children is killing Ghana softly. Okyeame Kwame talks about a number of social vices bedevilling Ghana and many other issues it is facing. According to him, Ghana is not alone as he mentions various African countries who he believes are in more or less the same predicament.

Okyeame makes a reference to monarchies. He talks about how a chief sells a piece of land to two different people. This is a small window to present the larger problem of land ownership. Prices of land in Ghana are shooting through the roof, especially around the metropolitan areas. The land tenure system has failed to do its job and different peopel claim to own different pieces of land. This is one of the greatest bottlenecks facing local and foreign investors alike. We need to get our land ownership system more organized and in turn push for better expansion of our metropolitan areas and planning of new settlements and communities.

The journalists and media are not left out as they are accused of fanning the partisan and tribal conflicts in Ghana. Kwame Ghana calls out to his doctors to have mercy on his citizens by accepting their salaries and desisting from strikes, etc. The people who pay the doctors are different from those who normally benefit from their services. The people who pay the doctors don't use the Korle Bu and Komfo Anokye facilities and they don't seem concerned about upgrading their facilities to an appreciable level. These people can't be the Ghana that is crying out to. The Ghana personified in Okyeame Kwame's song consists of the common Ghanaian who doesn't have access to the best medical facilities, education or financial opportunities. They won't be giving car loans because they wouldn't earn enough to pay them back and they don't have the financial muscle to benefit fully from the transport systems. They also have to live with the bad transport infrastructure which while improving, is not up to par.

Kwame Ghana is standing at the Kotoka Airport and admiring the faces of people travelling to seek greener pastures abroad and those returning to visit families. Increasingly, more people are coming to seek opportunities in Ghana where they believe they can become the next Ernest Chemists, Unique Trust or Databank. Ghana has seen its children through their education, bearing most of the cost and watches them send their skills abroad for better compensation. Ghana is too disorganized and nepotismized for an average person to make it. How can we retain our talent? If there is no space for them at home, can we at least have a say in what they do with the skill, where they achieve further training and enjoy the benefits?

The Rap Doctor could not leave out corruption which seems to be the biggest symptom in many ailing African countries. He starts with the government as usual and how they misuse money allocated for building and tidying up him aka Ghana the person. There are many instances of money mismanagement. For a start, we need to dedicate more money to the GETFund, we should not hold up the progress of our educational facilities for ransom. We have to follow through with all the good ideas, the school feeding program, National Health Insurance Scheme, amongst others. We don't want garnished walls and beautiful gardens when we can't pay our electricity bills or afford a generator.

In an indication that the moral decadence in Ghana has reached another level, Okyeame complains about same-sex marriages as well. He laments sexual relations at work (managers and secretaries) which ultimately lead to broken homes. Some people may see the latter situation as a class-leveller, a secretary who is in the middle class enjoys some rich class privileges as per her relations with her boss. How many stories had you heard of people in Ghanaian companies rising through the ranks to take up more responsibility? Look at our government, it's a rotation of positions and there is little initiative and creativity in growing our ministries, businesses and communities.

For some of you, Ghana is not dying. Okyeame Kwame and I will like to hear arguments to the contrary. Like I argued in my last blog entry, Ghana has a lot going on. The Ghana is crying out to its children not to neglect it and support it through thick and thin. We have to be more responsible, disciplined, self-sufficient and organized. We don't want our country to sing out dirges for our schools, hospitals, etc. Collectively, we can give Ghana life and a life worth living.

Full Kwame Ghana lyrics, audio.
Photo by Cimpsy

Do you think the use of Linux and Open Source Software will bring out the expertise of IT professional and enthusiast in Ghana? Do you think this will also help Ghana realize its dream of having a spot on the worlds technology industry?

Hey Osagyefo,

Please don't put me into your bad books due to this long silence. I have been thinking about you but I was preoccupied with thinking about my classes rather than dedicating time to preparing a letter to you. After all, no one is paying me to do this, but my classes are supposed to get me paid in the future. Eventually. So appreciate my efforts, Kwame, I am not being corrupted. I surely don't need any brown envelopes to share my thoughts on our beloved nation. Now think of those who are actually supposed to serve our nation. It's their job to do it. They are the ones whose jobs have been clouded in the controversy called corruption. It's a canker, but what can we do about it?

Corruption has become part and parcel of our culture that it is easy to overlook it. I was trying to think of corrupt practices I witnessed or engaged in when I was back home in Ghana and it took me awhile to count a few. The most popular culprits are the lawmakers themselves. If it's not the Christmas present you are handing out then it's the little widow's mite to the police for 'taking care' of us. If it's not the few cedis you are paying to save wasting a few minutes of going to the police station, it is the on-the-spot fine for speeding. But is there a spot fine for overspeeding? What are the rules on traffic offences? Ghanaians are not educated about road traffic rules but we complain about the bribery, corruption and punishments nonetheless.

A friend told me just the other day that I should prepare to go home and get one of those government contracts. "We for chop the money some". It seems the corruption is here to stay and you are better off putting yourself in a position to benefit than to complain about it. Is that how it worked in your time, Osagyefo? Was there any transparency in how contracts were awarded? Is it a crime to be friends with those who create the opportunities? In Uncle Sam's country, it is called networking. The processes are as transparent as they come but in the end, everyone hires someone he/she trusts. Maybe in Ghana, people hire those they trust where the trust is built on friendships, and family ties. What am I missing here?

People say the black man is corrupt. The white man buys into it as well. Power can corrupt anyone, even if/when the person who does not wield the power. I was at an African business conference the other day and the issue of corruption came up. We love these foreign businesses that try to get a presence in Ghana. They claim to fight corruption by not budging to the various demands but am sure they balance the books and look at the numbers, and eventually give in. As a result, we have low quality projects going up around Ghana and instead of building infrastructure, we are stuck with improving existing ones.

While we discuss how to prevent people from being corrupt and being corrupted, let's seek to fish out how to build our economies and industries more efficiently and effectively. There is too much disorganization in various public setups in Ghana to control wrongdoing. Kwame, we need discipline, first and foremost. When you have systems that don't work and require so much creativity to get by day in and day out, people will take advantage of the cracks in the system. The sad thing is, the richer are the ones primed to do so, in addition to those who are friends with the elite, and this does not bode well for national development and wealth creation.

Corruption seems to be the biggest deterrent for people who want to invest in Ghana. Ghanaians abroad know more about this than anyone. When they visit Ogyakrom, it is one of the first things they realise, it is unlike what they see in Western countries. This is the group that should be leading the charge against indiscipline, disorganization and corruption. Ghanaians abroad should not only be seeking to take advantage of government contracts; it would not solve the problems. We should give power to the common citizen, the entrepreneur and the hard worker. Power here represents opportunity, capital and resources.

Kwame, it is easier written than done. The highest position in the land seems to go to the highest bidder. How much did you bid in the run up to 1957? But like I said, no one is corrupting me to discuss corruption. Someone just gave me an opportunity. Thou shall give corruption no daylight. Thou should send some small cash though, there is nothing corrupt about that.

Yours truly,
Maximus.

We all do know that unique problems call for unique solutions. Africa, being unique, could only be saved if Africans could think outside the box when solving the problems of the land (Text book knowledge only provides complementary guidance!). In their quest to relieve the continent of fake and substandard drugs, Ashifi Gogo et al. (AKA Mpedigree) have provided an African-viable mechanism to help the sick ascertain the genuineness of their prescribed medicine. Ashifi et al. realized the popularity of cellular phones in Africa and thus came up with a simple mobile technology that would enable almost every Ghanaian (rich or poor, rural or urban) verify whether or not a medical product is fake. Their approach is indeed a TROPICAL SOLUTION FOR A TROPICAL LAND! I have attached a progress report of their work below for public use. All are invited to enjoy the elegance of their work and also to make any useful suggestions

The GhanaThink call to action is "Less talk, more action" and over the years I've been personally motivated by this call. It has forced me to re-evaluate what it means to do more and talk less. In fact, it is a lot harder to take action than to talk about taking action. And I have found that until you take action, you do not really know what you are talking about.

Talking is good, to some extent. It exercises your mind and forces you to articulate your ideas. But to what end? I believe, talking should only serve the purpose of convincing others to join you in taking action. i.e. talking is a recruiting tool. Any other use is probably a waste of time for both the speaker and the audience.

Part of my excitement about GhanaConscious has always been driven by the belief that it was possible to form a community of Ghanaian practitioners online where one could return time and again to get inspiration to take more action. To that end, in the early days of GhanaConscious, there were occasional purges of the member rolls to remove those members who had signed on merely to observe or distract others. Controversial yes, but ultimately more effective in encouraging the right kind of community to form.

I never hoped for it to be a talking shop devoid of action. And so I am disappointed to see that the discussions on this forum have taken a decided turn in the direction of the hypothetical. "What if somebody?" instead of "I have done this and am looking for more ideas". This risks us becoming irrelevant and ineffective.

Please join me in calling out the talking heads and instead encourage the action-takers. Remember, Ghanaians have never had a lack of good ideas so merely spewing out ideas isn't impressive. What we have historically lacked are decisive action-takers. There are few people who have acted with conviction that and convincingly made a great impact on our national life--Kwame Nkrumah, J J Rawlings, Apostle Kwadwo Safo, Reggie Rockstone. For good or ill, they tried to do something good. They used words to convince others to join their cause, not to show off how "intelligent" they are. Let us learn lessons from the best among us.

"Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

Do you really think that open source will make an impact in Ghana? I will lke anyone interested to get back to me so we can start discussion on it. Thanks.

i have something rare to offer, a natural and raw talent. i ve always loved to act. writing scripts come to me naturally. the movie industry needs me. i dont want to be one of the many disappionted people who never had the oppoutunity to discover their dreams. i want to be helped. i know i have got what it takes. the ghanaian movie industry needs a face lift. we are trying hard but not hard enough. there are so many talented people out there and those who can help us are not making the efforts to. my contact is +233244875678, my email, sandybaby5526@yahoo.com. i hope some miracle will happen and someone will actually call me and be willing to part take in the making of a great actress. thanks

...Sounds on da ground and seens on the see-ins

Countless people have asked me about my three month stay in Ghana. Everytime the question is asked, I give a slightly different answer. The default thing to say is - it was great. I normally prefer pointed questions - my indecisiveness cripples my answers to such general questions. My stay in Ghana inspired and taught me a lot, it made me understand how various things work in Ghana (especially in industry) and how comfortable or uncomfortable I could find myself in my own land. Most people seek out my opinion on going back, and my answer is always the same - eventually I will go back and soon. Why would I? My friend Becca would help out here with her song called Ghana.

Becca is an Afro-pop singer from Ghana. She's a new school type of Ghanaian musician, young, educated, singing in English with some pretty good music videos. A lot of her colleagues have grown up influenced by rhythm and blues more than highlife or afro-fusion, but she chooses to sing the Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Miriam Makeba type of tunes we'll still be listening to in 20 years. I admire her talent and hardwork and believe she will go places. Other songs on her debut album include U lied to me (Kwabena Kwabena), I love you (which she did with South African legend Hugh Masekela), Why (King Ayisoba), Hey baa, Sugar, Naughty Girl and Hello.

The song 'Ghana' was done to commemorate Ghana's golden jubilee in 2007. It is not very easy to write songs to commemorate 50 years of freedom/hardship, and the songs that were made on the subject vary greatly. Becca's song chose to celebrate the stage at which Ghana is, and the positive outlook we can draw from the present situation. She wishes for a united Ghana that sings one song, tells one story and buys into a single vision.

According to Becca, we got a lot going on. This line struck me so hard when I first listened to the song. Ghana indeed has a lot going on. For one, we just discovered oil aka black gold and production is set for early 2009. We believe it will give us the needed capital to invest in excellent infrastructure that would help our businesses take flight. Our people are resilient, innovative and creative enough to succeed in the face of unreliable power and amenities as well as many other unforeseen circumstances. The Ghanaian economy is booming and there are many opportunities for people to take advantage of. The middle class is not huge enough to support the introduction and success of many services but we are getting there. Many university graduates are not getting the jobs they were prepared for but for the entrepreneurs amongst them, there are many sectors that can delve deep into and succeed.

"Red, gold, black, and green; Our land, our dream". Our forefathers fought tooth and nail to secure our freedom. Our mineral resources are thankfully still available even though we don't seem to own them as much any more. We've had our flood problems, but I will say we are not in environmental trouble. People claim that to get to the level of development we seek, we must industrialize and pollute at the same time. We must not repeat the mistakes of the people we learn from. Our 'blackness' associates us with the African peoples who are in close proximity to us and we share similar problems, aspirations and dreams. What is our dream though? What is the Ghanaian dream? This is where Becca leaves us hanging. Is it any one person's job to define the Ghanaian dream? Do we need a vision, a fantasy of what and how success is achieved? I postulate that Ghana's dream should be a nation with bearable costs of living, high standards of living, and adequate infrastructure to help its citizens achieve their dreams independently and independent of outside help or sources.

What is that one tongue Becca says we'll speak? English? The principles and tenets of Christianity? The do's and don'ts of a national anthem? The constitution? We have managed to avoid a major civil or tribal war and that is remarkable. We won't separate like Becca puts it. We haven't done a great job protecting our culture, because we are losing our grasp of our language. And the educated youth have not lost their command of our culture through any of their doing, their elders have failed to instill it in them. We can't afford to lose interest in what makes us, or our history, traditions and culture. We must protect our future, for ourselves, for our children and our future. We are Ghana what is and if we don't care all that would be left of us would be our names, and the bits of our language that we understand.

It's difficult to get excited if we don't know what is going on. We have failed to communicate our successes to our people. We see a lot of huge residential establishments sprining up in Accra but we don't know where they are coming from. How are we going to continue building our country if we don't know how those who came before us built it? We have role models amongst us and we must identify, praise, study and duplicate them. Becca says we'll toil the earth and research but we need the tools and resources to do so.

We need to bring our books to date. We've been slowed by political setbacks and development agendas cut short. It's great that we have a stabilized democracy and nation now, but we've had that for about 16 years now, it's time to put the positives into the pockets of our people. This is where we must recharge our cells for the last lap and put in the extra effort. We need to do this as quickly as possible, even to the tune of crippling our economy so that we can achieve our collective dreams. If we don't act fast enough, some of us may give up.

Ghana, keep moving on Ghana. Keep moving on Ghana, keep moving on Ghana, keep moving on Ghana, keep moving on Ghana. Let's not give up, let's took to the positive things we do day in and day out, and let's believe that we can change the things we hate to see day in day out. Keep educating your neighbour on cleanliness. Keep pushing your friend to return to Ghana and see what has changed. Keep encouraging your colleague who just can't get that economic theory. Keep keeping on. We can't stop now, we got a lot going on. Wontsei o!!!!!!

Full Ghana lyrics, audio, video. Photo by Amaah, a Ghanaconscious member

Warning: Objects in this article may appear farther than they really are!

My wife says my proposal wasn’t romantic because I, unlike the westernized folks, didn’t get on one knee to ask her to marry me! What she probably has forgotten or failed to appreciate because of unnecessary imitation (or better yet, copy-catting) of the white man’s culture, is the nice traditional marriage I gave her: What is more romantic and more elegant than the Ghanaian marriage ceremony. Firstly, the man’s family goes to the woman’s family to seek her hand in marriage. “Our son would like to pluck a beautiful flower nurtured in this house”, the spokesperson of man’s family craftily says. After the woman’s family concedes to the marriage, the man’s family organizes an elegant ceremony where they display and offer an array of beautiful cultural items like pure gold, colorful kente cloths and a heavy dowry to the female’s family as a token of their great appreciation. The display of both culture and items, the choice of words of the ceremonial spokesmen, and the evolution of the Ghanaian way of marriage, in my eyes, carry lots of not only romanticism but also meaning and symbolism.

{Aside: There are mixed feelings about whether or not the display of these elegant but expensive cultural items are worthwhile. In my opinion, our ancestors, being great thinkers, envisioned marriage as a serious event and thus required men to show their seriousness about their decision to marry by incurring such huge but well-intended costs. This could be an explanation to the extremely low divorce rates in the past: Any man, knowing the humongous fore-costs of marriage, would not even think about marrying if all he wanted to do is to “hit and then run (ie only having sex)”. It was also appropriate that culture required the man to incur the costs of marriage since men, in the past, had more authority on divorce decisions. In our modern world where divorce could be initiated by either party, however, I think culture should require both parties to incur marriage costs so that neither party would find an incentive to marry unless he/she is serious about it. This would help curb the rampant divorce rates in our modern times .}

Unfortunately, my wife is not the only person suffering from “Westernized Mentality Syndrome (WMS)”. My friend almost labeled me “NOT GENTLE” to say the least (the actual adjective my friend used was even harsher—UNCOUTHED) for having not developed the habit of opening car doors for ladies. However, this is the same guy who laughed at me when I took off my hat when greeting my grandfather’s friend. When did it become cool to adore someone’s culture but ignore our own (which should rather be more superior at least in our eyes). If pressed to rate these two events (ie respect for the elderly and opening doors for women), I would say respect for the elderly is more important by any standards than the western courtesy of opening doors for females. Personally (and the reader can feel free to disagree), opening doors is just an unnecessary burden anyone should incur as this is huge waste of time especially if it’s done on a daily basis. We could save substantial amount of precious time if each party opens his/her own door! To be clear, so I am not misinterpreted, it’s inevitable for a man to help a woman when, say, she is carrying a huge load of goods as women are physically not as strong as men; however, constantly doing things that a toddler easily does for him(her)self with no assistance, in the name of so-called courtesy, is a complete waste of time. Despite the lack of meaning and value of most western culture, it remains a puzzle why Ghanaians strive to be like the west, and in the process and rather unfortunately, lose their own identity: I can’t count the number of times I have come across Ghanaians who look like Ghanaians but strives desperately to act like Americans or British.

{Aside: A friend of mine observed that hiding one’s identity is negatively correlated with one’s education. In other words, less educated Ghanaians are more likely to act westernized!)

WMS is spreading more rapidly than the HIV syndrome. Very unfortunately, WMS is giving rise to the proliferation of symptoms worse than the above mentioned: It’s definitely not by coincidence why the typical so-called civilized(westernized) Ghanaian woman doesn’t know how to cook even the simplest Ghanaian dishes. I was unfortunate to be a part of a group of Ghanaian boys who happened to taste the jollof rice of a Ghanaian lady who volunteered to cook for us; I never knew Jollof could be as bitter as paracetamol (and this is no exaggeration). Because most Ghanaian wives in our recent world don’t know how to cook, most families are at the mercy of their maidservants (imported from the village) or the outside restaurants. Quite paradoxically, instead of feeling ashamed of their cooking skills, the so-called civilized Ghanaian ridicules the ethically trained Ghanaian woman, whose cooking skills are inferred just from the aroma of her dishes, for being collo(quial), that is belonging to the 17th century.

Cooking is just a tiny bit of the imminent threat of the loss of our Ghanaian pride and identity. Most Ghanaian men can gracefully put on flying ties within a twinkle of the eye but it remains a mystery how they tend to look like caricatures when they try hard to put on traditional clothes; we rattle English but stammer at our own language; worse of all, we laugh at the guy who speaks his language with uttermost dexterity and prowess. Instead of the fellow being an idol, he becomes a comedic entity showered with all sorts of belittling names like “Green”, “Kumasiano”, “local”, etc. Our voting pattern reveals tremendous favor shown toward the folk who is able to speak both English and Twi like the white man. When did it become a big deal to not “know English” but no deal to be ignorant of one’s own language? If we don’t do something now, our children and grandchildren would be more cultureless and would have no identity.

Our culture and traditions are what make us Ghanaians and not Americans. Just as Toyota strives to distinguish itself from the other car manufacturing companies, we ought to not feel shy promoting our own. Democrats are known by their beliefs and practices and they accentuate these features so they are not mistaken for Republicans. I understand comprehensively that, we should weed out the unhealthy Ghanaian practices like Trokotsi (the vestal virgin), female genital mutilation, and the others, that are rather detrimental to societal growth; however, there are other distinguishing aspects of our culture that need to be proudly promoted and accentuated anytime everywhere. These include but not limited to Respect for the old age, Admiration of the Ghanaian values and culture, the Ghanaian Dance, Our language, Our way of organizing ceremonies like marriage, naming, and funeral, to mention a handful. These are what make us unique and there are no better substitutes for them. Let’s remember that, the bad doctor who took care of the sick until the good doctor came to take over need not be betrayed! Saying the same in our ancestors words, “Okomfo bone a, woatena oyarefoo ho ama okomfo pa abe to no no, yennyi ne mma”

Hey Osagyefo,

I've been back in Yankee for about two weeks now. I am sorry for not notifying you earlier, I wanted to settle in first. I am happier about being back now, a new quarter has started, I've spoken to a number of friends and loved ones, enjoyed fast internet for a while now, you know. I don't think I know much about what's going on in Ghana, even though there are countless media outlets to keep me informed. It just doesn't look the same you know. A discerning Ghanaian abroad may hear people making a big deal about one political party threatening fire and brimstone if an election goes a certain way on radio, but to the Ghanaian at home, there is nothing burning and no signs of smoke. but I never paid much attention to these popular news outlets online when I was home but I am stuck with them now. Where did the other sources of news and information go?

Osagyefo, I know the answer. These other sources of news and information stayed behind in Ghana when I boarded that Delta flight. I travelled with a couple of newspapers; the Daily Graphic issue which reported our famous win over the Green Eagles of Nigeria, a Graphic Showbiz, a Graphic Sports and a Jive issue. You can call them souvenirs but believe you me, there are some interesting bits of information in those newspapers that never made it to any webpage. Kwame, are those of us abroad hearing all the news and information we need to hear from Ghana? We can't hear all of it, but is some important info being hid from us? Should we care? Do we need to know? After all, we are not tax-payers and effectively disenfranchised from helping govern and constitute our country. Do we even want to be 'in the know'?

Kwame, how did you get information on what was transpiring in Ghana when you were abroad in Yankee and Longdon? I cannot imagine a time without cellphones or computers with internet. Actually, I can, I experience those times about 10 years ago. But we had phones then, and a reliable postal system, television, radio, among others. Kwame, did any of your local radio stations have news programming covering the African continent? Did you request letters from relatives asking for the juiciest gossip back home? Those must have been the hardest times for an international student. Did you always know you would go back to Ghana to fight for independence? Is that what you discussed with the few African students you met as you pursued academic excellence?

The one who is willing to keep tabs on Ghana's life day in and out can find it. There are thelistening to radio morning shows which are broadcast online, streaming of television, websites of the print media and countless media sites packaging the news. The trick here is, these media outlets cannot communicate the pulse of the people. I doubt I can blog about what's going on in Ghana by reading Ghanaweb everyday. Yes, I have to be at the front-lines, but for many reasons known and unknown to the children of Ogyakrom, we can't be at the front-lines. These reasons would generate enough paragraphs for another letter so I will postpone any further mentioning. Maybe, I might as well not need to be at the front-lines, most white-collar workers in Ghana have Ghanaweb as their homepage and their news source. It may be expensive to secure a great broadband connection but when you aggregate the costs of buying newspapers, you may very well stick with Ghanaweb. This is a wake-up call to Ghanaian newspapers, you got some online competition.

Osagyefo, I can call home every now and then to get the pulse of the nation. Most of the people commenting on Ghanaian news online are in the Diaspora, but you and I know for a fact that Ghanaians at home are always discussing the news, especially politics. We will never know what they are saying and how different they feel about the issues as opposed to the 'remitting Ghanaian populace'. It's easy to see that you need to be with the people to make any meaningful impact on them, because even the Diasporean Ghanaians look home for the latest and best music, the gossip and news, and the new business opportunities. The only exception to this rule may be the case of the foreign based players versus the local ones. You can check, but very little is publicized about our local sports (leagues, etc) as opposed to keeping track of our sports stars plying their trades in foreign lands.

The Black Stars may be the passion of the nation but we have all seen that that passion is not very sustainable. The politics discussions, the rally cries of better costs of living, the hopes for better standards of living and effects of overbearing petrol prices dominate the news and the minds of Ghanaians at home all through the year. Ghanaians abroad for the most part are clueless about the real situations and the countless media websites are inadequate mouthpieces. So Osagyefo, what should we do and what can we do? If we know only 20% of what Ghana is going through, can we possibly and realistically contribute 50% of what Ghana needs? Or should we just bide our time like you did and return to create positive change?

Osagyefo, I know you are abroad like I am but help me figure these things out. Call your family in Nkroful if (because) you have to, and let's get the real picture. Tell your family in Nkroful that it is their job to keep us informed because we don't want to be strangers to our own home even if we choose not to visit or take active interests in it. Akosua Mansa is more interested in telling me how much she misses me while Efo Kafui is looking to spend some of the paycheck money that's yet to arrive. Ghanaians at home must also get their mind right to right ours.

Join me,
Maximus.

Hey Osagyefo,

I've been back in Yankee for about two weeks now. I am sorry for not notifying you earlier, I wanted to settle in first. I am happier about being back now, a new quarter has started, I've spoken to a number of friends and loved ones, enjoyed fast internet for a while now, you know. I don't think I know much about what's going on in Ghana, even though there are countless media outlets to keep me informed. It just doesn't look the same you know. A discerning Ghanaian abroad may hear people making a big deal about one political party threatening fire and brimstone if an election goes a certain way on radio, but to the Ghanaian at home, there is nothing burning and no signs of smoke. but I never paid much attention to these popular news outlets online when I was home but I am stuck with them now. Where did the other sources of news and information go?

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