Post-election emotions

“The sand looked so beautiful then, so many little individual grains in the light of the night, giving the watcher the childhood feeling of infinite things finally understood, the humiliating feeling of the watcher's nothingness.” 

― Ayi Kwei Armah, The Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born

I always manage to stay away from writing on anything political because, taking a stand means there is an opposing stand to call you out. To argue out your stand will either prove you smart or prove you know nothing at all. But it isn't really a battle of the wits, is it?

Anyways, what i am writing is on a more personal level... As the Ghanaian elections gradually came to a close and the winner, in the person of John Dramani Mahama (JDM), slowly emerged, many friends of mine who are supporters of the largest opposition party in Ghana, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were gutted, unsurprisingly. Their comments took this form: "so we have to deal with these people for four more years, Ghanaians are illiterates, what kind of rigging is this?". 

However, my personal favorite was, "NPP for life, no matter what, NPP for life." For me to see this on Facebook, Twitter and on any social network people find appropriate to reveal their inner bitch, it wasn't surprising and so i laughed appropriately. It wasn't the first time i had heard it and i know it will certainly not be the last. 

You cannot help but applaud the unwavering belief and backing of the Ghanaian people for each political side even as the ambitions and dreams of one or the other bloc come crashing down. In other words "Screw whatever positive initiatives this or that government will bring. I have already decided it will never be alright till MY party is in power" Thus NDC or NPP for life.

I do understand that all over the world, most poeple's political affiliations are nurtured and steeled in concrete like their values, their choice of clothes or probably second most important, their religion.

I think, (this is just me) this is very harmful. For me, it implies that people find it difficult to give chances; find it difficult to allow one to grow, to test the waters and ACTUALLY succeed.

Its a religion in itself, Ghanaian politics; If you are born into a muslim home, chances are you will carry on that way, if you have catholic parents, chances are you will be catholic too.

Presently, the NPP and its supporters aren't handling the results of the recently held elections very well. ... Rather ungracefully, i must say, (AN UNDERSTATEMENT). They have accused the incumbent government of rigging the elections and intend to take legal actions. Really, no one can blame them. They have been forced to accept defeat for the second time and simultaneously will now have retire their flag-bearer, Nana Akuffo Addo; INDEFINITELY. It sucks to lose and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) the winning team will not make it easy.(in your face)

Now PLEASE people, i am not being PARTISAN; and i used to be, trust me. In my present post-non partisan state, i realize it is easier to deal with successes and defeats in moderation (I'm cool like that). 

So why did Nana Addo lose after a most up-close and personal form of campaign than the NPP has ever carried out, to John Dramani Mahama. The Vice-President, who inadvertently stepped into the driving seat and had barely four months to convince the Ghanaian populace he was the man for the job.

Now this is probably far-fetched and most people might react like i just said i saw a UFO. But i believe its that unspoken truth, intellectuals like to avoid dealing with. Why? Because there is not enough tangible reason for it.

Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo is NOT a favorite and will never be. Nana Addo is thoroughly disliked from his moon like-looking glasses to the shoes on his feet. Why? Because he represents the Aristocratic, privileged "old money" of the post-independence Ghana era. You know those people? the ones who had the best of everything; education, housing, and money way before the Ghanaian people began to understand what independence meant.

What did independence mean? did it dawn on us quickly enough that economically, there were there same opportunities Nana had were open to us? no it didn't not dawn on us. they weren't there. Governments were changing faster than we change clothes, half of the time people were busy trying to understand INDEPENDENCE and protect their own at the same time. Regardless, people like Nana Addo were right in the thick of it but fared better than most. (lucky bastard)

I think Nana Addo's stroke of luck is what fights him today. His privileged past robs him of the presidency. 

Is it too simplistic for you? i don't think it should be. Nana Addo certainly did not lose elections in Ghana because his policies did not make sense or his capability was in doubt. 

A colomnist called Kofi Kyeremah put this argument much better light in his article "Akuffo Addo has the qualities of a transformational leader" and i quote:

"Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo was born into a privileged family, his father was one time the president of Ghana. He was educated in some of the elite boarding schools in England reserved for only the privileged kids in society. After graduation, he went on to work in a prestigious law firm in Paris, France. Here in the west, they will describe him as someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth"

Now for most parts of the article, Mr. Kyeremah is basically endorsing Nana Addo's capability in running the country; that, however is not my concern. What interests me is his little description of the would-have-been president. Although he casually brushes this off, saying "Here in the west, they will describe him as someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth" i dont think its quite different here. In my language; one Mr. Kyeremah would understand, we would say "Y3 wo no to sika'mu", meaning he was born into money and there sentiment behind phrase is the same everywhere.

What I am trying to say is that, we should not belittle how important Nana's a-little-comfortable upbringing is to his unfortunate fate as the flag-bearer of NPP. Ghanaians, some Ghanaians feel Nana exudes a certain pompousness, an arrogance that implies that he has a right to the Ghanaian presidency. A feeling that pervades among even NPP loyalists. I have always wondered if he is aware of this perception. 

I say this because i look back at this year and i believe he really was the most vilified politician this year. Hell, they threw everything but the kitchen sink at him, with drug abuse as the headline. (Poor guy). 

It makes you wonder though, what is it that makes him so unappealing? Is Nana Addo a representation of all that we envy yet still admire? Does he seem superficial and unappreciative of the real problem of the ordinary Ghanaian? or is it spite? i am tempted to believe, (TEMPTED) it is the third option.

Is it a dark deep-seated contempt man possesses for anyone who is perceived to have had it all. In his case, democracy provides the power to "cut him down."

In other words, it was never about Nana's dedication to free education, economic growth, or any social policy, it WAS Nana Addo. All him. it was nothing he said, but it was everything he said he wasn't.

I am not saying we are not discerning, but we really must re-evaluate the way we vote. Many might not agree with me on this argument of mine. It probably sounds partisan, but the purpose of my writing was to focus on why Nana Addo lost, not why JDM won.

I say this because my argument implies that for even our new president, Mr. Mahama, lovers and supporters of Nana Akuffo Addo will almost NEVER be satisfied with his future endeavors as president. SIMPLY because, condemnation for a party(in Ghanaian politics) is ingrained; an unchangeable sentiment that festers just how a love for another party grows. (whether their ideologies make sense or not).

We all know JDM is going to his darnest to prove to his detractors and Ghana that he IS up to the task. He intends to make things happen; emerge with a new NDC era. But will it be enough for you? Is it ever enough? Will he be inadequate just because he was not YOUR choice? Have you graded him before he started the exam? Some of you have simply because.....

Is this how a future generation wants to think and operate? Then really, we aren't far the the experience of a one-time Liberia or Rwanda. If our loyalties to these parties borders on the brink of the intangible, there is no HOPE for the GHANA we dream of.

I won't lecture BUT people, if John Dramani Mahama has been giving the mandate to run our country. Let him. Support him. Criticize him objectively but spur him on. Let the contempt, hate, personal vendetta die. Let Ghana Live 

As for Nana Danquah Akufo Addo, in the next life he will certainly be born as the sixth son of a blacksmith and a bread seller who believe in Free Education. Maybe, just maybe he will stand a chance of becoming President.

Checking up on God

I find myself writing out my prayers to God, rather than speaking them. My little sister says its like pretending my diary is God which also means I am too old to be doing that. Whatever. What the hell does she know?

Really, it’s a very comfortable and less intimidating way of speaking to Him because it's as though I am talking to a friend, a father or a shrink; which is what He really is. Only that I happen to believe that unlike a shrink, he DOES something about your problems. I am fully aware of his supremeness and his awesome glorious existence. Oh  and the fact that he does give a shit about me which explains my continued existence. Others call it GRACE.

 So yes, I do prefer writing to him rather than speaking visibly to him. I believe it also makes up for every single time I lapse in the frequency of my prayers.

Trust me it’s kind of awkward explaining while praying (speaking), why you haven’t prayed in a long time. Regardless, I believe He hears me.

These days however, I begin to wonder, as I write my needs and wants to Him, Does anyone ever check up on God? Before anything , you all should know this isn’t some crazy Christian fanatic trying to admonish  fellow Christians on some bright idea I just had. This is as random as it can get. Just a thought.

So it was a cool autumn night and I was wrapped up in my quilt (does anyone use that word anymore?) with a cup of coffee and – No, scratch that, I was actually at work, writing in my journal to God  on a Monday morning with the actual purpose of tuning out the incomprehensible Turkish noise by my colleagues and the conversations I couldn't take part in. (most of their conversations are about how polite i am for a black person) I’ll talk about that later.

So I was pouring out my thoughts which usually take the same form; how bored I am, how living in  Turkey isn’t for me, how in love I am with a man in uniform who, like every other guy above 25, has issues… how I want to go back to school but I have no money, and how I will soon be turning 26 with no visible token of achievement… you know, stuff like that.

And as I did this, a small cold mechanical voice said to me “Afia Kwakyewaa, you really need to shut up now.” I stopped writing suddenly, sighed and stared into space. Then I said out loud “God must be really tired of me now, I wonder what he’s doing?”

When I picked up the pen again, the first thing I wrote was “Are you OK, God? Is it a great time to talk? Are you busy with other requests or are you having a bad day like me?  I guess its probable that you hate Mondays just like your creation right?"

I mean, really, does anybody think about how God is doing? Perhaps he goes on vacations like the rest of us because he is tired of listening to us whine all day? Does he say to his angel secretaries “ Look cancel all my appointments  for the next century, i need a breather"

Suddenly as bizarre as it sounds, I began to worry about God. I wish I could see Him and ask Him if he needed anything; Perhaps a glass of water, a warm blanket, or simply some SPACE. I began to feel a motherly concern about the Entity that is my Creator. Have I been giving Him a hard time lately? Or all my life?

I wondered if he was emotionally drained and felt unappreciated. Had he thought to himself, “What IS this??” I felt like giving him a big hug and telling him that I understood. (Of course by this time I had been able to convince myself that God MUST be stressed out.)

If you are reading this now you probably think I should be on my way to a mental facility. I think so too. But you know the human thought process; once it starts to work, it’s hard to stop it.

For the first time since I learnt to pray I wanted to BE optimistic for GOD. I wanted to tell him that its normal to feel down sometimes; that all his aspirations and hopes for me and mankind would come true.

Now mind you,  I am always afraid to promise Him something because well…. Its obvious I worry I might not carry through with it. I mean I told myself after I broke up with my ex that sex would be only after I got married. (yes, you have all heard that before). I haven’t broken my promise yet however I KNOW I have already given it up a thousand times to this man in uniform I am seriously crushing on- in my head.  How do I make a promise to God then?

But on Monday, as I wrote my pathetic little tales to God, I knew I had to make a promise to my poor poor stressed out God. What was it going to be though? That I was not going to BOTHER him again with my impatient demands? That I was going to wait? That I was going to be a better person with a thankful and content heart? All that sounded great but I also know it was hard.

So I decided to be CONSIDERATE; like I would be in any relationship; with a friend, sister, lover, mother or father. I would be considerate; I would ease up a little. Allow him to de-stress and let him work it all out for me. I also promised to check up on HIM frequently, because i came to the conclusion that everyone deserves a break. Even God.