WINTER IN GHANA?
The word winter was first heard when I was in Class four. Yeah, the good old days! Since then, I read and heard about this stunning season experienced in Europe and America.
From all the readings made on winter, it is experienced mainly within the months of December, January and February and in Europe and America. During this time, there occurs the shortest of days, intensive snow, lowest temperature, blizzard, ice fog and the coldest of weather cannot spare them. Aliens find it very difficult and nearly impossible to cope with these situations on those continents. However, kudos to acclimatisation, with the passage of time, my good folks, the self imposed aliens on those continents, are also able to adapt to those nerve-wracking conditions just like the indigenes. How they do it? Merely by wearing things they won’t come close to were they in their home continent-the ever rich Black Continent of Africa.
It is not by chance to see both the white and their coloured counterparts (to the uninitiated, that refers to Blacks!) in woollen materials, thick gloves and equally thick socks and boots and not forgetting those highly knitted and compacted hats and caps. Oh! No, I learnt some even cover themselves with blankets during this intriguing moment. But hey! Life goes on.
Yeah! This reminds me of that day. After having the best of my vacation holidays since entering the University, I considered it yet another momentous event when asked to go to Ho on a mission on the eve of reopening school for this semester-the 1st semester of 2009/10 academic year. I thereof started my journey to the Capital town of my home region. While about to go, I decided to use the Adidome-Ho route. In fact, I was “honoured” to use this same road being used by some “big” men and women in society not excluding the “roads master”. After having journeyed some few kilometers from Adidome, I noticed something strange. You know what? The other passengers on board wore double attires with the women in double hair gears and a single hair gear (actually handkerchiefs!) for the men. Having been fascinated at this, I kept this strange sight to myself and only waited patiently to see what happens next. No sooner than I ever thought, dried and weightless dust particles started blowing and entering into the bus. “Oh! My God! How come I didn’t know this earlier”? was my thought. “Aha! This is why these people were in double attires”, I reflected. The journey continued with the incessant inward bound dust particles but who am I to complain. It went on till we crossed the main Dzodze to Ho road. My neatly ironed short sleeve shirt with a pair of trousers matching it just turned into something else. Frankly speaking, my handsome “chocolate” skin and black hair just metamorphosised into an “ofridzeto”. The exoderm (my good friends the amateur scientists that is the outermost part of the skin) of my arms could easily passed for a writing board for my unlucky, underprivileged dear ones in the neglected hamlets of my country. Having entered Ho, I dusted myself but still I couldn’t feel normal. The thought of buying new attires to wear kept criss-crossing my mind but Charlie, where de money dey? Those with their “winter clothes” on only took them off and bingo! away they left. I stood there perplexed and clueless. After some time, I dashed off to where I have been sent since I can’t keep on crying over spilt milk.
My curiosity of knowing more about that part of my Region compelled me to use the Ho-Akatsi route back home. Indeed, this was rather disheartening. I was alarmed at the nature of this road too. In fact, it’s a senior in terms of level of worseness to the earlier one I used.
Folks, interestingly, despite the bad nature of these roads in this area, flyers of my “big” men and women who want to represent my good people also found their way on these roads. Are they really roads? Only God knows. But hey! These areas are not the only places in such conditions in the country.
My “Big” men and women from these areas, we don’t and may not ever experience winter in Ghana. This is the time to change the living conditions of my people for in only two days after now, your thought of doing it tomorrow would have been yesterday. Rise up, my “Big” men and women for this is your time to serve humanity, to meet the humble desires of my people.
Folks, your thought today can make the world better tomorrow.
