THE LIGHTED VIGIL THAT LIT A NATION IN DARKNESS …#DumsorMustStop!

It was a fortnight full of what looked like a shaky planning but has its climax that shall remain a historic march in the annals of Ghana. I dare say it may be our modern version of the March on Wall Street in our struggle for light. About a week ago, I had a chat with a Zambian acquaintance during which the usual suspect of African interactions (the Continent’s development) came up. He talked about an experience he had at a lecture during which the lecturer (of European descent) said Ghana is the light and star of Africa in development and democracy. He suddenly observed that the Ghanaians in the class started laughing after that statement was made. So after the lecture, the Zambian approached his Ghanaian colleagues and asked what the cause of the laughter was? Well, your guess is right… With a history of power outages which has been traced to the ‘70s, Ghanaians can be said to have gone through different stages and varied experiences associated with this menace. Certainly, there’s no need to recount the very essence of electricity in today’s world. Being it in health, economy, agriculture, education, entertainment and indeed all spheres of human engagement, power is critical. This implies that regardless of one’s background: being it social status, age or whatever distinguishing factor, an individual will be faced with some amount of a challenge with power outages. As expected, the cancerous impact of our partisan politics could not allow us to express the challenges we go through as a result of “dumsor” (a local word in a Ghanaian language for frequent power outage). Arguably, it may be competing with corruption as the foremost word on the lips of the Ghanaian in the past decade. Despite the availability of alternatives such as generator, solar panel or inventor, lots of us cannot afford any of these. These remain the luxury of the rich, at least from the perspective of the huge majority of Ghanaians. Surprisingly, those who use these alternatives are also complaining about the seriousness of the problem: the alternatives cannot run their businesses since comparatively, these alternatives increases the cost of production hence reducing profit. Oh! Yeah, that reminds me; those who could not afford the “I pass my neighbour” sets (the more friendly name used in Nigeria, our seniors in darkness), also have an option. Yes, the “bobo” (“akanekpui”) and lanterns will come in handy. But don’t forget that fuel prices have just been increased few hours ago and so they are faced with another complication. The proverbial blame game of our Ghanaian society took centre stage even in this national moment of crisis. While the main opposition political party accuses the governing administration of being incompetent in rectifying the problem, the latter reminds the former of doing same or less while they were confronted with same in the past. We cannot continue to delude ourselves, even while at the point of death, all in the name of politics. The government keeps giving reasons why we are in this doom-like situation today. Quite unexpectedly, the reasons ain’t coherent. This, to me, is the greatest part of the anger in most of us. For instance, on daily basis, we hear government communicators compelling us to believe that saboteurs, either being members of the main opposition party or their loyalists, are those causing the blackout. Well, let’s assume for once that that is true. So if an opposition party can control a governing administration’s ability of managing a critical national entity such as power for at least 3 years, then why should the governing administration still be in power? Wait a minute! How about this: Is it the opposition party that has made the government spokespersons tell us the outage will be reduced with the importation of power barges by the end of last month, April? Certainly, I cannot say I have not heard these same spokespersons say government has not given the improvement deadline of April and that that was a machination from the media. Isn’t that interesting? Where were these communicators when this “filla” was in the country for several weeks (indeed, months) prior to the expiration of the ‘deadline’? Why should they keep mute (and indeed, some even echoed same during the period) only to come to deny this after the ‘deadline’? A government in power ready to solve a power crisis? Yes, the government may be doing some things to “fix” the perennial power crisis but of what use is medicine to a dying person when the medicine will only come after his death? Isn’t it a basic principle in project development and management that solutions proffered to tackle a critical and very pressing problem should be three phased: short, medium and long –termed based? Well, I cannot, also, forget ever hearing the joke that the government is waiting to solve the problem next year so that the assumed short memory of Ghanaians won’t be lost before the presidential and parliamentary elections in the same year since that will mean gaining more votes from electorates. What a serious joke! How else can we be backward when we continue to think or assumed to be thinking about only the next election all the time when people have power powering their country without interruption for even a second? Well, I did not say we can become like them overnight but we will NEVER become like them if we continue to think ONLY about the next election. We are capable of becoming like them or even take a shorter duration to attain their current status and even surpass them but that can happen if and only if we change our ways of doing things. Enough of the jokes, fellow countrymen and women! What has become of the Power Ministry created as a response to solving the outage? Well, I agree it is still ‘young’ and we ought to give the Minister and his people time to ‘grow’ the Ministry. But don’t forget what our elders say: a chick that will grow to become a cock is spotted right from the day it is hatched. Well, am not an energy expert but it baffles me to accept the fact that we cannot develop our hydropower despite the huge potential available for that, that is, assuming that what some so-called experts say about solar power being too expensive to develop in Ghana is true. How about wind and gas (expansion)? Is it that, as a people, we are still yet to realize that power (electricity) is as basic as water, air and food in today’s world? Yeah but what was the much hullabaloo prior to the vigil about? Do we now have a town in Ghana called “NPP Town” where the power outage is more intense than other places in the country? How about “NDC Town” where the inhabitants are enjoying the now extinct goody called electricity? Need I say no one can blame the main opposition political party for any potential benefit they may accrue from the vigil? Well, if you care to know; whether there was a vigil or not, they are already making political capital out of it. Why not? Isn’t the purpose of leadership being to work to solve the problems of one’s followers? But come to think of it: our main opposition is in a state of eternal internal shreds. What a country! How about the hypocritical nature of our people? We intentionally do illegal connection of electricity in our various homes and places of work. We either do it ourselves or know people around us who do it. Certainly, we also do not pay our expected electricity bills in full or on time. How then do we expect the government to develop the power sector? People blame the workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for not being effective and efficient. Some of these workers, sad to say, are ready to take tips or “tsobo” instead of the right electricity bill that a consumer has to pay for. For me, the administration has been voted for to solve this and other challenges of the people and so here again the buck stops with the government specifically the presidency. Indeed, the illumination provided by the different lighting equipment used for the vigil lit Ghana (Accra as is used in the diplomatic arena). The “dumsor” vigil brought about the much-needed light to the people of Ghana. Yes, it did. I know the flickers of illumination that marked the Legon – Tetteh Quarshie road disappeared after 9pm on Saturday, May 16 but the illumination it provided by the thousands who marched has given light to Ghanaians. The #DumsorMustStop vigil has lit Accra by lighting the conscious of the people. Certainly, whether this vigil is repeated or not, it has made a legible mark that should get any serious government thinking. Should I say we should not forget how the Arab Spring started? I saw a post on Facebook that says this may as well be the beginning of our version of the Arab Spring. Watch out! Ghana Spring may just be springing up! Lawer Egbenya (www.laweregbenya.blogspot.com / laweregbenya@gmail.com)

FIVE YEARS OF SPLENDID YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN LESS PRIVILEGED COMMUNITIES

“We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs.” – Bill Clinton (42nd President of the United States of America) It’s been a dream driven by the strong desire to bring to reality the inalienable aspirations and burning desires of many youth to excel in life. With this, the now flagship youth development NGO called the Beyonders Foundation commenced in 2009. The Beyonders Foundation is a youth focused, non-profit organization registered with the Registrar General’s Department of the Republic of Ghana. We believe with conviction that youth development is at the heart of those concerned about the future of a healthy humanity because in this 21st Century, young people need a sense of direction and inspiration to be able to make it in life. Indeed, five years in the life of every great organisation is a milestone worthy of celebration. In line with her vision of inspiring Young People to discover and pursue their God-given potentials, the Foundation had held many value added, life-enriching, highly educative and informative programmes including human development seminars and provision of financial assistance to poor but really needy students. Over the last five years, our programmes and projects have reached about three thousand young people mostly in less privileged communities. These programmes namely the Startrite®, Focus®, Choice®, Visioneer® and the Library® were held for participants from Sogakope Senior High School (SOGASCO), Adidome Senior High School (ADISEC), Mafi-Kumase Senior High School (MASEC), Christian Youth Groups in Mepe, Tefle Junior High Senior, Sogakope Junior High Senior ‘B’, Manna Mission School (Teshie), Ebenezer Senior High School (Dansoman), Sogakope Junior High Senior ‘A’, Mafi-Gborkope Junior High Senior and Christian Youth Groups of Mafi-Kumase. Participants at these programmes are making great strides in various fields of human endeavours. They have on countless occasions commended the Foundation for assisting them to make better, bigger and brighter choices at some vital stages in their lives. Bringing smiles onto the faces of these young people is what has kept us going over the last five years. What else could be more rewarding and a lifetime achievement than to see a young man or woman approach you in a place you think you won’t know anyone and s/he goes: “You have inspired me. Since that day in our School, my life has changed for the better and I am here because of that experience at your Seminar”! In marking our 5th Anniversary, I cannot forget that one thing which has driven us to this immeasurable height: our Principles. Our incontrovertible believe in our unmatched core Principles of God-given Purpose, the Potency of Inspiration, Diligence, Integrity, Creativity and Serviceability still reigns high. The Anniversary which starts this Saturday, 5 July, 2014 will be climaxed on Saturday, 12 July, 2014 with a durbar @ the District Assembly Hall, Sogakope in the Volta Region @ 11am. Various activities including blood donation, donation of stationery and medical equipment, and seminar will be held during the week of celebration. Yet to see the day light is one of our heartbeat projects: the Skills Training Centre which will train young people who do not have the privilege of following formal education to discover their vast potentials that the world has been earnestly waiting for. Learners at the Centre shall be taken through a series of courses that will prepare them to be efficient managers of small businesses that they will set up from the development of their skills. The inability to get this through in the last few years is as a result of inadequate funds. As we aspire to attain a decade in the next five years, we believe with conviction that this Centre will be set up and will become the Centre of Excellence in Skills Training in the Country and beyond. Certainly, the much assistance offered by each and every one during the 1st 5 years of our operation is well appreciated. We thank you and look forward to an even greater and better cooperation as we help develop our fellow young people. To my comrades who have lighted this flame some five years ago, I salute you this day for standing out to be counted as those who in the passage of time felt touched by the plight of humanity especially those who live in the forgotten corners of our world. Dear ones, let’s in this atmosphere of deserving celebration and uncontrollable ecstasy renew our unflinching support, commitment, dedication and the ever present burning desire to attain even greater heights in the next five years. You are, indeed, awesome! To God be the Glory! Congratulations on our 5th Anniversary. Long Live Beyonders Foundation, Long Live the Youth of Tongu, Long Live Ghana.

YOUR VOICE STILL LINGERS ON, BRO!

“Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men” - Quintus Ennius. It was only some few days after the October, 2002 admission to SOGASCO that I met you, Wisdom Amediku (aka Lord Zih). This became pretty quick and easy because we were both Science students despite being in different classrooms as well as your readiness to reach out to others. As we journeyed through the first term of the academic year, we got closer and closer and eventually became friends. Apart from being in the same academic programme, we later found another deeper sense of togetherness when I got into the boarding house: I joined the Scripture Union (SU) on campus in which you were already an active member. As fate would have it, in our final year, you became the President of this venerable Union and I became its Secretary. Wisdom, I can’t forget about your leadership abilities which came forth blossoming right from our early days in School like the ever beautiful sun rays of the African weather. Indeed, the glorious leadership acumen you and your team exhibited compelled me to make that statement which to date is used by some of our classmates anytime we meet to indicate how frustrated I became at a time with their behaviour. On one such hectic occasion, I advised my colleagues to emulate you and your mates because your class exhibited an admirable sense of comportment contrarily to what pertains in mine. One leadership lesson which you have re-echoed almost always, to me, is the focus on one’s core competence. There were countless instances when you insisted that each of us engage in specific tasks based on one’s individual competitive advantage at all times to ensure higher productivity. I must hasten to add that great results had almost never eluded us in such circumstances. Our friendship grew stronger by the years. It was a great time we shared in the company of other colleagues. Certainly, I can’t forget the GT Clan members! The Clan whose name discovery was courtesy Paramuzu’s then ‘kindergarten’ Ewe knowledge wants to hear from you, Zih! Lord Zih, your demonstration of immeasurable energy at any group activities can never elude our thoughts. Despite your average body size, you always prove to be the man to beat in the performance of communal school physical activities. When your physical strength could not carry you, you cannily brings on board the power of the spoken word. Oh yeah! Your voice has never failed you in such instances. Awizzy, it is you I mourn this day. Lord Zih, on the 1st of May, 2014, I was preparing to leave for the airport en route to Ghana when I decided to check up what's trending on Facebook. Only to my greatest shock and dismay, your not only sudden but also untimely and devastating demise greeted me. As expected, I couldn't believe it and so had to contact some close friends back home. That morning, I was having some difficult emotional challenges that I was grumbling with only to be worsened by this nothing but highly unpalatable and shattering news. Until that morning, I knew we will have the opportunity to meet when am home since we couldn’t make it at the last time (about 3 months ago) when we planned to meet. Bro, little did I know you won't be around for us to have that chat about our collective future plans. Many are the dreams we shared and the aspirations we hoped for. Lord Zih, why should the light dim so early? It's too early in the day of our life for you to go. No, this is certainly not the time despite my belief that our day of death slowly beckons us after our day of birth has been announced on earth. I know Elizabeth Kübler-Ross once said that: “Watching a peaceful death of a human being reminds us of a falling star; one of a million lights in a vast sky that flares up for a brief moment only to disappear into the endless night forever” but I thought yours will be exceptional and that you will still come back after a stint in the so-called endless night. Lord Zih, do you know why I am that optimistic? It is because both you and I have learnt during our Science lessons that to every rule, there’s an exception! Lord Zih, I have waited patiently that you will be the exception in this case but till this day, my hope kept diminishing and in just some few hours from now, you will be sent to the city of the dead. What a catastrophe! Lord Zih, you have left behind pointers of trust, a forgiving spirit, the enviable attitude of discipline and above all unity and love for one another. Your call for discipline, indeed, comes to the fore anytime you were on week. Worthily, Scapula will often assign you to be on week because of his trust in you to deliver! Undoubtedly, your times as senior on duty almost always brought most students on their toes since they know you are the no-nonsense boss of the week. Death, it is said, “is a distant rumour to the young” as thought by Andrew A. Rooney. However, you have heard this rumour too early. Lord Zih, why was yours so close? Certainly, not now, Lord Zih! A kind heart he was. A gem of our time has heard this rumour too young. A jewel he was. In him, we saw a great soul. In this moment of this great lose, I can't think of anything else but to keep hoping that you will Return If Possible (RIP). As the days pass by without hearing your ever huge and buoyant voice full of life, I heard an older version of it. In this you were saying “God is good” and as I did during our SOGASCO days, I can only reply “All the time”. Certainly, your death is beyond our comprehension but the reverberation of your sound bites in my ears reaffirms, to me, that the Lord our God is always good and has done onto you what in His thought and sight, a good thing. I believe this because you have served our Maker in the days of your life. I see you having greater laughter, much joy and sporadic happiness because you are enjoying the fruit of your labour on earth for Serena rightly asserted that “the day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity”. As Jean Giraudoux Amphitryon aptly asserted “I'm not afraid of death. It's the stake one puts up in order to play the game of life”, I am of the greatest believe that you were not afraid to die. What you were afraid of is the fact that the world will not have the opportunity to behold the greatness that will follow your trail on earth. Indeed, very soon, all the momentous aspirations and dreams you have will be carried and laid peacefully in the Agbeve Cemetery. What a tragedy! What a loss to the world! Lord Zih, since you took in your last breath on earth, our eyes and hearts have been filled with uncontrollable and endless amount of tears and sadness. It has been so hard-hitting for us but we take solace from the admonition of George Eliot that; “Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them”. Lord Zih, you will always be on my mind and heart. Forever, you will be an epitome of what a determined person is. As Dr. Richard Mawuli Letsa who you gladly call "twin bro" suggested, we will endeavour, in the coming years, to build on your impressive legacy by celebrating you through the Wisdom Amediku Asthma Foundation. To us the living, Mignon McLaughlin in The Neurotic's Notebook, posited that “The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive - perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine”. Wisdom has rightly finished his race set before him by our Maker. Let us, the living, re-examine ourselves today since the lifeless body of Wisdom speaks to us of the possibility of us following him any time soon. Wisdom Kofi McBilson Amediku, I hear your words of caution to me this day through our elder brother Timothy that: “I have fought the good (worthy, honourable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith. [As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [Victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me and recompense me on that [great] day-and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing (His return) – 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (Amplified Version of the Bible). Wisdom Amediku, Return If Possible. If not, Rest in the Perfect Peace of our Lord! Fare thee well, worthy comrade! Hede nyuie!

THE RACE FOR POLITICAL SUPREMACY IN GHANA: THE DAY AFTER 29 AUGUST

Just as nature would have it, Thursday the 29th of August, 2013 was so calm and serene with cloudy weather conditions across most parts of the country symbolising peace. Need I say the same was on both Tuesday, 24th July, 2012 during which Prez. J.E.A Mills joined his ancestors as well as the day on which the one year anniversary of his death was marked. It all began on that fateful day of 28th December, 2012 when three leading members of the NPP led by its 2012 standard-bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, filed a petition at the Supreme Court (SC) of the Republic challenging the validity of the election of the incumbent president, John Mahama. Indeed, this case dragged on for eight months with half of this duration used for the live broadcast of the entire court proceedings on the State-owned television. One cannot forget the intense moments, the legal drama just as seen in the Boston Legal series, the statistics and the sheer ‘home-knowledge’ exhibited by all parties in the case. Oh yeah! One can’t forget about the legal jargons on display… amicus curie et al.! Finally, the judgement has been delivered by the eminent nine justices of the highest court of the Land upholding the legitimacy of the election that led to the declaration of Mahama as the president by the Electoral Commission (EC) of the Republic. In all these, I wish to salute that rare gem of a man in the name of Dr. Kwadzo Afari Gyan, the EC boss. May your kind live long in our great Republic. As I have always stated, the election petition in a democracy is a right once a person disagrees with the result of an election. However, any winnable petition must be water-tight (not as ascribed by some) because rejecting a national electoral result has serious diverse socio-economic implications hence such a decision cannot easily be taken by any court of law worth its name. I need not remind you of the negatives of this petition? Of course, it has its own positive namely the possible reformation of our electoral processes. As a progressive, I believe in reformation. However, the needed reformation of our electoral system does not need such a rigorous activity to activate it. It is a fact that almost after every election in Ghana, some amount of reformation is done. For me, the main people who caused our nation this immense dissatisfaction and unnecessary anxiety aren’t the EC but the political parties. This is because if the political parties had serious people as polling station agents unlike the uneducated “macho-men” they used in most instances, these agents would have identified almost all the issues raised in the petition. Having identified those stuff, they would have prompted the presiding officials to correct same. Yeah, in this instance, not just the NPP but also the NDC is implicated. If you think otherwise, why wouldn’t the NDC polling station agents identify these mistakes of filling wrong columns with correct numbers and prompt the EC officials to effect the needed corrections? Come to think of it; lots of the presiding officers of the EC (doing the wrong entries) were submitted to the EC by these main (2) political parties. That’s the reality. I just hope the EC will assert its power and get serious people for such jobs in the future. Certainly, in the future, I hope all national assignments involving numbers etc. will be taken more seriously and not left in the hands of incompetent individuals. Now, what’s the future of politics in Ghana? I do not intend to consider individual future political ambitions especially that of Nana Akufo-Addo. I strongly share in the belief that only the two major political parties will be on the political stage for a significant period. However, the NDC could have a stronger hold on politics in Ghana for a longer period than the now acclaimed continuous two terms for each political party administration. Yes, NDC can stay in power for a pretty long time before NPP can take over. Firstly, the key factor on which lots of Ghanaians cast their vote is their quest for development. Interestingly, the pursuit for development isn’t about rocket science development but rather the provision of potable water, electricity and good road. It is always difficult to comprehend why a country like Ghana with all its resources, both natural and human, cannot provide these very basic things for her people. So if the NDC can capitalise on the current resource endowed environment that has recently added oil to its immense resource base, there’s no way the NDC cannot continue to hold on to power legitimately for a pretty long time. This is it: provide these basic things of life and win power. An enormous drop in corruption among government officials is a key avenue to get much money to implement this developmental agenda. It is possible! One cannot run away from the tribal voting pattern in Ghana. Of course, it is not healthy for politics in any part of the world especially in the developing world. Remember even in the most advanced democracies such as that of the United States, there are “tribal” voting pattern which per the composition of that country is christened racial voting pattern. Hispanics and Latinos are more likely to vote for the Democrats while the Whites will easily go for the Republicans. By virtue of votes obtained across the Nation, the NDC seems to cut across the whole nation. Why does it seem the NDC is speedily increasing its votes in traditional NPP tribal areas? The answer is simple: most of the natives of those areas have top positions in the NDC hence their people feel being part of the NDC administration anytime the NDC is in power. Is it strange that the NDC is protecting its main stronghold (the Volta Region) by electing their standard-bearers (after JJ) from regions other than the Volta? It is simply to protect that which seems intact and go look for more. Will you get a flag-bearer in either the NDC or the NPP and his family members and towns-people won’t vote for such a candidate? Remember, democracy (election) is about numbers. Certainly, it is easy for the NPP to reverse this trend if and only if they can give highly top positions to other people especially those from the NDC strongholds. I dare say anytime the NPP will present a non-Akan (Asante, Fante, Akwapem, Bono) as its standard-bearer in an election, it shall win that election hands down. Also, despite the school of thought that the petition as brought before the SC by the NPP is bound to strengthen the nation’s democracy, there are many out there who still believe that this petition has placed the country into some unnecessary tension for the past several months. The economic loss which continued to be counted by all players in that sector is another obstacle argued by many others. This, to some people, will create an unlikely to be forgotten aversion towards the NPP in the next few elections especially that of 2016. Don’t forget that those making such arguments also have votes to cast in subsequent elections. The cards highly favour the NDC to lead the race for political supremacy in Ghana unless the NPP will initiate and implement some radical changes into its folds. It must be stated that it won’t also be as easy as you might think for the NDC because most African politicians, not excluding those in Ghana, always fail to be counted when it matters most. On this great day after the 29th August SC judgement declaration of the electoral petition, let’s all celebrate this beautiful country of ours. Folk, remember your thought today can make the world better tomorrow. Think about it!

I HAVE A DREAM - MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

The "I HAVE A DREAM" speech by that great son of the world, Martin Luther King Jr., did not only change my thought and psyche about life but also what the word world means. Certainly, on this day of the 50th Anniversary of this Great Speech in human history, I cannot but salute you, Martin Luther King Jr.. The world is a better place because you once passed through it! "I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men -- yes, black men as well as white men -- would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end but a beginning. Those who hoped that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my friends -- so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!" And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi -- from every mountainside. Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring -- when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children -- black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics -- will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

WELCOME, MR. PRESIDENT

Your Excellency, John Dramani Mahama, I affectionately welcome you to the highest office of our Land, Ghana. In some few hours ago, you took the Oath of Office and that of Allegiance as the 4th President of the 4th Republic of our dear Country. Welcome, Mr. President. Mr. President, I must first acknowledge the already new insights you have brought into your ‘new’ office. At the presentation of the last State of the Nation Address to climax the end of the tenure of the 3rd President of the 4th Republic led by the Late President, H.E JEA Mills, which you had the opportunity to complete due to the death of your boss, you introduced the use of the teleprompter in our public address system. Pretty amazingly, media report had it that some honourable Members of Parliament and some journalists who were right before you did not know you were using this device during your delivery despite some of us who were watching afar even knew right from the commencement of your delivery. I dare say this might just confirm the widely held notion that there are some members in the august House who in this 21st Century do not use email and by extension internet. Anyway, this still remains a rumour! Mr. President, you have introduced a sense of modernity and the use of technology (for example, your ipad/tab used in some other public addresses such as today) hence rightly a post-independence day born president. You, thus, represent the changing phase of leadership that we need at this crucial period of our nationhood. Indeed, many are the expectations of the Ghanaian electorate who stood in the ever scorching sun to let go of the power of his/her thumb to elect you as the President of this great nation of ours at this special period in history. I need not tell you the problems and challenges that confront the masses of our people. Mr. President, since your birth, our challenges in most cases have not been solved but rather intensified. Just as you narrated in your autobiography (My First Coup d'Etat: And Other True Stories from the Lost Decades of Africa) the difficulty you went through when you embark on the journey of attending the admission interview that was required for placement in the masters in communication programme in the School of Communication Studies at UG which culminated in you not even bathing after an almost two day’s journey before attending upon the panel of interviewers but only used some small quantum of water that you have pleaded for from a good Samaritan to wash the dust off your head and face, these challenges are still staring right before us. The bad state of our roads as you navigated while on that highly loaded truck at the start of that journey is same and in some cases worsened. You may “not” know they still exist maybe because of the cars you use now but I wish to draw your attention, Mr. President, that they are still with us today. Ours at this time, Mr. President, is not the hi-tech, scientific discoveries. No, not about rocket sciences, for example. Please, I hope you won’t mistake this to think that despite being a science student, am not for great scientific inventions. Far be it from that. I highly want it. However, we cannot get there when we can’t even get potable water in to our homes. Mr. President, for instance, my home locality is called “Tongu” literally meaning “around/near the river” implying that our villages are just a stone throw to the Volta river. The water needed for potable water is got from this river. Unfortunately, we in the Tonguland and indeed in most parts of our country cannot still access potable water. I don’t want to bore you with the implications, for that, you know very well. Must I remind you that people in most of our villages including where some of my family members live (at other places) and maybe your home village too, may as we speak, continue to share the ever coffee coloured water with their farm animals? Mr. President, ours is simple as you also acknowledged in your inaugural address: the very basic things of life that will bring a smile unto the faces of our people is what we ask for: health, education, roads, energy (electricity), jobs and a well-planned advancement towards technology development and improvement. Many share the view that the Association of Graduate Unemployed was instigated by graduates loyal to the opposition NPP. I think so too. However, Mr. President, the truth is the proportion of unemployed graduates in Ghana far outweighs the total number of members of that association. Yes, I meant there is a high rate of unemployment despite both you and I know there is no official record of that. I appreciate and admire the development of entrepreneurial skills of individuals but this does not waive your responsibility of providing the right avenue for job creation in the country and actually providing sustainable jobs to your people especially the teeming youth. Many thought the on-going challenge of the elections that just brought you into office may distract you. However, you have started proving them wrong. I must congratulate you on getting the second phase of the Better Ghana Agenda you and the NDC presented to the good people of Ghana underway already. Last week, I heard you have directed the district assemblies in which the 200 community SHS (in the NDC manifesto) are to be built to start the preparatory works assiduously. Yes, that is the best way to go. Due to the tension and anxiety that has characterised the 2012 general elections and its aftermath, the call for national unity is on the lips of every Ghanaian and even none Ghanaians who wish us well. Just last week, in the State of the Nation Address, you tasked politicians to remember that what Ghana wants of them is “partnership” and not “partisanship”. Just after that, many challenge you to walk the talk. Sooner than later a golden but technically tricky opportunity came up for you to truly show that you meant what you said: the election of the 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Due to the precedence set by the opposition NPP in 2005 (then majority), you and the NDC majority now have a 100% chance to retaliate. This, indeed, was the position of many of your numerous supporters especially the youth. However, you walked your talk. You and the leadership of the NDC in parliament freely and willingly gave it to the NPP and rightly reminded them that you have the chance to retaliate but for the sake of good governance and the development of our democracy. Mr. President, some critics say your “E dey be k3k3” with a twisted mouth slogan meant “E dey beee give you alone k3k3”. You have the opportunity to prove that it really meant “E dey be give us all k3k3”, which I know you meant. You have the mandate of the good people of Ghana. Mr. President, you said to Ghanaians in your investiture address, “I will not let you down”. This is your time and this is our time. History beckons. You have the privilege of making it great. I know you can and I wish you the very best as you embark on making Ghana far better than you have come to meet it. May God lead you. Remember, Mr. President, your thought today can make Ghana and the world better tomorrow. Think about it! Thank you. Lawer Egbenya (laweregbenya@gmail.com)

MY NEW YEAR - 2013 - MESSAGE

Now, this is how I see 2013: It certainly, with God's grace, must be a better year and we look forward to that. It should be better for us all especially the underprivileged in society. Let us all make it a time of sharing regardless of the amount you have; just share some with a neighbour who has little less than you have at any point throughout the year. In this way, our government will do better in meeting the needs of her people, In this way, pastors will meet NOT only the spiritual need of their congregation but also the physical need which have prevented some of their members from truly believing in God, In this way, the many declarations our various pastors across the world have made for 2013 will be fulfilled, In this way, the world will be a better place for us all to live in in 2013. Friend, best wishes in 2013! May God bless all. Lawer Egbenya.