Thursday, June 24, 2010

Stop the flooding

Seriously, I am issuing this warning to whoever is responsible for preventing floods in Accra that inaction is not an option. Something has to be done (and immediately!) to prevent any further loss of lives. If it’s too late for us to save lives this year, I want us to be absolutely sure that next year we will be ready for the rains and they won’t cause any havoc.
As I watched the president on his surprise visits to these flooded areas on television yesterday I could not help but shed a tear for the perished souls and the sophisticated properties that are being carried away so easily by the habitual flow of the drains
The first thing to do is for the ‘authorities’ to use their authority to demolish all the buildings in waterways. Of course it will be a difficult thing to do. But that’s why they are the ‘authorities’
Some of these decisions will not necessarily win them votes but we need to do what we ought to do. If our decisions/actions are unpopular but do not cause people to ‘swim’ to their deaths in muddy waters, then that’s the way to go.
The second and the most important thing, I think, is for government to take the issue of drainage very seriously. If the gutters were not so small and were not so choked with garbage, we wouldn’t have this problem. Forget about those houses in the waterways for a moment. Accra’s gutters are absolutely useless when it rains. Just take a ride around the city on a rainy day and you’d see how the waters wash out plastic bottles and all sorts of garbage from the drainage system.
I suppose that as a people, we’ve decided that we cannot (and will not) stop littering. That’s not wise but in a situation like this, I believe that it is government’s responsibility to protect the people from bringing death and destruction onto themselves.
Furthermore, it is imperative that we embark on a very serious exercise to cover all (not a few, not some – but all) the gutters in the country. You see, when the gutters are covered, people cannot turn them into trash bins and so they won’t be choked. And when the rains come, the waters will flow freely and there will be no floods. This is common sense that the ‘authorities’ should be aware of
In the meantime, countrymen and women, I believe that the floods should teach us all a lesson: we need to stop littering. It’s not too much to ask, if we want to save lives?
Remember, the banana, orange peel you throw into a gutter might cause a flood, which could take your life or that of a person close to you.
Think about that and keep safe. I will not do it so please don’t do it to affect me.I have not finished my swimming lessons and can easily die

Thursday, January 28, 2010

ENTREPRENEURSHIP..NATIONS BUILDER


Time is of the essence. So why waste it when you can profit a vast amount of money and be the boss of your own company at the same time? For those who seek success beyond unimaginable boundaries, entrepreneurship would be the answer. Probably this is what’s running inside the minds of the renowned entrepreneurs of our economic era.
Empowered by determination and guts and eliminating the process of failure, an entrepreneur should always be on the grasp for suitable products to suffice the masses. This paved their way through stability, fame and power. Take it from this two stars I admire so well
Bill Gates. As a billionaire dropout not finishing his education during his junior year at Harvard University, Gates is considered as one of the most famous individuals of our time. With a vision of personal computers emerging out of the mainstream, he teamed out with his colleague, Paul Allen who also studied in Harvard. Together, both of them left the university in exchange for a dream that led them both to their multibillion business, Microsoft Corporation.
Oprah Winfrey. At a very young age of 19, Oprah started her anchoring career for a TV station situated in Nashville, Tennessee. From there, she pursued her dream and traveled to Chicago. Not more than a month, The Oprah Winfrey Show was born and talk show was never the same. Surpassing other local networks, it was tagged as one of the best talk shows that entered national television. Aside from being a host, Oprah founded Harpo, Inc. and O, The Oprah Magazine.
As evidence, these renowned entrepreneurs made everything possible just by living up to their dream of becoming someone everybody could appreciate and look up to. Starting from scratch, but reaching to this point of earning so much cash.
You too can be an entrepreneur. Point is, when you dream, dream big.
Now we may like to ask ourselves these questions back home
Where are our young entrepreneurs?
Why don't we see such individuals coming out of our schools? Can this be attributed to a lack of ICT education at the primary through SS level?
What do you think can be done, to change the situation?

Personally, I think the problem of entrepreneurship is a difficult one to answer. Personally, I think that one could look at it from different perspectives. I'll like us to consider one of these perspectives - our culture.
I know it sounds crazy but the oxymoron that one of our biggest strength, culture, is one of our major weaknesses is very true. Why do I say so?? Well, it is because a critical look at our culture and the traditional typical way of bringing up a child does not favor an entrepeurial spirit. Of course this is no condemnation of our culture or anything of the sort.
See, our traditional way of upbringing places much emphasis on respect, submission and following traditions "without questioning them." I have been a curious one myself and so I know what I'm talking about. You ask a question about how things are and why they are done as they are, and whether there is a better way to do what is being done, and the only answer you get is to shut up and do things as they have always been done. There's even a quote that my Fante teacher used to like very much, "Amambre wontu Nkyen," which literally means tradition must be followed.
Anybody who dares to challenge the status quo is seen as a deviant and there is normally some effort to "correct" the person. Moreover, that attitude of "adults are always right" and the mentality that children cannot really come up with anything better than adults is somewhat retarding. This attitude is so ingrained that many brilliant ideas by young people have been swept under the carpet because they were trampled upon. Typical examples of these are when a child in class comes up with a better approach to solving a problem than the teacher does. Hardly does the teacher evaluate what the child says and adopt it if it is good. The child is branded "too known" and stuff like that. How then can we expect such children to grow up to be entrepreneurs.
But that is not all. Our way of upbringing teaches most of us to avoid taking risks - one of the key features of entrepreneurs. Your mother or father sends you to school to become a doctor or lawyer and not someone on the streets starting from scratch. Just imagine having completed your education and going home with just a little capital and brain power to start a business. It will probably mean that you'll have to hustle from the beginning; taking trotro, eating in chop bars, getting dirty whiles working, walking long distances, living in a dilapidated house, etc. It is then that you'll hear the comments that people will pass about you. (Of course there are people who have made it but the number of people who have been deterred is far greater).
Then there is the issue of nepotism and corruption. You start a business and everyone in the family looks up to you for support, without offering a dime to help. Friends and family pour in for free services and do not expect no for an answer. How then do you break even??tis is just one of the reasons .there are other reasons we can talk about.
However it is worthy of note that ,Unless we us a nation are willing to ask the hard questions, and can find the right answers to it. We will be broke 2000years to come. Success is about up's and down's.Life is what u make it.
LET'S BUILD OUR BUSINESSES & INDUSTRIES (SMALL, MEDIUM, BIG). LET'S PROTECT OUR NATURAL RESOURCES. LET'S SPEAK UP! LET'S CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO. LET’S INVEST IN OUR COUNTRY.TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE GHANA A BETTER PLACE.

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Accra, Ghana
Straight in thoughts,clear in expressions. will debate to the last issue. Need facts more than mere say.
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