Wednesday 17 August 2016

# GHANA MAN BLUES

Hi, cherished Changers of the Status Quo!
The Changing the Status Quo train is back on track, and has been boarded by some new members this time around, with whom we'll get acquainted with over the next few weeks. Sit back, enjoy and of course, please don't forget to let me know what you think!


# GHANA MAN BLUES
EPISODE 1

"Kofi! Get here right now!", a loud voice boomed from behind the office door. 
"This man again! ", Kofi Wilson grunted under his breath." A minute, Sir! ", he responded. 

Kofi had been working at the National Employment Allocation Scheme (N.E.A.S.) for about a year now, and was almost fed up with the monotonous nature of his job. He had expected to gain some little experience in the Human Resource field, at least before looking elsewhere for a job, but had ended up just basically running errands. A loud bang on the door broke his train of thought... 
"I thought I called you? ", Mr. Lanre Adesodzi asked with obvious irritation. 
" Sorry about that, Sir", Kofi quickly apologised. "I wanted to finish up with the sealing of the letters you gave me yesterday, so I could bring them along to your office."
"Very well.", Lanre responded, looking placated. "There's an emergency meeting here at 1pm. We need to prepare. The delegation may walk in soon." 
"Sir, by 1pm, do you mean 11am or 3pm Ghana man time? "
" Silly boy! ", Lanre smiled subtly, giving Kofi a light knock on the head as he sauntered out of the office. 

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" Accra traffic can be so sickening", Esiaba Danquah muttered to herself as she tapped impatiently on her steering wheel. The traffic lights at the busy Royal Gold Coast high street intersection had gone off again, and what should have been a quick drive to the N.E.A.S. Secretariat had become a tough battle of whose car was the biggest and the fastest. Some young men had taken on the temporary job of traffic warden, but nobody seemed to be paying any attention to them. 
"At this rate, Fiifi would have to go and pick up the kids.", Esiaba concluded. She picked up her phone to dial her husband's number when she spotted a police man walking towards her car. 
"But where did this man too come from?" Esiaba wondered. "Here we go again. These guys never appear when you need them." She rolled down her window and smiled sweetly. "Good afternoon Officer"........ 

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" Johnnie Johnnie! "
" Call me John the Great! "

John Owusu wiped his face with his already wet face towel, as he waved back at the taxi driver who had just shouted his name. John's dream to complete secondary school and move on to a higher level of education had been shattered when his only uncle who seemed to care about him, passed away about a year ago. He had aged about five years since then, and had resorted to selling colourful socks and shoes for a living. It did not bring in much money, but it at least put a hot meal in his belly twice a day. 
"I definitely have to break camp and advance soon chale. ", John lamented to himself. 
" Hey, shoe seller, can't you hear someone blowing the horn at you? ", an iced water seller yelled sullenly at him. 
"Back to work!", John encouraged himself as he gathered all the tactics he had seen the famous Jamaican runner, Usain Bolt, display in his race the previous week, and ran hurriedly towards the huge V8 that had parked at the nearby street. 

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"The ConnecTel number you have dialled, cannot be reached at the moment. Please try..... "
Nana Yaa pressed the disconnect key before that irritating automated voice chimed a second time. 
" I just spoke to this guy, and now you're telling me his phone is off?", she said exasperatedly to the phone, as if the helpless phone could defend itself. 
Just before she could dial Lanre's number again, her phone rang. She quickly answered it before her loud "God bless our homeland Ghana.." ring tone disturbed the serene atmosphere of the hotel where she was waiting to meet her friends. 
"Nana Yaa!", her long time friend, Naa Aku Quartey, shrieked excitedly when Nana Yaa answered the call. "Nii proposed!...." 

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*Which of the characters do you most identify with? 
*Are any of the situations talked about, similar to any you may have faced before? How did you deal with it? 
*Is there any lesson that could be lived out in our quest to change the status quo? 



See you next week!

8 comments:

  1. I am in kofi's situation. Though it's demanding with errands and all, I still am gaining some experience. But I will sail tru very soon
    Thanks

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  2. Amen, I believe you will.
    Thank you too for your contribution Gaitu

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  3. I think the new members who've boarded the CTSQ train are quite interesting! I personally have found myself in Nana Yaa's situation several times..indeed that automated voice is irritating! Lesson learnt; persistence breaks resistance!!!!!

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  4. Interesting characters.....the one i identify with is esiaba....been in dat situation before..u all know that with the ghana police. ..u have to settle them before they let u go...lesson learnt:do not make calls whiles driving...any police could appear and mess up ur day

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  5. :-D
    So true!
    Thanks Harrison 😊

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  6. Wow! This is beautiful. Definitely a catchy introduction. I personally identify with Esiaba...our Ghana police ;-).

    ReplyDelete