I have unwavering hope and faith that the problems on the African continent can be fixed! Many are pessimistic but I strongly believe that it can be done, not through increased foreign aid or policies to help the poor, but through a change in MENTALITY. For a long time now we have known that we are the causes of the current situations that pervade our countries and not the HIV/AIDS pandemic nor the numerous wars on our continent. We need to face up to the truth about this situation because it is only by admitting this change can happen and in fact change needs to happen. Yes, we can change our attitudes towards work. We can come in at 7:45am if work starts at 8:00am instead of coming in at 9:00am. We can go for our lunch break at 12:00pm because that’s when lunch actually starts and not 11:00am. We can return from lunch break at 1:00pm because lunch is over then and not 2:00pm. Oh! Yes, we can leave work at 5:00pm because that is when work actually ends and not 4:00pm. Why should we be satisfied and excited knowing that we’re being paid for work that we’re not even doing? Knowing that because we have made the workplace our bedrooms and government offices our personal entities productivity is low? Cost of production remains high because our lazy attitudes are being rewarded with resources that could have been allocated for other projects. We can stop using the “African time” which makes us late for every event and leads to every event starting late. We can use time, not the “African time” when we go for interviews, when we host events and when we make appointments. When we’re asked when we will be available why do we respond, “Around 9:00, 9:30, 10:00”? Why can’t it just be 9:30pm or 8:50pm prompt! For us we have lost the concept of “time is money” through the disregard for time, especially the time of others. Oh! Yes we can. We can stop the siphoning of the national treasury and foreign aid into our secret bank accounts while others suffer. We can stop building ten houses with money siphoned off development projects when others have no roofs over their heads. We can stop allocating meagre resources to our once esteemed but now failing educational systems while we send our children abroad for the best of education. Oh! Yes we can. Oh! Yes we can stop asking for bribes on the roads in reward for no arrest of crimes committed and at offices for services customers deserve. Oh! Yes we can, from the messenger, to the CEO, to the customs officers at the sea and airports, stop asking for our palms to be greased before doing jobs we are responsible for. We can stop awarding licenses or projects to those who don’t deserve then but have slid a few bills in our pockets as “Oh, just buy coke or water with it. It is nothing”. Since when did bribes become chop money? We can start giving jobs to those who deserve them and not those we are related to or those we have a connection with who may not be qualified. Oh! Yes, we can start respecting ourselves, lineages and heritages rather than rushing to adopt cultures that are destroying the fabric and strengths of our families. We can give respect to the poor and underprivileged and not just the stereotypical “pot-bellied” rich man or foreigners in our midst. We can give the same quality service and the echoing “Yes, Sir or Yes, Madam” that we give foreigners and the big bosses to our fellow “floor member” citizens. We can stop bringing each other down with our PHD (pull him down) and MBA (meba ha akyε- I’ve been here longer than you have) syndromes. We can support each other on the paths of success. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here, what prevents you from helping each other out to attain goals? What is it? Instead of constantly criticizing those who are at least trying to make an effort to bring about change, why don’t we support them or offer constructive criticisms instead of the backlashes and the destructive statements. If you don’t have solutions, good advice or support to offer please keep quiet and let those who are trying to, have a breathing space to do what they need to do. We can maintain our infrastructure instead of leaving them to the point of decay and destruction. We can prevent 10 year-old buildings and vehicles from looking like 200-year old structures. What prevents us from maintaining them with proper care and respect? Why do we have to wait till they are an eyesore before we show we care? Oh! Yes we can stop spending humongous amounts of money on funerals when that money can go to the family of the dead. We can stop turning these funerals into parties that yearly lead to the death of many due to drunkenness from these “parties”. We can RESPECT the dead and the pain their families go through. We can forget about our “stomachs” for once and pay homage to the dead instead of turning these mournful places into local restaurants. Why should people who are grieving cook and feed those who don’t even know the dead and came just because of the food? We can stop behaving as though food is the most important part of weddings, funerals, parties and other social events. No, they are not! Oh! Yes, we can and we need to stop being afraid of hearing and telling the truth to our fellow “brothers” and “sisters”. We can stop feeling apprehensive because he/she will take offense. Unfortunately, the truth HURTS but it must be told. We can start accepting the truth about how our mentalities and attitudes are destroying us. When the outside world says we’re primitive, it is not that we are primitive in our ways. No, far from that, we are primitive in our thoughts and eventually they reflect our attitudes. Credit: Abena Opoku [opoku20a@mtholyoke.edu]