Whoever said there is nothing new under the sun should start revising his or her notes.

That’s because the producers and presenters of the Super Morning Show (SMS) on Joy FM have shown that there is a way of discussing our national problems without raising adrenaline levels as is usually the case. After all, it is like pouring water on stone or is it fetching water with a basket? - of no effect. But stopping the critique is also not an option.

Ghana’s economic problems do not seem to have a solution in sight. Our leaders seem to be at their wits end although they will not admit so. Strangely, any person who points this out is deemed to be a member of the NDC or someone who wants to make the government unpopular. This makes me wonder what became of the proverbial saying that, ‘he who cuts the path does not see its crookedness?’

As for me, my conscience is clear. I derive my motivation for critiquing government officials and or policies from Article 162 (5) of the 1992 Constitution, which states that, “all agencies of the mass media shall, at all times, be free to uphold the principles, provisions and objectives of this Constitution, and shall uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people of Ghana.”

The other day, I received feedback from one of you who said, he enjoyed one of my recent articles but, “you should watch your back. They will come after you.” I laughed it off because I believe I owe it a duty as a journalist so to do. What I will not do is to insult anybody, because as a Christian, I live by the tenet of ‘Do unto others what you will have them do unto you’ - Matthew 7:12.

I will also not impugn anyone’s integrity by accusing them of something they have not done. In this regard, the 9^th commandment is my guide, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor”- Exodus 20:16.

I suspect strongly, that it is for this reason that I have not had any formal rejoinder from any of the government officials I have written about. They are discerning. The danger though, is with their apologists who view any criticism of their idols as an opportunity to show their loyalty. Hence, are likely to go overboard in reacting.

To think that someone hacked my WhatsApp line and had the temerity to use my image as his profile picture and send information to my contacts that he can help them double their monies. He actually portrayed me as the male version of ‘Nana Agradaa’. Hm! So, I will definitely watch my back. Thanks for the concern.

Which song best describes our current situation?

Obviously tired of using resource persons who always resort to economic theories, concepts and principles to explain our predicament, producers of the SMS decided to be innovative.

Just a minute. One of these concepts and principles was the currency redenomination that now Vice President Bawumia is reported to have championed. When it was rolled out in 2007, we were made to believe that it was the panacea for reviving the devalued Cedi. One Ghana Cedi (¢10,000) is equal to one Dollar- the value is the same!!! We sang. Fifteen years later, $1.00 is being exchanged for GH¢15.00 (¢150,000). Chai!

Back on track. I guess in order not to cause any further heartaches to listeners, on Friday, October 7, the indefatigable Sammy Odame and his team of producers, decided to put a question to the audience- Which song best describes Ghana’s current situation? To my surprise, the responses were spontaneous. And the titles of the songs mentioned were very intriguing.

Five of them piqued my interest, thus this piece. They are in Twi- ‘Me dƆfu adaada’ me (My lover has deceived me), Yɛkaa wontie nu (Strong headedness), ‘ɛbi te yie, ɛbi ntiyie’ (Some are more equal than others), ‘Dɛbi dɛbi ɛ3bɛyɛyie’ (The future is bright) and ‘aha ayɛdɛ’ (All is well).

Now let’s discuss them one after the other.

‘Me dƆfu adaada me’ - By Ewurama Badu

It is a statement of the obvious that Ghanaians loved President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (NADAA) at the time he campaigned for the presidency. Although it was as clear as day light that some of the promises he made, as a presidential candidate, were overambitious, we eventually gave him the chance to live his wildest dream- 5^th President of the 4^th Republic of Ghana.

As a student of Public Administration, I have no doubt in my mind that the ultimate objective of the 1 District, 1 Factory, 1 Village, I Dam, 1 Constituency, 1 Million Dollars, 1 Constituency, 1 ambulance, Planting for Food and Jobs and Free Senior High School, was to better the circumstances of our peoples.

Although some of us took these promises with a pinch of salt, the majority of us took it hook, line and sinker and voted him into power. Having fulfilled our part of the bargain, the expectation was for him to honour his.

Out of the aforementioned policies, the FSHS is the only one that one can have much to say about. It has given access to persons who would otherwise not have admission to secondary education, yes.  However, the challenge with the quality of the products of the policy is public knowledge.

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto insists that the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme has not failed. But if a finger of roast plantain now sells at GHC2.00, and one cannot have a decent meal of kenkey and fried fish for lunch with GHC10.00, it goes without saying that the objective is far from being achieved.

President Akufo-Addo promised to put his presidency on the line if need be to end the ‘galamsey’ menace. Everybody understood this to mean that he is ready to let go of being President if he is unable to end the menace. In other words, should the canker persist under his regime, he would resign.

However, nearly six years into his tenure, all he could tell us after things have become worse regarding ‘galamsey’ was that, “…the statement was neither bombast nor recklessness because ‘galamsey’ cost me and my party some votes in the last election.” He then turned round to concede that the fight against illegal mining has to continue, “because we have not got the immediate result that we are looking for.”

‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ is another promise that has turned out to be a mere slogan. As I write, the Minister of Finance and his team just returned from  Washington DC to continue negotiation with the IMF for economic bailout. In these days of virtual meetings, when President Akufo-Addo had to chair an ECOWAS meeting held online, we spent thousands of dollars to fund a trip to America to beg for money. Hmm!

Another soundbite of his that endeared NADAA to many a Ghanaian was, “yɛti sika so ɛnso, ɛkom di yɛn”, to wit, we are rich yet hungry. An obvious reference to our plentiful natural resources- Gold, timber, bauxite, coffee, cocoa, oil and even fish.

One could go on and on. Suffice it to say that the late musician, Ewurama Badu may not have had Ghana’s economic woes in mind when she sang that song. In her case, it was marital disappointment. Nonetheless, it is a fact that any unfulfilled promise evokes emotional pains. That is the state of many Ghanaians who feel very sad that Nana D the ‘show boy’ has deceived some of us.

‘Yɛkaa wontie nu’ – By Samuel Owusu

For many Ghanaians, circumstances surrounding the imposition of the Electronic Transactions Levy (e-levy) demonstrated clearly that the incumbent government cared less about them.

Every Tom, Dick and harry said no to this tax, with the exception of NPP faithful and government ministers. They fought back all opposition and proceeded to impose it. In the end, many people decided to use cash instead of mobile money. The objective has therefore not been achieved. The expected revenue fell woefully below expectation.

Another instance of strong headedness- all the economic indicators were going out of gear. Professors of economics and non-professors alike advised and urged government to seek support from the IMF. The Finance Minister said no. “We are not going to the IMF”- he assured. Only to turn round in less than a week to knock on the doors of the Bretton Woods institution after Moody’s and Fitch have downgraded us in unprecedented terms. As some have put it, we went to the IMF in an ambulance.

This faux pas by Mr. Ken Ofori Atta has attracted calls for him to be sacked or reshuffled. But NADAA will have none of that. Other Ministers are equally not performing, sack or reshuffle them, he said ‘mbano.’

The effect is that there is no indication to the critical observer, of any commitment by the Government, to ease the hardship we all find ourselves in, except rhetoric.

He is not a prophet, but what Samuel Owusu said in his song, has been proven over and again. That is, if you are advised by persons who know more than you do and you turn a deaf ear, the consequences show up sooner than later to harm you in no small measure.

‘ɛbi te yie, ɛbi ntiyie’ – By Nana Ampadu

I have said it here before that President Akufo-Addo and his appointees live in another world although we are all supposed to be domiciled within the four corners of this geographical area called Ghana.

The perks that come with their offices is public knowledge. Currently, besides all the privileges he enjoys, NADAA will be entitled to a house built at a place of his choice when he finishes his tenure. The ministers and parliamentarians will go away with ex-gratia of over GHC500,000 per head.

In contrast, our compatriots are being denied healthcare at public health facilities because they cannot afford. Lately, possession of the NHIS card only entitles one to medical consultation and few drugs such as paracetamol. A strip of locally produced paracetamol that used to cost GHC0.50 now sells at GHC1.50. The Department of Social Welfare whose mandate is to cater for persons who are indigent, is itself impoverished. Officials of the Legal Aid Commission, whose duty it is to offer free legal services for persons accused of crime but cannot afford the services of a lawyer, was allocated GHC20,000 for its operations in 2022. This amount, the Management has lamented, is woefully inadequate.

The circumstances under which the late Nana Ampadu, who sang this song, died evidences the truth in the lyrics of his song. Ambulance delays to pick him up at home. No doctor to attend to him at Achimota Hospital so he dies upon reaching 37 military hospital. If Nana Ampadu were a government official, would this have happened? We were in this country when Vice President Bawumia fell ill. He was airlifted abroad. So did Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta fly abroad when he contracted Covid-19. Some are indeed, more equal than others.

‘Dɛbi dɛbi ɛbɛyɛyie – By Amakye Dede

Currently, Ghanaians are divided over the future prospects of the country.

There are those who agree with musician Amakye Dede that the future is bright. There are also those who see no hope at all for the future. The latter group cite the fast depreciating cedi which has resulted in incessant increase in the prices of goods and services. They also cite the seeming lack of foresight by our leaders. They also mention absence of a clear long term development plan that all political parties are committed to.

They have branded all politicians as the same. They come, create, loot and share among themselves. They wonder why simple developmental challenges such as uninterrupted electricity and water supply still plague us as a country.

On the other hand, those who see a brighter future are those who have secured government jobs or contracts which they are servicing, including paying the required 10% kickback. These persons are oblivious of the high cost of fuel. In this economy, they still roll up their V8s in cloudy weather with the AC on while in traffic. They explain that they don’t want dust to enter the vent of the AC. ‘It makes the interior of the vehicle unsightly’. they explain. Their worry though is that the incumbent party may not be able to ‘break the 8.’ Thus, are fighting tooth and nail to avert that.

At the time Amakye Dede sang this song, he may have been a man of straw. Now, it is safe to say that he is comfortable. If that is anything to go by, then we are left with no choice than to sing with him that one-day-one-day, it shall be well and the enemy will be put to shame.

‘Aha ayɛdɛ’ – By Nana Borro

George Addo Junior is a sports journalist with the Multimedia Group. He is noted for bench-marked football commentary on radio and TV. His voice changes into something else once the microphone is switched on.

His fun side comes to bear during the sports segment of the Super Morning Show. Particularly, the ‘kayatic’ sub-segment.

On the edition of the SMS under discussion, George entered the studio to present the show. Co-host, Kojo Yankson, as he is wont to do with such light-hearted topics, asked him which song best describes Ghana’s current state?

‘Ageorgia’, as I call him, burst into his typical laughter and mentioned ‘Aha ayɛdɛ’. I was expecting Kojo to express shock. Instead, he burst into laughter too. This was followed by the playing of Nana Borro’s song. They enjoyed it for a while after which Kojo asked why he chose that song.

George said something to the effect that, it is his coping strategy against the prevailing difficult economic circumstances. In other words, the current economic challenges are so precarious, and the government seem so clueless that it does not even warrant wasting time on worrying over it.

How ironic. Nana Borro sang this song for merry making, George likes it because he is pained. That’s what the system has reduced us to.

It’s time to go

‘Brighten the corner where you are’ is my coping strategy. I bet you have one too.

May be we should add Kofi Kinata’s song as the sixth one- ‘Ewurade bɛgyi steer no’ – God please take over the steering wheel.

If that does not happen, I guess Stonebwoy will be justified in asking:

“Tell we where we gonna run go,
After making our motherland a bitter place to live,
Tell we where we gonna run go,
When dem say we have to pay for the oxygen we breathe,
Answer me now, Mr big man,
You no see everybody want to go run go up foreign no?

Simple life is all we want to live.”

Sayonara- That’s good bye in Japanese.

Let God Lead! Follow Him directly, not through any human.

The writer works at Myjoyonline.com. He is also the author of two books whose contents share knowledge on how anyone desirous of writing like him can do so. Eric can be reached via email eric.mensah-ayettey@myjoyonline.com. The two books cost GHC80.00.