“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am youth.”

But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”

JEREMIAH 1:5-9 NKJV

TODAY, Wednesday, February 9, 2022, marks the 67^th milestone of my life here on earth.

Except for the celebrations of my 50^th birthday in 2005, I have always occupied myself with one social event or the other over the years.

On my 60^th birthday in 2015, I posted a full-page colour advert in the Daily Graphic of the day to thank a rather long list of individuals, who in most diverse ways, contributed to the story of my life, ensuring I stayed the straight and narrow road. Quite a number of them were most confused by their inclusion, believing rather erroneously that they never saw themselves in that light of impacting my life.

Others thought or found it funny as an OBITUARY poster and were afraid to even call to verify, rather than giving that task to others.

However, two years earlier, I had opted to change my surname from just DANQUAH to REX DANQUAH or RexDanquah for good reason, including the fact that I had much earlier begun a process of questioning myself as to why and for what reason the Old Man in His Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge brought me into this world. In pursuit of this mental, spiritual and academic exercise to understand as well as accept my presence on this earth, against the backdrop of the story of the change in name of the greatest PATRIARCH of all time – Abram to ABRAHAM, I exercised a legal right and adopted a new family name of REXDANQUAH with all the promises of God Almighty as He announced to Abraham – “Walk Blameless Before Me”.

Thus, from the year 2013, when the change in surname was effected, I came full cycle to now question myself as to the real purpose of my life here on earth in order to really and truly understand and appreciate the CROSS I HAVE BORNE as a ‘Ghanaian’ all these years in all manner of disciplines, hobbies and pursuits; as well as my very beginnings within the context of Jeremiah 1:5-9.

Indeed, I have also chosen as part of this new re-dedication to life here on earth to write personal letters to every grandchild, delivered at each naming ceremony, outlining every human as well as spiritual expectation as a PATRIARCH admonishing them never to let the Word of the Lord depart from their lives as they grow.

As part of this exercise, I had come to the conclusion that there was more to this life than all the human pursuits, pleasures as well as acquisitions of man.

This exercise made me appreciate that as a spirit, I chose the moment of fusion in the lives and love of my parents, AMOS WILLIAM KWANSA DANQUAH and JANE ARABA GYESIWA ACQUAH CORNELIUS (both of blessed memory) to go through a technical nine (9) month conception and be birthed on WEDNESDAY, 9^TH FEBRUARY, 1955 with assignments and a mission set out, as well as spelt out clearly for me.

The existential assignment was premised on Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” This means that The Creator of the Universe knew me when I was but a blood clot and set me aside as an inspired teacher or leader or a spokesman of a cause or movement for this nation, Ghana, for the YOUTH of our great nation, Ghana. That I was to live my life, most times as controversial as they were sometimes, to make as many mistakes that I have made, so in inspiring them, they would know that NOTHING IN LIFE is ever too late in anybody’s sojourn here on this earth and particularly in our nation, Ghana.

I understood that I chose or better still was assigned to my parents and my nation, GHANA before conception to deliver the TRUTH AS I KNOW IT per my assignment briefs. Indeed, my parents did not have any say in the matter as they couldn’t have opted for another spirit or human being or child as against my selection by the Creator. Their only desire was maybe yet another child.

I definitely know now that I wasn’t a mistake nor count myself lucky to be the only one of the millions of sperms released as I fought off others to survive on the long journey to my birth as a Ghanaian.

I have every RIGHT to be here, in order to realize and achieve my divine purpose, mission, goal, objective, destination, reason, expectation, ambition, aspiration, direction, assignment, calling, charge, commission, duty, lifework, quest, undertaking, intention, aim and CROSS I have borne over the last sixty-seven (67) years. Indeed, all the other earthly matters or pursuits, we take as representing the reasons we are here are plain MINOR, compared to why you were born a ‘Ghanaian’.

If you think like Jeremiah and ask: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth,” then you would have missed the whole point of life with your place in history totally as He prepares everybody for his own assignment in different ways, no matter your profession, career and calling – remember the tax collector’s story.

You see, your being a Ghanaian and a patriot or worse a nationalist is more than enough qualification for this job or assignment, especially when you have ‘TRUTH’ as your shield without succumbing to corruption of any kind, fancying all the entrapments of office or position, “you shall go to all whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you”, says the LORD.

Trust me, all that we need to build this great nation, GHANA will always be the TRUTH, EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL, FAIRNESS, FREEDOM and JUSTICE above all else.

If we have these, no Minister of State will pursue REFORMS for the rest of us and our children, leaving his own children to grow and prosper under other more flourishing education structures, so that our children will fail and forever become slaves and servants to their children. For such hypocrites, no matter how many times they concoct trappings to get you jailed because of a compromised justice system, we will always break free like we did to their paymasters, the colonial system as well as their repackaged versions of stratified free trade.

You see, as you grow and cross the three scores (sixty years) mark, the assignment ordained for ‘The Ghanaian’ assumes a different dimension and form as per the instructions, as our Creator now says: “Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you” and then later “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”

The essence of this piece is that in the twilight of your life, like from sixty-seven (67), the thrust of this assignment is how to root out and pull down, to destroy and to throw down and then to build and to plant for posterity of the newline of Ghanaians, who are now coming of age through mentorship, apprenticeship, traineeship and understudy. We need to pull resources to re-engineer the ‘NEW GHANAIAN’ out of the broken educational system, the lack of opportunities for jobs, quality education, health facilities, equitable distribution of infrastructure and recreation as well as social services.

You need, on behalf of the New Ghanaian Youth, to fight and ensure that there is a BETTER FUTURE for our children and their children’s children, assured that they will be imbibed with the NEW GHANAIAN MENTALITY, a new DNA, which will seek to embolden them to compete competitively on the global stage without any fear or trepidation.

You need to teach them of their rights and responsibilities as New Ghanaians, stressing on the seven (7) litmus tests of loyalty, patriotism, nationalism, character, identity, culture and allegiance; and most of all that ‘ONE CANNOT STEAL WHAT BELONGS TO HIM / HER’ nor ‘COVET FOR ONESELF WHAT BELONGS TO ALL’ for the general prosperity of the whole nation, GHANA.

You need to tell them the stories of their ancestors, including Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah – the first President of the Republic of Ghana and Kofi Annan – a diplomat and the 7^th Secretary-General of the United Nations to inspire and motivate them to be more than competitive internationally and not only within our borders.

You need to let them know their rich traditions and culture, what holds them together as ‘Ghanaians’ and to urge them to not only dream of the ‘NEW GHANA’, ‘NEW GHANAIAN’ but also the changes in mindsets, culture and history, that will take them to the new, prosperous nation, Ghana ready to fight for THE NEW INDEPENDENCE without any prejudices and fears.

If at age 67, my solemn prayer is for the Lord to grant me the needed ENERGY, STRENGTH, WISDOM AND FORTITUDE, this definitely will be the NEW CROSS I will bear for the last lap of my life here on earth, before I am finally called home, MAKING GHANA, A MUCH BETTER NATION OF IMMENSE OPPORTUNITIES THAN I CAME TO MEET HER 67 YEARS AGO for everybody,

I believe there is now a compulsive need for an independent, non-partisan vehicle to take us away from the competing precipices confronting us as a nation and a people. I have firm faith in the abilities of the several independent-minded individuals amongst us, who are ready to join this vehicle for the next part of our journey back to our core values, premised on the principle of ‘Somebody Else’s Child’ to enable us to reach our ‘PROMISED LAND’.

If you ask where we are now, twenty-nine (29) years into the Fourth Republican Dispensation, I will confess without any equivocation that “WE HAVE SINCERELY LOST THE ROAD”, just going round-in-circles in the wilderness as the Israelites did for 400 years after leaving Egypt on their return to the ‘promised land’; otherwise how on earth could we have gotten it all wrong now? There is a change of government and the new ruling party decrees not to complete any project started by the previous government and will allow such projects to rot and nobody, including those with high titles and positions and groupings like how they call themselves – CIVIL SOCIETIES, will just be quiet, turn their faces against the wall of silence and PRETEND that nothing is wrong?

Please, please, please: this is a clear case for CAUSING FINANCIAL LOSS TO THE STATE OF GHANA by the new government and its national political party executives: obviously one of the reasons why we need a Constitution Review with proper Electoral Reforms.

However, I am also strengthened by this passage in the Good Book, Ezekiel 3:17-21 (AMP) as the ultimate CROSS or responsibility: ‘MAN’S COMMISSION: WE ARE EACH OTHER’S KEEPER’…

“Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die.’ and you do not warn him or speak out to tell him to turn from his wicked way to save his life, that same evil man will die in his sin, but you will be responsible for his blood. However, if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he will die in his sin; but you have freed yourself (from responsibility).

Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness (right standing with God) and sins, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered; but you will be responsible for his blood. However, if you have warned the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning; also you have freed yourself (from responsibility).”

Definitely, A CHANGE IS GONNA COME, sooner than later so please join the Change now and refuse to be a BYSTANDER because no bystander is ever innocent, either here on earth or at the final accounting.

Need I say more?

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By Magnus Naabe RexDanquah, the Ghanaian - is a Land Economist & Appraiser, Events Architect & Planner, SportBusiness Consultant, Social Commentator and an author