My sweet mother, the class two teacher of the Wilberforce ‘2’ Primary School at Kotobabi who has been practicing her diligent profession longer than my existence in this life tells me. She laughed when I asked her to tell me of some of the things I would usually do when she specifically instructed that I didn’t. “Go and ask your father. He will know those details better than I,” she would say brushing the issue aside. Growing up as teenagers, I was an extremely curious lad. Fighting and disagreements which are common trends among twins was my thing; I always started the fights and ended up being the one who received the merciless whipping. I just had an itching fist to do things that was not right- it was easier to do. This attitude put me through a lot trouble with my father especially who would not tolerate any of his children attempting to exhibit an alien trait he had not imbued in them; he will either beat the nonsense out of you or yell at your unstable behavior to required composure. The baseline is that there was an accepted level of behavior and a strict adherence to punitive house orders. There are no favourites in my home; equality before the rod is primary. But as young men who were eager to learn a few tricks about adult life and taking up dangerous tasks and responsibilities as men, we seldom listened to the reservations of our parents. We were not required to take vacations to visit even the closest relatives without due proceedings from the breadwinner of the house. Our association with other teenagers in the neighborhood was restricted. And when the old man insisted we were not living up to his academic expectations for us and halted us from either watching his television or from any other place, we blatantly tried to put on our smartness caps to see what his reaction would be. We would occasionally skip dinning to watch Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies or the famous ‘Journey To The West’ series in the room of one of the youngest workers among my daddy’s colleagues living room in the same compound thinking the old man would never notice. Our cup was filled up one day when he summoned us into his bedroom one cold evening as we sneaked into the sitting room and took us through an unforgettable military drill under a full cement block atop a heavy wooden stool on bended knees. Unable to stand the pressure and torture being caused to my infantile muscles, I exhibited a clear pair of heels in a hot chase with my father until I was saved by another elderly colleague of his. That day marked the end to my mischief and my daddy’s military drills. Doing the wrong thing has always been touted sweeter than uprightness and I wonder why. I guess it still boils down to the fact that it is easier to do than having to be vertical in attitude for long. So it is not surprising to see scores of thriving ironies plaguing the principal streets of Accra on the blind side of the deafly watch of state authorities. Drivers do not oblige to simple road signs, hawkers just cannot do away from trading around the very spots that look so lucrative for business yet prohibited, and people will continue to compete for space with racketeering cars on major highways while the pedestrian walkways are left unexploited. Stubbornness has led (and might continue) to sum up to the innumerable incidences of recorded cases of accidents along major highways such as the newly-constructed George Walker Bush Motorway popularly known as the N1 Highway. When that road was commissioned and finally handed over to the government of Ghana by the Millennium Development Authority under the sponsorship of the United States government, there were heaps of joy and jubilation from the populace in unison from even the two most non-agreeing political parties- the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). It would be expected that following this mammoth celebration and gratitude from my fellow brothers and sisters, we would be doing everything possible to ensure there is understanding on the road and innocent lives are preserved from danger. The pedestrian walkways lining that stretch of road have been abandoned and the craziness on the road away from the traffic lights has become the order of the day. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly initiated the No-Street Parking system some time ago to prevent drivers from carelessly parking their vehicles at unauthorized locations to ensure the free-flow vehicular traffic. Occasionally, the law enforcers under the Assembly are seen around town trying to enforce this law but their limited resources have not allowed them to be most effective. The No-Parking sign is the most abused. Not even the law-makers adhere to it because they are the worst offenders. Take a walk to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly offices on the High Street in Central Accra on a normal afternoon and you will be amazed at the disregard that is accorded to these simple road regulations. Their activity has caused several uncomfortable traffic situations along that road because the Assembly itself lacks a sizeable parking space for the numerous cars that drive in daily to transact business. Whenever people wake up to the early morning news on the radio about one devastating road accident or the other, we begin to wonder what evil we have committed to be bedeviled by these catastrophes. I heard a story about how a very prominent African footballer decided to jump the traffic light around midnight on his return from clubbing in a foreign country and was later picked up by the Police there. He could not break the laws there even under the shadow of darkness. The practice in my motherland is as if the laws go to bed with the night so we deliberately flout them and get away with it. It is easier to jump the traffic light, make a wrong u-turn and throw rubbish few meters to the incinerator at night where nobody sees you than at any other time of the day. Hawking is supposed to be banned from the streets but while the lawmakers sit detached without ensuring this directive is oyeyed to the letter, the practice breeds progress by the day. I guess the practice will not end anytime soon because right in the corridors of these authorities, the business flourishes. In translating the way people find it irresistible to avoid doing the wrong, I would imagine teachers who constantly receive phone calls in front of their students should not have problems with dealing with the new trend of students who would claim to be listening to a lecture with huge Beats-By-Dre headphones over their heads. Should they really have cause to complain? I know people who are bold to say that they have more than a girlfriend or boyfriend hoping to find which one among the two is best suitable to pass for their substantive partners. I feel these people will never change because without sticking to one person and learning from their strengths and flaws, it is not possible to entirely conclude that they do not pass for their requirements. There has always been a feeling that doing the wrong thing might not always be permanent and must be explored while the opportunity is around but the right thing will always be around. The same can be said of how we sin and return to God in supplication for penance but before long we return to doing the old erroneous things- God is a forgiving God who will always pardon our sins and welcome us back to his sheepfold of Glory when we ask for forgiveness. It is widely alleged that people who always do wrong live longer than the ones who are always doing the upright. Have you not encountered or heard stories about how suspected witches and cultists have lived so long and wealthy while the righteous have perished so early and almost unfortunate without enjoying the success wheels of life? I believe that these people live that long not because of their ‘acquired powers’ but because God wants to give them every opportunity available to turn their hearts to Him in realizing that what they are or were doing will only end them up in the burning furnace of Hell. So when the righteous dies early perhaps because God has called them home to Heaven saying “Well done thou faithful servant.” I vowed to stop doing what is wrong a long time ago and though the temptations persist, my goal to see Jesus one day is superior. My prayer is that you seek patience and tolerance so you do the right thing. To our state authorities who propound laws and immediately flout them, my plea is that you reconsider the harsh punishments you accord to other equally offending citizens the next time they are found wanting and how you leave your offending workers to walk free for the same offense. Writer’s email: amnedezua@gmail.com