They said it, but we refused to listen.

They warned us, but we took it for a joke

They cautioned the powers that be, to take swift action, but they also paid no heed to it

Now here we are.

Like the mighty lion sitting on a Salvadora persica tree (a tree used to make chewing stick) but which has rotten teeth.

And like someone who sits by the riverside yet washes his hands with saliva, Ghana is now tasty in the abundance of water.

This is because almost all the river bodies in the country have dried up. Gone were the days when farmers, after tilting the lands, planting the seeds, clearing the weeds saw their crops grow well and cultivated their produce to feed the masses, quench their thirst with the naturally purified, refreshing and crystal clear flowing streams that flowed from the mountains through their farms.

It was so intriguing to hear them sigh with ecstasy after they drank the water from the rivers with a skillfully crafted cup made from plantain leafs.

The Akims in the Eastern Region of Ghana used to boast the popular ‘Bremu River’ and were proud to beat their chest as they sang its praises with a popular local accolade, ‘Akyinkwaa nana a onom bremu’ meaning, a proud native of Akim who drinks directly from the famous Bremu River.

People of Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region also boasted about the Tano River while people of Kwahu in the Eastern Region also had the famous Pra River as their pride.

In fact, one cannot mention popular rivers in Ghana and leave out famous rivers like the Ankobra River, Ofin River, Birim River, Ayensu River, Densu River and Afram River among others. Regrettably, almost all these rivers have dried up and have lost their pride.

Now, residents of areas where these rivers are located who had abundance of water are hit with an acute water shortage, something they never expected.

Some cannot get water to drink, cook, bath and also do other household chores.

They are living at the mercies of God, hoping that He will open the roofs of heaven and pour down some rain any time soon so they can get water.

The situation has gotten worse to the extent that, recently, some residents in places like Nsawam Aduagyiri resorted to using water from the gutters for their household chores until the government decided to come to their aid by drilling some boreholes for them as an alternative source of water.

But the question is, couldn’t we have avoided this calamity?

The plain truth is, we could have.

I clearly remember that, Environmentalist like Nana Dwomo Sarpong, (Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies, an NGO that seeks to protect the environment including water bodies in the country), the Water Commission and other institutions warned government about the adverse effects of allowing some miscreants to deplete our forest while others destroy our water bodies without taking any punitive measure against them.

But instead of taking action about the concerns they raised, we ironically labeled them as doom-mongers.

Now we are faced with the reality.

Most appallingly, little is still been done to address the situation that led us into this abyss.

Pitifully, we have resorted to blame-game whiles the situation worsens.

Some people are now blaming Ghana Water Company Limited for failing to provide them with potable water to drink. Ghana Water Company is also blaming the farmers who weed along our river banks. As if that is not enough, they are also accusing miners who prospect for gold in the various rivers of polluting the rivers that have over the years been the main source of water for the treatment plants of the company.

The illegal miners are in turn blaming government for not providing with job opportunities and that they are forced to engage in the hazardous work to earn a living.

Some are even blaming God, for not giving us rain forgetting that we cannot have our cake and eat it.

We cannot choose to destroy all our water bodies and expect to get water to drink.

Or could it be that God wants to punish us for the way we recklessly destroy our water bodies that is why He intentionally dried up the rivers so that we can learn how to be friendly to our environment?

What at all is the special task force that was constituted by government to curb illegal mining in Ghana doing to save the situation?

One would also ask if the high-spirited alacrity with which the special taskforce used to clamp down some illegal miners was a camouflage to create the impression that government is tackling the situation while in reality nothing is being done about it.

When would influential people in society allow the personnel from the forestry commission to execute their mandate of protecting our forest without any political interference?

Lastly, could be that we were the very people internationally acclaimed Jamaican Reggae star, Robert Nester Marley (Bob Marley) talked about in his hit track ‘Rat Race’ that: in the abundance of water the …… is tasty?

It is about time we put on our reasoning cap and note that what goes around comes around so destroying our water and river bodies means destroying our own livelihoods

The is food for thought for all of us.