Memoirs & Reality

We are all addicted to something or someone at one point in our lives. Normally when we hear of addiction we tend to think of someone hooked on some heroine or  (marijuana which has seen many protest for it to be legalized, I am in support 100% because of its medicinal properties and nothing else) and the latest tramadol. Addiction comes in various forms and it’s always about not being able to be in control of the usage of something that is beneficial or using something that was not meant for the purpose to which you are using. It could be excessive use of the internet to watch pornography, spending so much time on social media and not concentrating on what is supposed to be done, abusing over the counter drugs & narcotics, makeup or even food. My addiction was to a particular meal that ended me up in the wrong place, and I couldn’t help myself: so before the end, I must start at the beginning. It all happened one Sunday when I bought food from my favorite food joint whe...

I  have never been married but I am hoping to be a wif e someday. I believe in love and the union of marriage as an everlasting journey with its sweet and sour moments but when that sour ness b ecome s a bitter tree of a buse , one must walk out.  Today’s post is a bout a man I had a lengthy c onversation with  on m y way home from the Accra Mall, a fter a long day of making sales during the Social Media Week.  It started with Ghc2 The conversa tion began when the ‘mate ʼ ( bus conductor) asked for his fare and he se arched for his money but eventually, couldn’t find it. I glanced at him and looked out of the window to enj oy the cool breeze of the wind on my face. (*trying to mind my business * ) “I had a GH Cedis 2 note in my hand before I boarded this bus but I’m sure I might have lost it thinking it was rubbish” ….. he blurted out.... I turned to face him and grinned with a sigh. He begun ranting about how hard the economy ha...

If you are a Ghanaian and not a Ga, you might have heard this statement  ‘eat more Ga kenkey if you want to learn how to speak Ga”.   I was about 8 years old when I heard this statement. That was the time my family had just relocated to Accra from Offinso.  We happened to find ourselves in one of the Ga speaking communities, and as newcomers to the community, we always had to battle with the language whether in school, church, asking for direction or even buying something on the streets. As a little child, I needed to keep up with my new friends since I always got lost in a lovely conversation on our way to or from school.  Whenever there  was an open conversation, the only way of telling was by their responses, gesticulations of laughter or anger, nods, and shrugs. It was so distressing, and I needed a way out, but guess what?  I didn’t want to ask them to teach me. I sought to portray an attitude of a smart girl and secretly learn the ...

Do you recall those times when you spotted a food joint with so many people waiting in a queue and even cars parked along the streets to buy that food? So you join the queue only for you to realize the food was whack? What about that time when a friend recommended a seamstress and you packed your beautiful wax print material alongside an Instagram style only to realize that the African print jumpsuit you requested turned out to be a pyjamas? You lose big time. And that time when you saw a “killer” trailer of a movie which had you on edge for endless days and nights until you decided to download and watch (for those “chisel” gang members ) or went to the cinema (for the “give myself a treat” folks). It was a total flop; you were so disappointed for wasting either your internet bundle or your money. It's like after all the hype of a particular movie, say Black Panther, you finally watched only to realize it was “Black Patapaa”? You can't think far.  Well, I have had my fai...

 Washing of clothes is a chore I love and I enjoy performing. I usually wash tons of clothes on Saturdays for my family except my little sister's. Despite the huge number of clothes; I often have some music on or listen to the radio to make it more exciting. One Saturday as I was carrying on my duty, a friend of the family who was dropping off some clothes she had sewed for my mother, started off a conversation with me.   Midway, she blurted out "how I wish I worked in an office like you". I looked up, smiled yet rolling my eyes at her in my mind.  So here it goes, she is a mother of four and as a Seamstress she works from home in a shop just in front of her house. Her daily routine is to wake up at dawn, wash, prepare breakfast, see the children off to school and gets working. In the evening she prepares supper then gets back to work and closes at 10pm. This routine goes on even on the weekends.  Not understanding her point I asked why.  “Be...

Ghana is a great nation. Like many other African countries, we have been endowed with vast vegetation, beautiful rivers and natural resources; gold, coffee, cocoa, oil and diamonds. Yet we are still poor. After 61 years of Independence, we still 'beg' for funds and our systems are been controlled by the very people we sought freedom from. As W.H. Auden stated thousands have lived without love, not one without water yet some parts of the county still lack portable and clean water. Accra is still faced with rationing of water. Our children, the future leaders have their heads buried in books with no access to recreational facilities for relief and relaxation. Of which the malls have now turned into a playground for them on vacation for those in Accra and Kumasi. Forgetting those outside the cities. A breakdown of the family system due to poverty and unemployment had steered streetism, arm robbery, beggars on the streets and prostitution. Filthy Capital, Indiscipline,Cor...

If you live in Ghana you wouldn't be oblivion to the sight of beggars taking up our cities. They are seen in traffic basically every morning on principal streets in the Accra, sitting on pavements, loitering the markets, siting under and on foot bridges with their treasure bowls and cans asking for alms. They could be children, the aged but most often they are disabled in one part of their bodies and what even surprises me is that fact that, a blind or a cripple person in his/her wheelchair is been pushed/led by an able person. Whenever I see them carrying on vigorously with their day’s work I wonder what form of laziness is this. While most of them are Ghanaians we have had our fair share of Fulanis. (Whom you would be humbly graced by their children who pester you and ask for money with their load of cuteness)  Why would one subject such a vulnerable person to the scorching sun of our country especially children. I believe that you as the ‘assistant’ could work and support ...

Childhood is considered the best part of one’s life. It is during such a period where we learn and stick to certain good and bad habits. The memories of such moments that flash in our minds always bring smiles on our faces. One of such bad habit which I never outgrew out of was milk sipping. Show me a millennial who never loved milk and I would show you my 101 year old granny who is a social media addict. The act of milk sipping was a timely process. Usually in the mornings when mother made breakfast which needed milk, I would dream of how to get a raw taste of the remaining contents on my tongue. How I would yearn to take a trip to the refrigerator and take a sip. As I grew up I loathed all milk based breakfast and put a break on that habit. As I somewhat realize breakfast shouldn't always be beverage or cereal based but the more Ghanaian type especially Waakye. Fast forward to 16th February, 2018 after returning home from work and decided to get some cold water to quench ...

Growing up, it was the norm to keep your Afro textured hair (commonly known as natural hair) growing to a volume so you add hair relaxers to make it easy to comb and style. Keeping your hair natural wasn't really accepted until recently when the ‘am a natural girl’ wave blew over and young girls began to embrace their hair type. I for one never wanted to add chemicals or even do braids or add hair extensions. Though I would admire ladies rocking their hair styles my wish was to keep a low cut hair.  But the words of my big sister stuck with me on that day; right after completing high school about five years ago, I asked her if it was really necessary to keep my hair, she told me that soon I would be entering the University and with my low cut, my colleagues would regard me as a child and might not respect me or will risk not getting a boyfriend. Well that reason was a big deal to me so I discarded my  idea of keeping a low cut hair and jumped onto the wagon of ‘pe...

4 th January, 2018 This is the fourth day in the New Year and it’s a Thursday and am at work sitting behind my laptop and typing just to talk about my expectations. It has always been a culture or maybe a tradition to go to church on new year’s eve in Ghana, I wonder if it so across the world because all I see in movies is people partying the night away and lighting fireworks when the new-year arrives. As a child I never had any concerns about New Year’s Eve but then as am an adult now  I think we over-emphasize and over prioritize it. I recall one time our parents had to leave my two siblings; one older and one younger than I to Kumasi in the care of our older cousin.On New Year’s Eve I expected her to take us to church but hey she said we were staying at home. I couldn't believe my ears because this had become the tradition every year and here she was saying we couldn't go. Well I was a teenage then so i  had to no option than to sleep. After spending the night on my ...