"No Ko Fio" Band: Marking Time To Paradise

Angelina K. Morrison

The typical Ghanaian has earned the philosophy of faineance. Our indolent proclivities are a palpable quantity. As one quote I came across reads, "In a society where average is exalted; genius is usually questioned and disdained." To such punch of wisdom, I may surmise that the status quo cannot remain for a country serious about meaningful and radical development.





In truth, the average Ghanaian is a staunch member of the "No Ko Fio" band. And in case you are wondering what the phrase connotes, it is what we may explain as the Ga word for pittance. And when a true micrograph of the expression is seen, the idea communicated extends its perimeter to the provincial or parochial thinking of a gifted people who are yet to cease acquaintance with the quilt. Our slow pace of development incriminates us. But then again, our dreams are nothing sidereal—sublunary at best.





A trenchant question may be apropos: When would the average Ghanaian step out of his/her induced soporific state, and rise to meaningful action? Get some 'koko' or local porridge in the morning; throw in some 'waakye' (rice and beans) in the afternoon; finish up with some 'banku' (corn/cassava dough) in the evening; and with a good dose of entertainment: life is good! What?

Up and down the country, we see—do we even have the electricity at night to see clearly?—a certain marking time to paradise. And at such chelonian pace, it is an elusive ambition to dream of catching the trailing shadows of our neighbours across the seas.





A nation like Ghana needs a very different kind of leader from what we have had over several years. If Nkrumah still stands like an imposing colossus, and our other leaders are like chickens playing "ampe" at his feet, then we have failed as a nation. Why? The living cannot continue to glory in the achievement of the dead, and barely leave nothing of significance to posterity. Such situation, if it occurs, betrays the future of a people.





I may at this juncture interject a conscientious statement worth considering: A people with circumscribed ambitions will keep getting the same government. It would be business as usual. In all sincerity, NDC or NPP does not have the solution. Indeed, they glory in the dullness of shepherding benighted souls.





Until every Ghanaian begins to change his or her thinking, we shall continue our slow procession on the proscenium of nothingness. It is almost delusional to think we will see much improvement considering our sluggish motion—crawling when others are flying. So what should we do, "Madam Loudmouth," as some may shout?

Physical agitation and joining a certain social chorus, and camping at key public places for attention, in the zeitgeist replication of what we see on TV being perpetrated in other regions will yield nought. Show me one country that is better off after the people hit the streets? Can you quantify the real benefits? Was there any significant shift? Did they immediately oscillate from perdition to paradise; or swing like a pendulum from despair to delight; or from backwardness to development?





Even in our own country when once we chanted as though possessed, "Let The Blood Flow": Did our lot significantly improve? One website names a person at the vanguard as being one of the country's richest. But some will swear by demonstrations till they draw their final draught of breath. Thus, it would be a personification of inanity to expect people not to hit the roads for some lawless law-keepers to suffuse them with hot water and pepper spray. Both will only be pandering to their own decision making systems.





My puissant solution is what I call "Revolution By Cerebration." Let the average Ghanaian this year cut down on watching TV—for example—and start investing in personal development, and we shall all reap the rewards. Let the citizens of this potentially great country fling open the doors of our frigorific minds to fervid and meaningful thinking. Yes, let's set our minds to work, and stretch it even further. And such actions will have a domino effect. Indeed, it will snowball to other areas of our life. And if by serendipitous imposition, those at the helm push themselves a little more, then solutions will start emerging for many of our seemingly impossible perennial challenges.

Did I once hear a member of the government bemoan the fact that we are not thinking? And did one prominent lawyer who is almost becoming a celebrity of sorts echo similar thoughts? To both Mr. Politician and Mr. Lawyer, I invite you to follow up this article with a piece that advances the thoughts echoed here; if indeed you were both true to what you stated. And yes, you, the reader, spend some time and think about the situation of our country, and what you believe should be done. If you can summon your power of clear thinking and have confidence in your practical suggestions, then kindly send them to me using the email address below. I shall upload them as part of the "Revolution By Cerebration" diaries, for all Ghanaians to freely read. Let's get this quiet revolution started now.





Until we fully harness our collective wisdom as a people, lay aside our garments of laziness, and quit our membership of the "No Ko Fio" band, as well as triturate the fixed frontiers of thought, we shall continue to mark time all the way to paradise.





Nevertheless, I maintain a titanic belief and grounded hope that once this revolution swells, it will suck many into its vortex, and the stirring spirit of the times will break the stranglehold of stagnancy, and we shall travel in a volant pace, at full pelt, and at full bore all the way to our long overdue paradise. Finally, I shall invoke the sagacity of an Old Testament sage, and previse that, "Things shall not remain as they are" (Ezekiel 21:26 ESV). Without a shadow of a doubt, "Nothing will be restrained from [us], which [we] have imagined to do" (Genesis 11:6 KJV).





God bless our homeland Ghana!

For national development,





Angelina K. Morrison


Email: angelinakm75@gmail.com