Labor Day Journey
The first Monday of September in George Washington (GW)’s Union is a day reserved to celebrate the ECONOMIC and SOCIAL contributions of workers. This means if you are LUCKY like me you can sit at home and expect a free lunch at least on this day out of the 365 ¼ Days. This year’s Labor Day hence fell on Monday the 5th.
I have therefore decided to drive around the country side and brood over my mission herein GW’s and Christopher Columbus’ land, far far away from the land of my birth and loved ones, to take stock of my mission, count my successes and failures and revise my notes.
Selfishly, I called upon a very good friend, although a comrade in the struggle, who is not lucky like me to have the free lunch but he decided to accompany me on my adventure.
Our journey was in the reverse direction of the historic “Irene” which hit the East Coast of GW’s Union (just a week earlier). This means starting from our abode in New York, we cruised through Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina to Lexington, South Carolina and back to Charlotte (the second financial hub of GW’s Union which boast of being the home of multibillion financial institutions and corporations like Bank of America, SunTrust bank, Wachovia, Nascar etc) in North Carolina where we decided to pass the night!
Oh! Alas! I forgot to introduce myself!
I am one of them who left the shores of Ogyakrom to seek greener pastures. The winds blew me as far and dump me here in GW’s Union. I believe in Mama Africa and hope one day Mama Africa can stand on its own two feet and be able to take care of its own affairs and would never have to rely on candies and goodies from afar to put smile on her children’s faces. I also believe that we are each other’s keepers and so must support those who are weaker than “ourselves” but not rather exploit them.
I believe in “Government of the People, by the People and for the People” too as professed by the legendary Abraham Lincoln. I would therefore call myself what is known in today’s political jargon, “A Social Democrat” and being from Ogyakrom I can boast of being an ardent believer of Nkrumaism and of course Jerry John Rawlings. Therefore in Ghanaian political divide, I will call myself an NDC and a diehard supporter of Jerry Rawlings. I have only met the man once in my entire life when he came to the United States, prior to the 2008 Elections. I may even boast of being the only person from my inner family who has ever shaken the hands of this man (to emphasis the fact that neither I nor any member of my family have directly benefited from JJR’s nearly 20 years rein) but I bet you I will die for this man a happy man, not because he is a SAINT but you will get to know why soon. All my pals know that!
Have I deviated? Sorry back to Charlotte.
Though there are very nice hotels in Charlotte, we chose there not because of that but because we can get a free bed (the couch of one of the comrades in the struggle). He just moved to Charlotte and settling, so unfortunately for us his couch was not readily available as we expected since that is where “the son of man himself” lays his head (note that my friend has not made any ECONOMIC and SOCIAL contributions for a while so should not technically share in the 5th September celebration). We therefore had to make ourselves comfortable on the floor in his bed room, which has so much space than expected.
My friend is one who does not care about politics like some of us do and a carefree person who believed in God but cannot distinguish Sunday from other days of the week. I knew for a fact that he has become a great philosopher on facebook lately, so I was eager to know what he has being reading of late. So in the morning, after we were treated to a “breakfast” of Kenkey, hot pepper and Kobi, I enquire to know.
He smiled, took me back to his empty bed room and pointed to one of the corners. There was a Bible (it is a big surprise but that is not the basis for this write up), a book entitled “Believe You Can” by John Mason and another book, “Become A Better You” by Joel Osteen. I concluded he has not only become a philosopher but also a born again. Alleluia!
I know my friend was in Ghana prior to and during the Sunyani Congress but little did I know he has become a politician too.
JJ Rawlings
The shocking part of my friend’s revelation came when he pulled his laptop and playing at the background was a detailed documentary about JJR! I checked immediately and saw that the documentary, which is in 6 parts, was posted to YouTube by a group called GhanaLifeGroup. I had to extend my journey by a couple of hours to watch the whole documentary, in its entirety.
I asked myself, has Ablakwa watched this (he was even still walking around without panties when JJR was carrying Cocoa sacks and building railways with a hammer), has Koku Anyidoho watched this, has Agyenim Boateng watched this, has Haruna Iddrisu watched this etc? Has President Mills himself even watched this? Have all these NDC folks hailing insults on the person of Rawlings watched this?
What an earth we live in or on (whichever you want to use)?
What would GW have done if, in his lifetime, the Union he sacrificed his life for (fought the British for) is going astray from the ideals for which he sacrificed himself, even unto death? Would he just sit for his sacrifice and vision to be marred? I guess not! If not how come some expect JJR to just sit down and see the social democratic ideology he sacrificed his life for be turned to money/property grabbing ideology? Why these folks won’t be bold enough to go join the “Property Owning Democrats”? If a presidential aid can make USD$500,000.00 overnight to the detriment of the “The People” at the blind side of the President why should JJR who is seeing and hearing just sit idle and say nothing? If one man, in the name of Minister of State, can buy a car of US$166,000.00 why should JJR shut up?
No doubt a renowned Ghanaian writer titled his book, “THIS EARTH MY BROTHER”!
I would say “THIS EARTH INDEED, MY BROTHER”!
Go to: http://.www.akatamaso.blogspot.com for more and the videos.
Fuseini Yakubu,
New York
