REPOST: Remembering an African Icon: Brenda Fassie (MaBrr) 3 Nov 1964 - 9 May 2004

Thursday 3 November 2016 was the late great South African musical icon Brenda Fassie's birthday. She would have been 52 years old had she not passed on in 2004. In honour of this birthday, the website OkayAfrica  had a great piece on the 10 best Brenda Fassie songs. Many of my favourites were on the list while others did not make the cut. The wonderful thing about Brenda Fassie was that her large musical repertoire spanned two decades and several genres. Although fans of her music have divided opinions about which song was her best, there was something in there for everyone in her large body of work. For example, like the author of the OkayAfrica article, my brother insists Weekend Special was her best song. I  wholeheartedly disagree. Reflecting on her legacy, here's my piece from 2012 on the icon that was Brenda Fassie.  

The Late Brenda Fassie
Source: Lastfm

The late great South African musical icon Brenda Fassie may be remembered by some only for her infectious hit Vulindlela that took the African continent by storm in the late 90s and early '00s. However, for many of us growing up in Southern Africa in the 80s and 90s, Brenda Fassie's music was the soundtrack of our lives. Her early pop hits were the songs we used to sing along to in the playground in primary school while in high school, her kwaito tracks were the stuff of intricately choreographed dance routines. 
In fact from the late 1980s through the 90s there was a transition in  Brenda Fassie's music from pop songs mainly in English to the dance rhythms of kwaito almost exclusively in local South African languages. As Brenda Fassie reached the height of her career during this period, not only was she known for the music but also for the offstage drama that managed to fill newspapers and tabloids.

Despite all the drama, it came as a complete shock to me when Brenda Fassie tragically passed away at the age of 39 years in 2004 just months after I saw her perform live at the Ghana Music Awards.

So I was just thinking to myself. Today marks 8 years since the passing of one of my favorite musical icon and out of the plethora of her songs, which would be my ultimate favorite? This is actually a very hard question. 

Would it be Zola Budd the hit that celebrated the Johannesburg mini-van taxis nicknamed Zola Budd after the South African long distance runner of the time Zola Budd? 

Would it be Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. The song that encapsulated the Zulu proverb "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" (a person is a person because of people) and described Brenda Fassie's gratitude to others? This song had a really glitzy video involving a plane and runway. I am sure we still have it on VHS somewhere.

Would my favorite be No No No Senor? A song with an amusing video that replicated an American Western (or more like a Spaghetti western) with Brenda as a heroine saved by a cowboy on horseback complete with a stetson. I kid you not.

There are just too many songs to choose from. There's Brenda's ode to Mr. Nelson Mandela in Black President which was years before he actually became the first black president of South Africa.  There is also Boipatong  featuring the powerful vocals of Tsepho Tshola of the band Sankomota dedicated to those killed in the tragic Boipatong Massacre of 1992. 

Who could also forget Too Late for Mama that tells the story of a mother struck by lightning on the way to fetch water. I am really confused why google keeps linking this track with Alicia Keys. Or did I miss Alicia Keys re-doing a Brenda song completely?

Still among the Brenda anthology there is the ultimate early dance  track Istraight Lendaba which along with Higher and Higher were hits around the time that kwaito music was just emerging as a genre. 

There are the later kwaito classics like Qula, Ngeke Umconfirm, Nomakanjani, Amagents (an angry response to another South African musician), the very dark Memeza and of course Vulindlela. 

So I thought about it long and hard. My ultimate favorite Brenda Fassie song would have to be the very first one I ever heard when I was still a child. The video featured a young 19 year old Brenda Fassie belting her heart out in It's nice to be with people when she was still billed as 'Brenda Fassie and The Big Dudes'. This was before the fame, before the drama and before the tragedy.

Sadly, I can't find the original video on the internet:

When Time Magazine described Brenda Fassie as the Madonna of the Townships in a 2001 article, I for one thought they got it completely wrong. Brenda Fassie was not the Madonna of the Townships, Madonna was the Brenda Fassie of America. 

Brenda Fassie aka MaBrr; fondly remembered and forever cherished.

The Best of the B.A.D: The coffee shop ambience arrives in Accra

Last week (29th September) was International Coffee Day. Days like that are important to me since I am a completely unrepentant coffee addict. I like my coffee daily, strong and freshly-brewed. One thing I have always appreciated about living in that ominous place called 'The West', was access to a plethora of coffee shops. In New York City, there is literally a Starbucks at every street corner. As a grad student in London, my heart would skip a beat every time I handed over precious pounds at one of the many coffee shop chains that were there solely to feed my addiction.

Coffee shop chains represent a dubious brew of globalization and capitalism with a hint of a country's growing affluence. My appreciation of these places has not only been for real coffee brewed to perfection but for their warm ambience. Coffee shops are likely to have comfortable chairs, sometimes couches, places to plug in a laptop and if one is lucky, free WiFi. For me they represent the perfect environment to catch up with friends or work for hours fuelled by caffeine. 

Although 'coffee shops' in the Netherlands mean something different and if you ask to be taken to a Dutch coffee shop and expect coffee and cake, you will be sorely disappointed. Instead you will be taken to a seedy, poorly lit place with few windows and people smoking marijuana legally. In the Netherlands, the right word is 'café' and they usually offer strong black coffee and a heavenly slice of warm Dutch apple tart. So much better than any Dutch coffee shop.

Alas, I digress, this was about Ghana not the Netherlands. When I

moved to Ghana back in the early 00s, there were very few coffee shops or cafés and few offered that charming ambience that I craved so much.  Things have changed and the inevitable force that is globalization has finally led to at least two new coffee shop chains offering brewed coffee and comfy seats.  I managed to go to 2 branches of my particular coffee shop 5 times within 3 weeks.  I did wince at the heavy amounts I parted with to get my fix but for me it was also about that charming coffee shop ambience that had finally arrived in town.

The coffee, the music and the cool people

PS: In the past 2 years, I have come to realize that the strongest and most delicious coffee can be found in East Africa. Places like Java House in Nairobi (that allows you choose the strength of your coffee) or Mokka City Café and Lounge in Dar es Salaam serve the most unforgettable cups of coffee on this planet.  One of the most delightful cups of coffee I have ever had was on a coffee plantation in Mbeya, Southern Tanzania. Their coffee foam patterns were amazing too.

Delicious coffee at Mokka City Café and Lounge
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Coffee at Utengule Coffee Lodge, Mbeya, Tanzania

The Best of the B.A.D: I guess that is what they call 'Inflation'

My bestest buddy El, who is not Ghanaian, occasionally sends me articles from high-brow financial journals such as the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal that chronicle the meteoric rise and fall of the African star that was Ghana. Rather than providing a cautionary tale for other developing countries, I am beginning to believe that financial reporters delight in a train-wreck or two. 

Back in the early 10s, Ghana was seen as the African 'wunderkind' by many economists. There was much talk about an economic boom which was being lubricated, literally, by the flow of oil. There was even the hasty re-classification of Ghana as a Middle-income country. Sadly, in a fate reminiscent of the Celtic Tiger of the late 90s / early '00s, economic boom was followed by bust.  

I should point out that I know nothing about economics. The one econ class I took in college for 'fun' ended up being an albatross around my neck. I digress, back in the early 10s, Ghana was the golden child that lost its shine very quickly. The nagging question, which is captured in an Oasis song NOT about Ghana, is 'Where did it all go wrong?'. The answer to this poignant question I will leave to economics types who know all about falls in commodity prices, huge wage bills, speculating, eurobonds, markets, borrowing, mismanagement, corruption etc. etc. 

However, what I do know is that my recent trip to Ghana provided some practical experiences in one important economic principle: Inflation. I am definitely the wrong person to attempt to explain 'inflation' but according to Google, inflation has something to do with a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. These sentiments are echoed in the dictionary screen-shot below: 

Back in 2009, I waxed lyrical about the things I loved the most about Ghana living. This was in post entitled Celebrating the best of the B.A.D. Included in this list was "Doing your hair for cheap".  It was as if Ghana 2016 read my post and decided to teach me a valuable lesson. To cut a long story short, the amount I paid for doing my hair in 2010 or even 2012 was the amount I gave out in tips in 2016. The exact same thing happened when it came to getting my troublesome brows waxed. Full prices in days gone by are now tips in 2016. 

Inflation was all around me. Another example was when I took a short mini-bus (trotro) ride and was literally laughed out of the vehicle by the conductor (the mate) after I proffered Ghc 0.20 in his direction to pay for the ride. The mate then explained quite patiently that short rides started at GHC 1.00. Let's not even get into taxi fares. 

Next up was the GHc 50.00 note. Back in the day, these notes were hardly used or even seen but now they flow like water through the system. 

Ghana Money
Source: wikipedia

Whenever a GHC 50.00 note was whipped out circa 2010/2011, it was sure to cause a slight panic at any reasonably-priced restaurant as the staff scrambled to find change for such a huge note. These days, GHC 50.00 can barely cover lunch for two people. I shudder to think what collection bowls in churches look like these days; seas of pink (GHC 1.00) are probably now seas of green (GHC 10.00) and purple (GHC 20.00). 

I probably retained zero knowledge of economics from my brief dalliance with the subject in undergrad but one of the best lessons I got was from my return home to Ghana. I finally got to learn, firsthand, what they mean when they say a country has been hit by inflation. Hmmm do they actually say that?

The Best of the B.A.D : The Commander in Swag

One thing is for certain in the Beacon of African Democracy, the President seems to have his pulse on the beating heart of the youth. In other words, 'he got swag'. Defining exactly what 'swag' means can cause one to run into numerous problems but it loosely means displaying a cross between uber-coolness and very hipness. In other words, someone who has swag knows what is hip, fresh and new.  

President John Dramani Mahama (in dark glasses; uber-cool as usual)
at the launch of his presidential campaign in
the Central Region of Ghana.
Source: Screenshot from a live Joy TV news broadcast

President Mahama is relatively young, good-looking and seems to have always been a youth magnet of sorts. Back in the 2012 election, he eloquently and correctly stated that he was born in 'Ghana' while his opponent Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was in fact born in colonial 'Gold Coast'. These are undeniable facts. 

President Mahama proved just how much swag he had when he read his inaugural presidential speech on 7 January 2013 using an electronic tablet. This was around the time where that very election was being challenged in the Supreme Court. The young people on Ghana Twitter and elsewhere went wild: 

Twitter search of 'Mahama, speech, tablet'

Although programmes under President Mahama specifically targeting Ghanaian youth empowerment and employment such as the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) have been.....erm......less successful, our president has remained a youth champion throughout his tenure.

Sons of Anarchy poster
Source: collider.com

In June 2016, a curious thing happened that I can best describe as a Sons of Anarchy moment. This happening further proved we were still one nation under the Swag President. Speaking of the series Sons of Anarchy, I watched two episodes and was stumped by the appeal. But alas, I digress. We were talking about Ghana in June 2016. After heavy flooding in Accra, our president, like any super hero would, donned some cool clothes and headed out on a solo motorcycle ride across the city of Accra apparently inspecting torrential flooding. There are number of YouTube videos of this tour. My first thoughts were:

1. Who actually does this?!
2. Isn't it better to take a helicopter to inspect flooding?

Ghanaian social media on the other hand, was very much impressed. 

Screenshot from YouTube of some of the many videos of the
President's Sons of Anarchy moment 

Then came the Rio Olympics in August 2016. While watching the live broadcast, our President appeared to have been immensely impressed by Usain Bolt's amazing feats of greatness on the track. Being the P.R. guru that he is, President Mahama decided to release a photo with his swag credentials on full display. This time, Twitter was not so impressed. The general sentiment on the President's Rio gambit are best summed up in a tweet by a Twitter user named "Bearded Raiden"(tweet reproduced with kind permission of said Bearded Raiden) 

A rough translation of the tweet: It appears that President John Dramani Mahama is taking the upcoming Ghana 2016 Presidential election as if it were a Senior High School election. His actions seem to suggest that his motto is simply "Vote for me, I am a cool guy and I have swag".

Other comments on Twitter gently reminded the president that his mandate was in fact to fix the economy and create jobs rather than displays of swag... 

To borrow from young people lingo, this Bolt gambit appears to have been an 'epic fail'.  Could it be that our President is in fact all swagged out or just a case of swag overload? Stay tuned for more from the Commander in Swag.

The Best of the B.A.D: For the love of coffee

I am a coffee addict and not in denial. My addiction means I cannot forgo the allure of all the evil coffee corporations found in the Western hemisphere. I love real coffee brewed to perfection and although coffee shops in the Netherlands mean something different, there is nothing I loved more than catching up with friends in a Dutch café with a heavenly slice of warm Dutch apple tart.  It is not just the coffee but the ambience that really makes the coffee shop experience memorable...especially if the cafe throws in power outlets and free wifi.
When I relocated back to Ghana back in the '00s, I long yearned for the coffee shop experience.  
 During my recent trip to Ghana, I discovered that there are a plethora of new coffee shop chains sprinkled across Accra. Some going back quite a few years too. So I must say that globalization has finally led to a chain of coffee shops making their way to Ghana. One particular chain had me coming back again and again. Not really for the coffee but the ambience. 

Although I have come to realize that the strongest and delicious coffee is actually in East Africa. Places like Java House in Nairobi that allow you choose the strength of your coffee or Mokka City in Dar es Salaam. The best coffee I've had was probably in Mbeya in Southern Tanzania. 

The Best of the B.A.D: Kotoka International Airport enters the 20th Century

Kotoka International Airport, Accra

Some of us are old enough to remember Kotoka International Airport (KIA) back in the 1980s. Although quite young, I have a vivid memory of mid-'80s KIA being akin to a marketplace. My mind's eye tells me there was a lot of confusion, a never-ending stream of officials in plain-clothes opening our bags on arrival and there may have been some goats about. Actually, I think the goats were probably inserted into the memory from my imagination - we do like our goats in Ghana though. But I digress.....we were talking about KIA. Mid-'90s KIA was not very different from mid-'80s KIA. Outside the airport however, it was a different ball game. In the mid-'90s, Ghana was well into its triumphant return to multi-party democracy and that meant there was much more freedom. Freedom meant that outside KIA one was greeted by mobs of well-dressed youth who clutched on to your bags on arrival and offered assistance. I do remember some of them demanding "just a One pound coin" for basically touching your bag. Not sure why these young men assumed that every passenger was arriving from a place where pounds were legal tender. Besides, how does one change a one pound coin anyway? 

It always struck me as surprising that for a country that prides itself as being the 'Gateway to Africa', KIA changed very little over the years. Perhaps I exaggerate but as time went on, KIA to me was starting to look more like the gateway to war-torn Africa. You know, like the airport in a Hollywood production set in a fictional civil war-torn African country where everyone is gathered in a panic? 

Speaking of African airports, history and Hollywood, did you know that around 4 July 2016, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited Entebbe International Airport to mark the 40th anniversary of the (in)famous Operation Entebbe? Childhood exposure to some age-inappropriate films meant I learnt all about the raid on Entebbe Airport from the 70s film Operation Thunderbolt. Quick recap: in June 1976, a group of terrorists hijacked a Paris-bound plane that had left Tel Aviv. To cut a long story short, the plane was taken to Entebbe Airport in Uganda where the hostages were to be hosted by one of Africa's most regrettable sons: Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada.  This historical plot was literally the stuff of fiction and it culminates in an elite squad of Israeli soldiers storming the airport. The commandos were led by the charismatic, young and good-looking 

Poster for the film Operation Thunderbolt (1977)
Source: Wikipedia

Lt. Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu. *Spoiler alert* The end of the film left me bawling as a child since the hero Yonatan dies during the daring rescue. Interestingly, it was only decades later that I found out that Lt Col. Yonatan Netanyahu was the older brother of the current Israeli PM. I did not see that plot twist coming. Apparently, the death of his brother may account for some of Bibi's hardline views.
  
But seriously I digress, this was about KIA and Ghana. Over the years, as the airport hubs in other African countries expanded, Ghana's airport remained the same but somehow went from market-place to sheer embarrassment. So fast-forward to my arrival in Accra on 31 July 2016. I was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed back to a newly-renovated KIA. I swore I heard Osibisa's Welcome Home playing as the plane landed. Well, maybe that was another one from my imagination but wouldn't that have been great?

Mind you, Kotoka is not Bole International, Jomo Kenyatta International or Oliver Tambo International but it is getting there....slowly. It is finally entering the late 20th Century and somewhere down the line, I see the 21 Century. I was equally impressed by the efficient immigration lines. I would have taken pictures to document the swanky new renovations but alas, one policy remains unchanged: no pictures in the airport. What a shame.

Great to fly SAA for the first time in over 15 years

P.S. Post Number 300! 

The Best of the B.A.D. 2016

A slightly odd but eye-catching
Game of Throne-y looking Ohemaa Mercy
billboard seen on the Spintex Road in Accra

In August, I was back in the B.A.D - The Beacon of African Democracy. This trip to Ghana was probably the longest visit home I have had since 2010 and it gave me the chance to really appreciate the dramatic transformations that have take place over the past 6 years. In other words, I got to see the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the B.A.D. 

My initial blog-post about the visit was a long collection of ramblings that was likely to induce sleep in even the most avid reader. So I've decided to break it up into shorter posts in a new series I am calling The Best of the B.A.D 2016. This post is but a mere teaser. Unlike the launch of political party manifestos in Ghana or the Wikileaks Clinton files, I promise not to delay releases with pre-teasers, teasers, highlights, spoiler-alerts and trailers. To be honest, I am not sure anyone is reading this but if you are, please do stay tuned. 

Picture taken just outside my neighbourhood in Accra.
Some things never change:
 Ghanaian humour in the face of adversity

Top Ten things I noticed while in the B.A.D

Life in the B.A.D (Beacon of African Democracy) goes on. Hawkers still trade on the street, the best roasted plantain still comes with peanuts/groundnuts on the side and Makola Market is hustling and bustling. However, just like the main character from the series Life on Mars, my recent trip to Ghana was like landing on another planet ....cue the start of the David Bowie 70s hit Life on Mars?). Can I just say 2016 has been quite a year for the fame faces of my childhood passing on? David Bowie, Prince and of course Muhammad Ali...but I digress.
Back to the BAD. Accra has changed so much at such an alarming rate that I just had to blog about it. Ladies and gents, I present to you the top ten things that have changed drastically since 2015.

1. The Trotro Price escalation and the preacher
I took a trotro ride for a short distance. Given that the distance was so short, I had my 10p ready to hand over. The mate smiled at me and asked for GHC1.00 for the short distance. Interestingly, a preacher got on for this Madina bound trip which is kind of surprising to me since I have only seen preachers on larger buses leaving on long haul trips out of Accra or on larger mini-buses leaving out of Kaneshie Station at Circle

A blog return sparked by "Americanah"

It was something in Chimamanda Adiche's Americanah that got me back on my blog. It was not the fact that the main character in that glorious book had a blog. After all, my own blog is but a mere collection of my ramblings while her posts were carefully crafted witty observations about race in America. It was rather something about the storyline and suddenly me feeling the need to share beyond the Twittersphere. I am still reading it but I find Americanah so compelling because it tells a story I can relate to on so many levels. In a nutshell, it tells the story of an African who went to college in the US, stayed for some years and made a return back to the continent. Interestingly, I also embarked on my American adventure roughly around the same time as the main character. I never stayed as long and did not actually return to the country from which I had first embarked on my journey. I digress. I started this blog back in 2005 because I was in need of some form of escape from the stress of my master's programme. I started blogging again in 2008 because I was need of some escape from a stressful real-life situation. As the years rolled by, work and a PhD meant I began to blog less and less. Ironically, there was little time to be a procrastinator and of course I was not even in Accra.

  

So here I am back in Accra. Being back in the city I call home and with that initial spark from Americanah, I find myself back rambling....even if it is briefly.  

2016: New Beginnings

Goodbye 2015. My 2015 started with so much hope and potential. This was after the absolutely smashing year that was 2014.

2014 was a never-ending roller-coaster of success and great surprises professionally. There was the book chapter followed by another book chapter. Earlier in 2014 I attended a wedding in Germany that allowed me to meet up with some of my girls from undergraduate. There we were - all reunited 1000s of miles from college. Truly good times. 

2014 progressed and there was the last minute invitation to give a talk in Copenhagen staying in a 5 star hotel (that was in Danish-Swedish drama The Bridge) to a room of about 500+ people. The Bridge is amazing by the way. The talk was a success and it was thrilling. 2014 continued on. There was an invitation to a conference in Nairobi, meeting up with my good friends from graduate school. There was another trip to Dublin for a conference and reuniting with my high school BFF and meeting her husband and adorable sons. 2014 could not get better. The pinnacle was surviving my PhD defence surrounded by friends and family. 

So it appeared that the only way was up for 2015. It started out well but things crashed and burned quite soon. Things did not work out as expected. The grant that I pinned my hopes on did not materialize and my beloved Ghana continued to derail.

Granted I got to travel to Beijing, intern in Washington DC and make a triumphant return to the city that still has my heart - New York City. There I was in New York City after almost a decade, feeling the warmth of the subway steam and hanging out with my girls again like we did in the 00s. 

It turned out that 2015 was the year of bitter reality checks and reflection. Then I made a major decision. I quit my job and left the institute I had been affiliated with since I left the US and relocated to Ghana all the way back in 2002. It was a hard decision and one that may cost me in the long run but it was something I had to do.

So now we are in 2016. I started the year treading into completely unfamiliar waters.  I have relocated back to the part of Africa I spent my first 18 years - Southern Africa. It feels like coming full circle. This is a quite unfamiliar Southern Africa though.

It has only been  a few weeks but I am starting to adjust to life in Northern Malawi. I am living 5 minutes from Lake Malawi and a glorious beach. The area is quite isolated and sometimes all I hear are chickens and dogs barking. There are the occasional monkeys in trees, cows passing by and of course goats eating grass. It is a great time for reflection and hopefully, a very productive time. It has been a big gamble and if it does not work out, at least I would have had an enriching experience. 

The end of the glorious drive to my new (rural) base

One nation under Goats

A billy goat
Source: Ghana Ministry for Agriculture

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that goats seem to feature quite a bit in our lives in Ghana? They are like the devil in that Rolling Stones' song Sympathy For the Devil - goats are everywhere! 

Not only does goat light soup feature prominently in menus across the country, but there are countless other instances that this popular animal makes meat un-related headlines.

Here are just a few examples that come to mind:

1. The goat serum HIV cure debacle of yore:

HIV virus attacking a human cell
Source: Science magazine

Back in the mid-00s, a huge storm brewed in Ghana over a supposed HIV cure derived from goat serum. An eminent local scientist was at the centre of the storm. There was hope, there were headlines, there were press conferences, there were accusations, there was anger and then there was nothing.  Sadly, the curative powers of goat serum were later put in doubt. This was not after an escalation in the sales of goat light soup at chop bars across the nation.

2. The curious case of presidential Dead Goat Syndrome:

Fast-forward a decade later to the "DGS" episode. Talk about an analogy gone awry. President Mahama, our esteemed Commander in Chief, attempted to use a metaphor (?) to describe his imperviousness to strikes and demonstrations across the nation. This analogy was made during an encounter with Ghanaians in Botswana:

"I have seen more demonstrations and strikes in my first two years. I don't think it can get worse. It is said that when you kill a goat and you frighten it with a knife, it doesn't fear the knife because it is dead already.

"I have a dead goat syndrome"

President John Dramani Mahama
Source: Ghana Daily Graphic Newspaper

Unfortunately for him, the result was a statement that was largely mis-understood. One unintended interpretation was that the president was setting himself up as a lame duck president with little concern or interest for his fellow Ghanaians. Clearly a case of goats lost in translation. 

3. A gentleman prefers goats...

Ghana is currently in the midst of startling revelations related to alleged massive corruption of judges and judicial services workers. 

This is all thanks to the intrepid reporter Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his fearless team of crusaders. They are like the much-needed heroes in Gotham City. The judicial scandal stories are damning, shocking and in some cases a tad bizarre. Apparently, all sorts of goodies were proffered to sway judges. These gifts ranged from money, yams, goats and even "a massage". Perhaps the most curious revelation was that one judge allegedly rejected the offer of a sheep in favour of [Ghana's most beloved animal] the humble goat. Do you blame him? We love our goats. 

4. The other goat judge before the new goat judge:

What is it about judges and goats? Even before the judicial scandal, there was another case involving a judge ordering a goat thief to be marched through the streets of Akyem Swedru for his crime. The supposed goat thief was also ordered to hang the stolen animal around his neck with a placard that said “I am a goat thief”. Unfortunately for the goat judge, the sentence was deemed a tad questionable and he was asked to proceed on leave while a judicial review delved into the case. Looks like someone went too far. 

Well, these are just a few examples. Hope you can see that we are a nation entranced by this humble animal. Sounds to me like much ado about goats. 

Got goat examples?

Back in the B.A.D: Some impressions

Greetings from the Beacon of African Democracy where the sun is shining and there is a cool breeze blowing. I have been busy telling anyone that would listen that the weather is much cooler than the sweltering heat I experienced in Washington DC and to a lesser extent in New York City just a few weeks ago. Things in the B.A.D seem to be progressing. We just experienced a 36 hour power outage and it is generally hard to work out what exactly the loadshedding schedule is as it all appears to be random.

I've been here for a few weeks now and here are some pictures of my impressions.

1. New structures, new views
View from the new Tetteh Quarshie Interchange footbridge. Seems that when it comes to infrastructure, Ghana and Accra are slowly progressing...Shame we can't eat roads, power our houses with them or drink them.

2. To bleach or not to bleach.....

Beautiful Africa with beautiful people with silky, sun-kissed skin that they are proud of. Well, billboards in Accra will tell you otherwise. On a little walk to Accra Mall, we spied billboards very close to each other advertising tantalizing skin lightening products. Interestingly, one advert uses the irony-soaked hashtag entitled #Loveyourself. Perhaps the irony is lost. Well, unless they are actually saying that us with dark skin cannot possibly love ourselves. Very sad.

3. Street names are upon us

Lovely to see that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly has finally rolled out street names. Only problem is that our street name is not the one we thought we had. Also, our street name does not tally with Google Maps. Does that matter?

4. Election Fever that came and went

The non-partisan partisan District Assembly Elections were upon us a few weeks ago. To be frank, I do not know the issues or candidates in my area. I did check out some nifty posters though. On election day, I was hit by the bitter realization that I was extremely old. This was after I ran into one of the [hanging out-sitting-on-the-curb-with-his-boys back in day] area boys. He wildly called to me from across the street to go and vote. The amazing thing was that he was one of the candidates running for a seat in the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. I guess no one knows the area like an area boy. Alas, I had to signal to him that I am am not on the new voter's register...Sigh.

Still on the elections, I found this intriguing flyer at home. It urged voters to vote for "a woman" in the election. I understand the spirit given that there are very few women represented in politics. I may be taking the intended message out of context but seeing it as it is, I am just wondering whether competence of every female candidate is assumed?


5. Of half-wits and idiots
Sadly, some people are still idiots. A few days after I arrived, some half-wit chained their bike to a tree outside our gate on our property. I left a note threatening to dispose the bike. They took the bike at the end of the day and tossed the note. I am now in possession of a needle to provide a slow, memorable bike puncture next time they decide to use our flower bed as a parking facility.  If this is your bike, be warned. 

19 July 2015: My Father at 70

No farewell words were spoken,

No time to say "Goodbye".

You were gone before I knew it,

and only God knows why.

My heart still aches with sadness,

and secret tears still flow.

What it meant to love you -

No one can ever know.

If tears could build a stairway, 
and memories a lane.
I would walk right up to Heaven

and bring you back again.

Since you'll never be forgotten,

I pledge to you today~

A hollowed place within my heart

is where you'll always stay.

 Author: Unknown

Of xenophobia, our ignorance and the United States of Africa pipe-dream

Time Magazine from 1985 talks about Black Rage in the context of Apartheid South Africa
Source: Time Magazine

Recent reports of xenophobic attacks in South Africa have left me with a heavy heart. These are not new. After all, violent xenophobic attacks happened back in 2008. The South African government comes across as largely mute except to assure the world that these are not xenophobic attacks but afrophobic in nature. What a relief. In fact, this is the first time I have heard the term 'afrophobic'. Is that actually a thing? 

In the greater scheme of things, xenophobia in South Africa, as it is in other parts of the world and history, is a reflection of harsh economic times, unemployment and growing feelings of marginalization of a given populace. With such resentment comes anger directed against vulnerable groups.

It is curious though that the xenophobic attacks are afro-centered in nature. Where does this deep-seated hatred for fellow Africans stem from? 

I find myself thinking that had I not made the decision to leave the University of Cape Town decades ago for the US, would I still be living in South Africa? Would my "West African" sepia make me vulnerable to these attacks? 

There are abundant comments on Twitter from other Africans outraged that black South Africans have forgotten the sacrifices that other African countries made for their freedom. Such sacrifices seem to have gone sadly undocumented but then a tricky question can be asked; do these past sacrifices warrant an unchecked influx of African immigrants into South Africa? Regardless, the violence and murder are unwarranted.

Despite the accounts of civil servants across Africa having their pay cut for contributions to a South Africa liberation fund (though it is hard to say where exactly this money went), no countries suffered more during apartheid than those living in the shadow of apartheid South Africa. These [so-called] Frontline states were Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and also from 1980, Zimbabwe. Many are too young to remember the cross-border raids from South Africa into these countries or the bombs that rocked places like Lusaka. There was also the nefarious involvement of the South African Defense Force in the Mozambican and Angolan civil wars. Let us not get started on the countless South African refugees in Swaziland and other countries. Is such recent history being forgotten or not imparted to new generations?

South African Defense Force of the 1980s on border patrol
Source: http://www.sahistory.org.za/ 

In the dying days of apartheid, one thing I (oddly) remember are the reader comments sent to the popular South African magazine You magazine. At the time, there was real panic among some White South Africans that if apartheid ended, they would be forced out of South Africa. For some reason, a lot of readers sent letters saying things like "you (the Blacks of South Africa) are better off than other Africans. At least you have shoes to wear". Although largely inaccurate, these sentiments underlie, perhaps, the great divide that existed between South Africa and the rest of Africa. The apartheid system had ensured minimal education and that Black South Africans knew as little as possible about the rest of Africa. The system perpetuated a myth that the rest of Africa was an utter shambolic, chaotic wasteland and that somehow black South Africans were much better off as second class citizens in their own country. Did this myth perhaps also ingrain feelings of superiority?

Apartheid may have planted the seeds of afrophobia but 20 years have passed since the system collapsed so there must be other factors driving this deep-seated hatred. Does ignorance play a role?
Hang on, as other Africans like myself are perched up on our high horses, how much do we know about other parts of Africa ourselves? For example, how much do West  Africans know about East Africans beyond stereotypes and vice-versa? 

I often tell the story about living between Ghana and Southern African in the 90s: 

People in Ghana would say : "In Southern Africa, do they speak Swahili?"

I would say: "No..."

People in Southern Africa would say: "In Ghana, do they speak Swahili?"

I would say: "No..."

We chide others about being ignorant about the African continent but how knowledgeable are we about it anyway? These thoughts plus the xenophobic attacks and lack of appreciation for history have led me to a larger more troubling question: is the United Africa goal of pan-Africanism no more than a pipe-dream?

Ghana 2015

Just like that it is 2015. I was in Ghana to see the end of the glorious year that was 2014 and the ushering in of 2015. I meant to blog earlier about my experiences since it had been two years since I had been to my beloved homeland.  However, I just could not blog. Anything I had to say would sound like a diatribe of what my ex-brother-in-law used to call "complaining music". Let us not even get started on the reliable internet connection issues I had. Also, I am still reeling from the shock at how much things had changed and often not in a good way. On the one hand, Ghana does the appearance of a vibrant, rich, capitalist country that is full of opportunities so well. At the same time, it is also doing an impersonation of a failed state recovering from a long civil war pretty accurately.

Here is my list of some of the goods and the bads.

The Goods:

1. The Police: They are young, sleek and visible. Over a two year period, our police force on the streets of Accra turned young, goodlooking, athletic and professional. Not only were they visible but seemed to have access to equally sleek looking vehicles. At first I thought this visible improvement was just by chance but apparently it is a new policy. Police are directing traffic, doing roundblocks at night and for the first time in my experience of Ghana, actually doing their jobs.

2. Road developments in Accra: Ignoring the abysmal mess that is Kwame Nkrumah circle, there are a number of impressive road developments. Suddenly, the Spintex Road bottle-neck has been eased. The parts of the Madina-Legon road that I saw were also looking good.

3. Malls, malls, malls: A number of new malls and shopping centres have opened since I've been away. There is the Marina Mall, Osu shoprite mall, Palace shopping centre, Nungua shoprite shopping centre....just to name a few. 

4. Complex housing complexes: Not sure this is a good but there are dozens of new housing complexes that are being completed. Sign of rapid development or perhaps indications of an economic powerhouse bubble?

Villagio at Airport Residential Area, Accra

The Bads:

1. The energy crisis: Probably the most frustrating aspect of my return was the energy situation. The lack of power in Ghana is at dire levels. We have had stringent loadshedding in the middle of the 00s but the present situation is like a cruel punishment the populace is being subjected to. The energy crisis just goes to show what happens when incompetence and mis-management go unchecked. The least said the better.

2. The water crisis: For the past 20 years, we have had a house in a neighborhood with constant, reliable water that was available daily. That has changed. It seems the way in which the Ghana Water Company optimized water supply to other areas was NOT to come up with ingenious ways of getting additional water supplies but by simply robbing Peter to pay Paul. So my neighborhood has suddenly turned into a dry area with an unknown water schedule. It does however seem to come on around 3am on inconsistent days.

3. Falling cedi and killer prices: Although I am away from Ghana now, I am still reeling from the effect of the falling cedi on prices across the board. Taxi rides that cost GHC 5.00 two years are now going for GHC 10 minimum. Someone has gone through all the restaurant menus at my favorite places and multiplied all prices by 2.5. To make things worse, salaries did not go up in the same way.

There are so many bads to list but really do not want to turn this into a huge bitter rant. In all, Ghana is still Ghana. The public's expectations of leaders are still low. Every public school building is still being used as a church venue. Kotoka International Airport's arrival terminal still has not changed (in my eyes) since 1985. There are still 100s of youth selling mobile phones without boxes at Circle. Some banks are still a hotbed of inefficiency and privileged people are still worshiped.  

In essence, home is still home. 

The Return

Picture taken at the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout in Accra, circa 2009

It has been a while since I blogged. Since August, I have managed to learn a lot about myself, what constitutes family and friendship as well as managed to become a PhD holder. The past few months were harrowing at times, exhilarating, frustrating, joyous and sad. In a few days, I will be in Accra, the place I re-fell in love with in the early '00s. Living in Accra I was able to witness many transformations and changes. Back in '08, I started blogging about these. So much has changed in my life and in Ghana since then. I have not been back to Ghana since January 2013. I am therefore very curious to see the changes. Social media, family and friends talk about a Ghana that is frustrating, burdened with rising costs and a government that seems out of its depth.

Death of an Iconic Film Director: Lord Richard Attenborough 1923–2014

Lord Richard Attenborough
Source: The Times UK 

Back in my late teens in Southern Africa, my classmates and I had a rare opportunity. We had the chance to meet and interact with the director Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila for at least an hour. He was a patron of our school which had a long history of a strong stance against apartheid South Africa. He was visiting the school for a meeting of the school board. In hindsight, we did not use our time well. Here we were given the opportunity to talk with the director of the iconic masterpieces Gandhi and Cry Freedom but all we wanted to talk about were seemingly petty school politics. Lord Attenborough was patient with us. He listened to our concerns and assured us that he would express our concerns to the powers that be. Nearing the end of the interaction he asked humorously "So there are no questions about movies?!!". The whole room erupted with laughter. If I had not been so shy, I might have had the courage to tell him that 'Gandhi' was the very first VHS tape that went into our freshly purchased VCR way back in the early 1980s. Of course I never did have the guts to say that but I did get an autograph from both him and his wife.

Thinking back, this was my first interaction with anything close to Hollywood movie-making glamour. Both Lord Attenborough and his wife did not fit the Hollywood stereotype. They were both warm, kind, down to earth, patient, wonderful people who seemed very much in love after decades of marriage. It was with a heavy heart therefore that I heard of Baron Attenborough's passing this morning. My thoughts are with his wife Sheila and the rest of his family at this difficult time. In the obituaries and chronicles of his life, may he also be remembered for his brave and strong stance against apartheid.  

Lord Attenborough, you touched many more lives than you may have imagined; Rest in Peace.