Tithing through “Men-Of-God”

We had just come back from lunch, and were picking up the remains of a conversation sparked by a Forbes Magazine report on rich Nigerian pastors who own private jets, drive posh cars and are worth millions of dollars. I was complaining about how pastors can afford to buy private jets in Nigeria, a country where poverty is a next door neighbour on every other street. Nigeria, a country similar to Ghana, has a troubling issue of abject poverty. Poverty continues to deny people of the (most) basic necessities of life, many of these same people (who live from hand-to-mouth) are the very same people who finance these church moguls, through their offertory and tithes.

I have not said I’m against tithing or giving offertory at Church, no! But I am openly against Pastors who live off members of their Church. The conversation had gone on for some time when my boss chipped in why he thinks paying tithe is not as worthy as helping a fellow-man in need. He suggests that, instead of giving offertory in the Church, he would rather give directly to charity, let’s say an NGO, a friend or someone who genuinely demonstrates a need. A colleague worker had countered my boss with the explanation that, it is not for us Christians to question men anointed by God. She went on to say that, we have to do our part in honouring God by regularly paying our tithe. As to what they do with it, it is up to them; and for God to judge.

So for how long would we wait for God to come and judge these pastors, when this same God has given Man enough wisdom to take his own decisions? Here comes another million dollar question that was asked: “What is godlier (he used ‘more godly’) than what Patrick Awuah is doing with that Ashesi institution?” He further explains that, it is activities like this (i.e Ashesi foundation), that deserve his offertory or tithe.

Do we then stop tithing to our pastors, since we cannot trace what exactly they use the money for, and tithe to Patrick and other noble men of the African continent, striving hard, relentlessly, sacrificing all that they have, against all odds, just to create a renaissance of the African glory? Or do we tithe to God (through these pastors) who know little and care less about the welfare of their congregation, flying around in private jets acquired with the poor man and poor woman’s offertory? Is it for God to judge them, or our common sense should give us some answer whilst God has not yet raised the hammer over their heads?

You decide!

The entertaining aftermath of Ghanaian funerals

There is a new source of cheap entertainment in the metropolis: funeral parties. The evening sessions that follow the observance of final funeral rites is nothing compared to the solemn service characterized by crocodile tears and incessant wailing. At these funeral parties, there is plenty to eat, plenty to drink and all the latest music to dance to. You would be amazed how the same funeral grounds where people cried the name of the dead, is swiftly transformed into a 21^st century night club with all the pleasures that you would get if you pay 20Ghc+ to enter Aphrodisiac or Citizen Kofi.

Funeral parties, (a.k.a Gbonyo party) is proving to be the cheap alternative to clubbing. With the added touch of open air-on street-free for all dance floors, mourners are entertained to the fullest on funeral grounds. All this jamming happens right there on streets, illegally blocked (with installed canopies), obviously with total disregard for the flow of traffic or the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).

Ghana is a truly a free country!

Anyone at all, can just block the street in front of their houses just to hold funerals. Anyway, this would be the focus of another blog post. For now, let us stick to the intricacies of funeral parties; the item 13 of funeral ceremonies. Just this week, I woke up to find the street in front of my hostel blocked. The red and black canopies and plastic chairs that skirted the street was enough to fill me in. The early “morning service” of the funeral ceremony was witnessed by incessant cries of “gbele yitson wa” or “owuo nitrim y3 dinn” to wit, death is very wicked. I was saddened; even though I did not know the dead one, I felt that way because of the red faces and swollen eyes that greeted me as I passed by the funeral grounds on my way to town.

I got back from town some minutes past 5:00pm. I was treated to loud music of Castro and Baby Jet’s “Do the Dance” and I wondered whether the funeral has been replaced by another group who were celebrating some joyous moment.

Getting close, I discovered to my utmost incredulity, that the same red-eyed, long and saddened faces had been formatted, replaced by a new OS. As freely as they blocked our streets to have their funeral, they freely also threw the residential area into total chaos, where residents were plagued with loud music so late into the night. People were actually having the time of their lives, in their unchanged funeral attires. The funeral had evolved into a party, a killer one!

The dancers enjoyed natural a/c, their dancing floor is as large as the street extends. I was tempted to join the party, the beautiful ladies that were “boo-ing their mo” (breaking their inside) was so inviting. The party was sick, you wouldn’t believe these people are supposed to be mourning.

So next time when you are in the capital city and broke, and yet you want to be entertained, just locate one of the many funeral announcements fastened boldly to walls, fully ignoring the “Post No Bill” signs and check the venue of nearby funeral.

Carnage at Tetteh Quarshie Bus stop a.k.a Spanner

Is it the nursing mothers haste to get home in order to prepare supper for family, or is it the father’s strong desire to make it home early to taste that delicious meal? What is it that make people rush home from work? Where are we in a hurry to?

I ask this question because of the way some pedestrians ruthlessly cross the road, especially after working hours (a.k.a rush hour). Is it worth risking your precious life, just to make it home on time? Let’s pause and consider what would happen to this same family, if we get knocked down as we cross the streets with total disregard to speeding vehicles; as if life is a game of Mario, where we can easily recharge and get more “lives” by swallowing one or more coins.

The way in which people cross the road in Ghana, especially at the Spanner bus stop at the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange is very disheartening. They defy the “greenness” of the traffic light and compete with the speeding cars. Most of the cars plying these routes are usually running at 80 mph plus, and it is very difficult for a driver to halt to a total stop.

When the traffic light is red, cars stop for the pedestrians and hawkers to  cross the road, but these people, so much in a hurry wouldn’t stop crossing when the light turns green. It is said about Ghanaians that, we do not fear cars, but we fear rain. I was in the Accra Central one afternoon when rain showers began to bless us. The dexterity with which the traders packed their wares and the skill with which their customers disappeared from the scene to avoid being soaked by the rain left was a sight. So why can’t we also steer clear of the roads which are used by cars which can kill, or impair us in the least, unlike the rain which would just soak our clothes wet?

People do sometimes forget that, cars are machines which can fail. The driver may apply their brakes, but what if they do not respond. And to crown this inconceivable behavior, drivers may be riddled with insults when you sound your horn to draw the attention of seemingly blind pedestrians.

What I recommend is that, the state (police) should lash  anyone (hot and strong 6) who cross the street at the Spanner bus stop when the lights are green. I nearly knocked down a pedestrian just this Saturday, so this issue is not funny at all.

One charcoal stool and 3 Ga Kings

King Tackie Tawiah III

I woke up one morning to the news of a newly installed Ga Mantse, King Boni Nii Tackie Adama Latse II. However, the Ga Mantse’s palace is occupied by an incumbent King, Tackie Tawiah III, who was installed in 2006 following the death of Nii Amugi. So how does an installation ceremony proceed whilst the stool is not vacant? To make matters worse, there is a third-party also claiming to be the legitimate heir to the Ga stool. This brings to three, the number of people claiming and parading themselves as Ga kings. Incredible!

So I asked myself, what is it about being a Ga king that would make people go to such lengths, which has the tendency to cause widespread chaos? Unlike the Asantehene’s stool that is enviably made of gold (The Golden Stool), the Ga Mashie stool is made of nothing but wood.

Every now and then, we hear of the Asantehene being invited to some important function, locally and overseas as guests of other kingdoms. The pride and honour that comes with the Ashanti Kingdom is comparable to none, in

Otumfuo Osei Tutu, Asantehene

Ghana and beyond. With all the riches of the Ashanti Kingdom, we hardly hear of any disputes on the subject of who is the legitimate king. So the people with a Golden stool do not fight, but those with the wooden stool, made of Odum or Wawa are and painted with coal-tar are always at each other’s throat. Absurd!

But seriously, how can the Kingmakers of Ga Mashie, and the general people subject themselves to such mockery? Is it not enough to be outrun by the Ashanti’s in terms of developmental projects embarked upon by the Ashanti kingdom; the respect and pride attached to the occupant of the golden stool, the vast wealth and riches of the Ashanti kingdom, and the  authority, power and wisdom, with which the Asantehene rules over the Ashanti kingdom?

Let us put an end to this concert; the unfolding of events is like watching a movie. We are just showing our level of maturity to the people of Ghana and the world beyond. Let us wake up today, for after tomorrow, there would be no coming back.

After all is said and done, there remains only one true Mantse in blogosphere, and that’s me. Mantse G. 

 

Quarter to Buy Your Own Watch

I was asked what the time was today, twice! This spectacle of asking for time is usually done by the person pointing to your watch or they simply gesture to their imaginary watches on their wrist. It’s been very long since I was last stopped to “produce” time by a watch-less passerby. In recent times when wrist watches abound, it is not common to come across someone enquiring for time. So after being stopped twice today, it brought back memories of the good old past when it was common practice to be stopped and asked, “me pa wo ky3w, wo time no ab) s3n?” (to wit: what does your wrist watch say the time is?).

This activity became so common practice that the few wrist watch owners in the metropolis became frustrated any time someone stopped them to ask for time. At last comes the phrase “quarter to t) wo de3”our (meaning: the time is “a quarter-to buy your own watch”) that would put an end to this timeless culture of Ghanaians. Whether it was the phrase that put an end to the non-owning time machine Ghanaians or technological advancement, i don’t know, but a lot of people have now understood the importance of owning time devices so as to be time conscious and stop this Ghanaian (or African) craze of total disregard for time.

My focus in this blog is about how a lot has changed in Ghana. Many people own their own wrist watches now, our roads (most) now serve their purpose. We have several fly-over’s. We have a shopping mall that is like someone’s house compared to the malls of the west , nevertheless we still have the Accra mall, which we are all proud of, no?. Lol, we have a presidential palace, a befitting place of abode for the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana armed forces. It is however empty due to useless political skirmishes.

Anyway, all I want to say is that, Ghana has come a long way. We have really come far. We have attained significant milestones in our quest to become a developed nation. Our political system is better than before. It’s not the best, but it is definitely better. We can now go about our businesses without fear or trepidation of coup d’états. Our constitution has gone through several review phases to bring it to appreciable levels and there’s now better protection of the basic human rights. We now have great institutions like Ashesi University (of course!), Databank, UT, DreamOval and many others.  We should (for once) be proud of this GREAT nation and stop this practice of  always subjecting it to ridicule and constant bashing because of one inefficiency or the other.

God bless Ghana and everywhere else.