An article by Obed Sarpong

Without doubt, I have lived the larger part of my life in Ghana. Aside this country of about 23 million human beings -- good people and those who for one unreasonable reason or the other do evil -- I have only dared to step out of the artificial boundaries in West Africa, Africa, for only once. My story is not special compared to the over 200 million people who occupy just Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Those who live close to the borders naturally have two nationalities -- not the paper document legitimising this -- but that they experience two or more cultures, without pausing to think of any shocks, shocks that anyone from without their sphere would experience.

In the differences lie the similarities. We complain of the same things, challenge the same things, hate and love the same things. Just as we sever, so does these similarities manifest in varied ways. I do not expect a Ghanaian to visit Nigeria and not complain of the frequent power outages or the long queues for fuel in Ibadan or the hard water that threatens to crack your lips. The people are different, yet they are the same in many ways to the people living in Ghana. I would not be doing anybody any good if I write about just these inconveniences, or mention them. I'd remember the beautiful faces that met me in that little restaurant. That woman inviting me to eat her fried plantain; it is forever imprinted, indelibly, on my mind. It is a big country.

The time I spent in Nigeria is not a dream and coming back to Ghana is not coming back to REALITY. Nigeria was reality. I do not want to write about Nigeria or Benin and not write from their perspective. And they do have to be understood from their perspective. Just as it would seem unfair that A GHANAIAN WOULD THINK AMERICANS OR EUROPEANS RIGID, EMOTIONLESS, MACHINE-LIKE OR THINGS WHO ONLY CARE ABOUT TIME AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO BEAT TIME TO DO, it would also be unfair for an American or European to think Ghana or anywhere else on this huge continent inefficient, disorganised or any such words that seek to portray Ghana as just that.

Ghana is not only filled with terracotta and winds that blow dirt onto a clean skin. Indeed, a lot of places within the country have pavements which one can walk on and feel like a real person. The
presence or absence of it takes nothing away. They dress whichever way they want and seem to be surprised at the white lady who walks around with dirty feet. Yes, they do not have hot shower machines installed in their homes or apartments. They take bucket showers and have heaters to warm the water. They take hot showers when they want to. They will not believe anyone who tells them they do not do so. They know their trotros are not too comfortable, but that is what they
have. Most of them cannot afford the taxis. But they get to their destinations safely. The people are not fixated with THINGS. They know THINGS are important, but not the ultimate. They work to make themselves better and not measure their ways with others only to think themselves as not normal because they are not within their territory.

But one cannot understand why the peoples of the Americas and Europeans would still want to preach old messages. Why they want to be understood from their perspective, but not from others. Why?

Obed Sarpong