Corporate Ghana neglects the 3 regions of Northern Ghana

A few months ago, a man from Bole became president of Ghana; I was busy hunting rabbits around the Ada-kuruk hills located in Sandema a town in the Upper East region. The circumstances that led to this Bole-boy becoming president though very sad was hailed as a gift from God by many across northern Ghana comprising the northern region, upper east region and the upper west region. Yes, it may have been a gift, but my question was/is, why must a Bole boy come to power before attention goes to the “ntafuo”? Is it that they are insignificant in the eyes of policy makers or their contribution to the national GDP is so little they have to be served the crumbs? BAM I shouldn’t go there right? Ok…I wont. On a daily basis I see competitions on TV, I see various forms of entertainment shows, I see cultural displays based on festivals, I have seen several documentaries on culture (southern culture), I see initiatives by celebrities, I hear a lot about people wanting to change/affect society positively, and I keep asking to myself; how do they achieve these things? Who pays for all these adverts, TV shows, festival coverage and the various initiatives by our Ghanaian celebrities? Someone may see me as assuming an ethnocentric posture, to some extent I will say yes but its not to suggest that I abhor any cultures. I just seek to understand why people of the 3 regions of the northern part of Ghana are left behind when it comes to sponsoring events and most other things that can effect the social change we all seem to crave. Most of the big co-operations that actively participate in the celebrations and social interventions initiated to the benefit of southern Ghana operate in the 3 northern regions, so why don’t they take our activities seriously? From the telecommunication companies to the beverage/beer companies; all have clients and patrons over there, so why the reluctance to sponsor events there; could it be because they do not value the amount of revenue generated in these areas and thus do not recognize a need to intervene through their co-operate responsibility initiatives to make the people in these areas beneficiaries of their charitable works? Could it be because there are no indigenous companies to battle for the market with them in these areas? There are about 26 traditional festivals in these 3 regions; Are they not worth publicizing or are they not worthy of being associated with any co-operation/s? My interactions with various people who have tried to get a form of sponsorship for activities they initiate around these festivals suggest a seemingly no-interest from co-operate Ghana. As a people with will all agree to the importance of retaining our culture whilst using it to effect that social change we so desire and also the importance of cultural activities intertwined with various activities/initiatives to bridge that developmental lapse between the south and the north of Ghana. We claim a diversity regarding the culture of the various people of Ghana, so why the constant neglect of certain cultural exhibitions? Is our media so unlearned to the effect that everything Ghana is limited to the south? Is the only news from Northern Ghana conflict or natural disasters? I can ask more and more questions but reality is that, anytime a person from those regions tries to make an issue of the neglect they are referred to as being tribalistic. My personal experience may have informed this article but that can’t take away the truth in my case. Asking for sponsorship from co-operate Ghana in these areas is like trying to find a grain of guinea corn in the desert sands. You are either met with incomprehensible excuses or thrown out with utter disdain. The worse offenders are the various marketing personnel of these companies that hail from the 3 regions. I do acknowledge the roles of individuals of southern descend who push for the recognizing of their cultures through the various media platforms and activities surrounding their cultural celebrations. But can that be said about the rich from the 3 regions in the north of Ghana? An emphatic NO is the answer response to my own question. The rich only flaunt wealth when their political ambitions mature. It’s a pity that we call Ghana a country with so many diverse cultures yet prominence is given to only the cultures of southern Ghana. We even see pageants and many events categorizing the 3 regions into one zone. A critical look at the TV and media in general is proof that the 3 regions are not significant when talking events/culture. What could we be doing wrong? Could we be second-class citizens of our beloved Ghana? Maybe that time has come for a sectarian attitude to be endorsed (a thing I forbid), maybe its time for a TV station to pop up only for these regions, maybe its time for a communication company to pop up for these regions, maybe its time for northern Ghana to start its own breweries and textile companies. Maybe its time for people in these regions to abandon the patronage of these co-operations that disregard our loyalty. My challenge (as insignificant as it may seem) to co-operate Ghana, the media and celebrities is to prove me wrong. It’s October and many events are being planned, many festivals are going to take place, if I am wrong about their neglect, then they should involve themselves in these activities. I will even help by telling them the various festivals that will take place between now and the end of December. Boaram will be celebrated in Bongo and Teng-zug, Daa in Boari, Kobine & Sabre in Lawra, Samanpiid in Bawku, Fao in the Kasena Nankani area, Kakube in Nandom and Feok in the Builsa traditional area. It is not my intention to whip up ethnic sentiments regarding the operations of co-operate Ghana and the media, but to draw the attention of co-operate Ghana to the fact that their operational area is beyond the south of Ghana.

Badek Thinks....: THE MAN I HATE CAN BE REDEEMED

Badek Thinks....: THE MAN I HATE CAN BE REDEEMED

THE MAN I HATE CAN BE REDEEMED

Typical of a Ghost story, we’re caught in an insatiable quest to link the ghostly experience and reality. You believe there must be a thin line, yet all efforts are extremely un-advancing. Meaning your relating the experience of a ghost to reality may just be ambiguous. But you rise each day to an atmosphere which is typical of a December 23rd in northern Ghana. Casting your sight about 200metres ahead, you can see only the harmattan and not the man in Black.
You wish you could see past it, but your genes are that of a nomadic nympho and won’t let you be that man you see on the front page of Time Magazine or that girl who can be seen as a decoration on Ebony rather your genetic composition apparently gives you the attitude you so despise and yet adore. Yes, for the world, it’s a web, but for you it’s a mixture of ghastly but ghostly reality (elusive dreams).
Your wish is to say a word and everything goes away but you also want to maintain a grip on what you call your life. How can you erase the past and still live today and expect tomorrow? Maybe as an individual, your beliefs, faith are not independent but based on fate which means you live by accident.
For you, it’s imperative that the world opens every door for you because you make all the right choices but the man next door sees you and can only keep his descriptions to himself because an attempt to define you will lead to manslaughter.
You stand as the best man ever, but inwardly you don’t believe you have any organs supporting you and that you are on life support which is induced by sight. Yes, your reason for trying to live is because you can see. Yes, you can see the beauty that abound on this earth. You have tried God, but you didn’t absolutely trust in him because you have been told there is something called tangible and something called a concept. Out of self pity and misery you adopted God though you perceive him as a concept.
The world has wronged you and you own a right to kill it. You wish you could sue nature because it has conspired with your employers, lecturers, lovers, family and everyone who could spare a crumb of bread to turn against you.
You have very little knowledge of consequences resulting from your actions. Yes the past has seemingly been allowed to author a future you yearn to embrace but have no idea what it has in store. Each time you make an effort to use the past as a transformational tool, you hear voices that all claim to be the answer. The voices mutter nothing into your head which doesn’t just hear but see. Your vision is blurred by the heavy smoke that rises from your bedroom leaving your mind clouded and about to thunder strike. Everybody is supposed to make you happy except “you”. Self pity has become your favorite expression of “whats up”. Your anger levels just shot up and that one person who used to stick around just bolted to the land of the living.
Yes, you are so dead, no one wants to stay around you for fear of contracting a disease since the stench is so bad. You are a walking carrier of foolishness, Stupidity, evil, self pity, heartbrokenness and worse of all; you have never tried to get a cure. You could make a grand master if your state was a cult.
You doubt God but believe the devil is behind your problems. You work hard enough on the wrong things, you desires are mainly the nothingness of this life, your aspirations are drawn from the world’s famous but devilish people. The words “yes you can” are like “sleep and rise” so you repeatedly scream them daily. Half your life is spent creating an ideal dream whilst you are awake, so how can you get anything done.
Every day is another opportunity to procrastinate and you have become a master of concepts. Your ideas are mind blowing but not implementable. You are the solution to a whole generations problem. Yes the generation that you only come into contact with when you lay your head on a bed and close your eyes.
My advice is, do not be another me, do not hate yourself, do not be the reason why you failed, do not let the ways of this world be the ultimate decider in your endeavors, do not let the philosophies of the “big minds” become more pronounced than the opportunities that lie in FAITH IN GOD.
LET JESUS TAKE THAT WHEEL.