Opinions of Monday, 23 May 2022
Columnist: Joel Savage
Tyrants, sycophants, and bad people hold the world in their hands. As a result, no matter how much the world is rebuilt or how hard you try, people who fear others will take advantage of the situation. They can't change; they'll always be the same, preying on people's worries to do them more harm.
I've found that in Ghanaian schools, for example, school prefects like punishing or harassing children who they know are terrified. These evil school prefects should have shown courtesy to those they knew and feared, assuring them that I am not a threat, but they continue to bully them because they like being bullied.
Do you know when all of this bullying will end? That's when the irritated victim, who can't take it any longer, decides to fight back. That's exactly what I did in Bishop Boys Middle School to get away from Bediako, the monster school prefect.
In those days, bus number 22 departs from the Korle-Bu Hospital bus stop to its last destination at Kaneshie but I used to walk from Kaneshie to Bishop Boys Middle School in Bubiashie, since bus 22 frequently fails to arrive, forcing me to be late to school.
Everyone can visualize the distance between Korle-Bu and Bubiashie on foot. I'm absolutely fatigued by the time I go to school, and it's been those excruciating days because I am late, Bediako, the school prefect, will terrorize me. Latecomers prefer to return home since he is so nasty, but I did not do so.
I accept my punishment if the bus fails to arrive and I must walk to school. "If care is not taken, I will be the first person to beat you up in this school," I warned Bediako face to face the day I became fed up and couldn't take any more of his punishments.
I can't begin to explain Bediako's expression when those powerful words escaped from my mouth. To say that to a school prefect felt abominable. He grabbed my shirt collar and dragged me away to one of the professors who had the physique of Ghana's late goalie, Robert Mensah.
This massive teacher is in charge of punishing those who breach the school's rules, and the force with which he cannons us leaves an indelible impression. "Teacher, do you ever suppose I can say that to Bediako?" I asked when he raised his hand to strike the first cane.
That question, which I believe an angel asked, set me free that day, and it was also on that day that the monster Bediako ceased terrorizing me. Another extraordinary thing happened after that: I have never dreaded anything in my life since that tragic day. So all I can say is that whatever happens to the people under any government, we must blame ourselves for allowing it to happen.
Because they are aware that people fear them, evil world leaders, presidents, politicians, and other institutional heads will continue to profit off fear. You are a fool if you believe they will stop it. You will continue to suffer under them until you die, leaving your family with a horrible memory of your suffering.
The late Nelson Mandela authored "No Easy Walk To Freedom" because he realized he needed to find the strength to battle his country's cruel Apartheid dictatorship. He believed in God, but he never asserted God would do something if he didn't do it first.
So, if you are a Ghanaian who is suffering in silence but is unable to respond or resist asking questions and establishing a better country for future generations, the invincible God we adore in spirit will not come from His holy place to battle for you. That struggle or opposition to the oppressor's reign is your battle, not God's.
Whatever evil government or president doesn't care about the pain of the people because of avarice is excellent for him. "Mr. President, what you are doing is not right," the people must be forced to say. The E-Levy was passed because Ghanaians were afraid to do so.
The government, which is so happy that Ghanaians fear them because they successfully implemented the fraudulent E-Levy, has returned to tell Ghanaians that the Agyapa deal, which has been declared a fraudulent deal by former Chief Justice Gloria Akuffo and former Special Prosecutor, has Martin Amidu, is now back on the negotiating table.
The corrupt government claims to be in the best interests of the people, therefore who is harming themselves more: the government or the people? Ghana's current awful state will be the worst that can't be recovered in even 20 years until Ghanaians demand justice and stand up to corruption and what is harming the country and its people.
As a Ghanaian, religion may be very important to you, but God will not come down from his spiritual home to assist you. Instead, let your faith encourage you to fight for your country, not for a political party, in order to create a brighter future for the next generation.