Everywhere our people are exhibiting characters that are not genuine because they want to join the bandwagon. For lack of expression, it will not be far from right to say that everything is fake. From fake news, our streets have been besieged by some human beings who do not exhibit genuine behaviour, while our markets and shops are inundated by fake products.
Unless those who have closed their ears who will contest my conclusion as the media space is full of news about the seizure of fake products by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
The situation is very scary when we are told that there are many fake and expired drugs on the counters and shelves of medicine vendors, be it drug stores or pharmacies. I am sure some people, especially the old school are always shocked by what they see on our streets now.
Men who put on earrings are in Otto Pfister type of postures, spotted torn jeans, rasta or plaited hair –Â Â which was associated with females a few years ago. Tattoo has become common on the bodies of both men and women in very outrageous designs. It is said that some women even tattoo their genitals and as to who performs that on their private parts is left to conjecture.
We are in an era of imitation because there is nothing original these days. Businesses and scientists hardly spend time on inventions as it is easy to look at other products and adopt with limited changes. In fact most products on the market are cloned to look like the original. And internationally acclaimed product manufacturers are at each other’s throats for the originality of brands.
The fake posture is more alarming among women of all classes. Women are subjecting themselves to all kinds of medical treatments to change from how God created them to what is in vogue among their peers. Therefore, women are not content with their body shapes given to them by genetics, but prefer the artificial shapes from medical interventions.
Body overhaul among women and even men does not occur naturally. Unlike the past when women change their body through natural means such as the drinking of water, exercises, regular gym routine and good and healthy as well as balanced diet.
Now the new norm is to abandon our local foods for foreign taste, especially junk food, excessive alcoholism, aphrodisiacs of all forms and drugs, marijuana and cocaine among the youth, both Male and female.
Back to the fake ways of life. The men no longer believe that ‘black is beautiful’, and have resorted to bleaching to be light-skinned. Some men claim women like light-skinned men. In the case of the women, the level of the escape from their true identity is very alarming.
Bleaching has advanced in women as they have moved from the use of creams and other chemicals to deeply toning their bodies through surgeries to avoid the black spots. Now the women pierce every part of their bodies to wear earrings. These include the entire ear, the eye lids, the mouth and outrageously the vagina. As if that is not all, the women have turned to medical practitioners to add more flesh to their buttocks, stomachs and breasts.
Sometime ago, it was not fashionable to be a plus size but it has become the new norm. In fact young ladies without beads around their ankles have not arrived yet. The beads were the epitome of womanhood in those days worn around the waist, neck, wrist, and to some extent knee.
The values, traditions and customs of Ghana have been lost to the Western culture. Even our music, known for its rich and educative lyrics, has been taken over by strange genre, appreciated by only the youth. We should understand why our youth have lost respect for authority and there is indiscipline in every sphere of national life.
Everything about Ghana is fake. And we have made material things the basis for success in life. Public service is not seen in that light but to use it to bend the rules for personal.
Okudzeto Ablakwa
It is difficult to understand what Okudzeto Ablakwa takes Ghanaians for. After enjoying the privileges of a Minister of State and currently a Member of Parliament, he wants us to follow him blindly to attain cheap popularity because of his ambition to be vice president. We ask him to hasten slowly. This is the man who wants to be seen in the public’s eyes as incorruptible and seeking the welfare of the people.
Okudzeto Ablakwa, who has an over bloated image of himself, once upon the time as junior minister in 2009, carried 25 thousand Ghana cedis in his car to a car washing bay only to claim it was stolen. He is the same character who is calling on us to ensure equity, yet, he cannot be said to be above board than us.
While again as deputy minister under the erstwhile NDC administration, he charted an aircraft for his wedding in Wa. He better be admonished that militancy does not always pay. While running to CHRAJ over the sale of SSNIT hotels, he failed in his bid to rally many people to hit the streets to demonstrate against the sale.
This is a lawmaker who has no patience for the law by listening to the wise counsel of late President Atta Mills that the “wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceeding fine.” What does Okudzeto Ablakwa want? Perhaps he wants to create confusion by his actions and gain public sympathy.
If that were not the case he would not be calling for the Ghana version of the Kenyan protests in relation to what he perceived to be the silence of President Akufo-Addo over the sale of the SSNIT hotels. It is shocking that a lawmaker wants the President to disregard the rule of law.
We swear that the blood of any innocent Ghanaian like those who died in Kenya would be on the head of Okudzeto Ablakwa. There is work for National Security to keep an eye on these NDC apparatchiks who do not believe in the ballot box but revolutionary violence.
Oyerepa TV
Are the National Media Commission (NMC) and the National Communications Authority (NCA) still in a slumber, and are unable to identify the irresponsible manner by which Auntie Naa handles her programme? The show of impunity and disregard for media ethics by Oyerepa TV has gained grounds because the NMC and NCA have decided to sit on their jobs.
Nonetheless, if the NMC and NCA are toothless, what about the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection? Is the minister unaware of the violations of the rights of children on the programme by Auntie Naa. The faces of these minors are exposed on the screens of Oyerepa TV, actions that are detrimental to the development and growth of children as mandated by our laws.
It is reiterated that, media houses are not alternatives to courts, even if the people have lost trust in the justice system. Our duties as media people include to educate, inform and entertain as well mobilise the people for nation action. Oyerepa TV in the name of free expression is infringing on the rights of the people. Auntie Naa’s style of journalism is not protected under any free speech legislation in the country.