I had the occasion to write about we, as a people, appreciating the little we have and stop the many lamentations. Many were those who tongue-lashed me for that stance. But a recent occurrence has reinforced the belief that me and my compatriots will be happier with life if we appreciate the little things we have and stop the lamentations.
Any ardent reader of this column knows I’m a Muslim, a very devoted one at that. But there is this Christian song we sang in school, which has never stopped ringing in my head. I do not remember the exact words. But the theme of the song is for people to count their blessings, name them one by one, and it would surprise them what the Good Lord has done in their lives.
We live in a country predominated by Christians. Many of them sing the aforementioned song and other related songs everyday. But I doubt if many of them ever live by the tenets of those songs as they are the loudest in lamentations over the so-called economic hardships in the country today. Same can be said of most people of my faith, who have decided to pay no heed to the Bearded Old Man’s advice to appreciate His ‘rahma’ (grace) in their life.
We agree life is not a bed of roses in Asomdwekrom today. Neither are other economies across the globe. That alone should tell us that the hardship being endured by me and my folks is global in nature.
Undoubtedly, things are not as rosy as we all expect in the country today. But it will be disingenuous or hypocritical to say President Ogwanfunu’s governance is better than what we are seeing today.
How could anyone in his or her right senses argue that living in ‘dumsor’ for 4 years was better than a ‘dumsor-free’ economy? The harm the ‘dumsorized’ economy caused the manufacturing, service and educational sectors can never be quantified.
Need I remind my folks of the number of companies that collapsed under the ‘dumsorized’ economy? Have we forgotten so soon how cost of production tripled because of the use of generators? Have we also forgotten the sleepless nights as a result of severe atmospheric heat?
The lamentations surrounding the blackout last Friday is a great testament to the fact that the country has progressed. The lights went off for only few hours and there was massive wailing and gashing of teeth all over the place. We have all forgotten too soon that dumsor was a regular feature under the reign of President Ogwanfunu.
For sure, we need to give credit where it is due. The Nana Dee government has done a great job in keeping the lights on, even under severe economic constraints. And managers of the economy and the energy sector deserve commendation for sparing this country the ‘wahala’ of regular and prolonged dumsor.
President Ogwanfunu might be right in thinking his countrymen and women have short memories because our actions have proven so. But the few of us with long memories owe it a duty to this country to rack the brains of those with short memories in order to save this country from once again falling into the hands of the ‘create, loot and share’ brigade.
My point is very simple: The current global economic turmoil is too debilitating to find ‘an economic messiah’ anywhere. Those seeking the resurrection of Mr. Dead-Goat know that too well, but they are only doing so for their own parochial interest.
By all means let’s criticize when we should. But let’s also appreciate the fact that today’s economic hardship is global. We should be happy to have a government that ensures that ‘dumsor’ never sees the light of day again. Despite the economic difficulties, ‘Agenda111’ is progressing steadily, nursing and teacher trainees continue to receive their allowances, Free SHS is still on, roads are being built, and model schools continue to spring up.
Indeed, when we count our blessings and name them one by one, we shall surely be surprised to see what the Nana Dee government has done. I dare say, the lamentations are one too many!
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!