Sharkmellon and his 59 stories

Shakiru Akinyemi alias Sharkmellon alias Shark is a Poet, Writer and emerging Business Leader. His Poems 'Ekurase' 'Street Children' 'Ivory Horn of Africa' have been published by Poetry Foundation of Ghana. Two others, ‘Rascals and Good Morning’ have been published by Kalahari Review and ‘The Traveller’s Song’ has been published by the Lunaris Review.

Shakiru has been featured on CitiFM Writer’s Project of Ghana and remains favorite performer at Leadership and Governance Events. His deep thoughts, unique voice and dramatic persona help to wow his audience. His much listened Piece ‘This I Put to You’ has been played on Unique FM of Ghana and West Africa Democracy Radio in Senegal.

He has performed alongside Rhymesonny at Google hangout and also performed at ALEWA, a poetry event organized by the People of Equal Thoughts and Spirits (POETS) and occasionally at Ehalakasa. In 2009, Shakiru was Guest Poet to an audience of about 2,000 people at Maiden Stage Productions ‘His Birth in the 2^st Century’ and ‘His Death in the 21^st Century’ organized by J-Nissi Productions.

Unlike Poetry, he has for a long time kept his collection of short stories in his archives but when some friends sighted the works, they implored him to make them public saying “Shakiru, why are you keeping these beautiful stories to yourself?”, thus, the reason for hosting ‘The Storyteller, 59stories FOR 59pesewas’ on 12^th March, 2016 in commemoration of Ghana’s 59^th Year of Independence. Shakiru blogs at Sharkmellon@blogspot.com, tweets at @sharkmellon1, instagrams at @ceo_shakiru  and facebooks at Shakiru Akinyemi. He lives in Accra.

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Isaac Wallace and Mosquitoes

My conversation with Isaac Wallace was challenging. It turned out to be nothing near what I had expected. But that’s what you get for approaching another person with your preconceived notions. It gets even more complex when he is an authentic musician who approaches his trade with a personal philosophy. One that you may not be familiar with. Given that he reminds me so much of Lee Scratch Perry provides enough grounds for me to label the man eccentric. But that’s another thing I probably should not do. You cannot really box this man, he is his own man. You don’t define him, he tells you what he is and you simply make an attempt to understand.

His history is complex. He has and continues to work with three generations of musicians. His influence is very diverse. His philosophy is original. Put all that together and the result is ntumtum akeka me dwe—the title of his debut album. But if you think a debut album is all there is to this man, think again. In his tracks are many hits produced for and with some of Ghana’s most celebrated artist including the likes of Ofori Amponsah and Kwabena Kwabena.

He has a different view of hi-life. He argues that it is not really a type of music or even a style for that matter. It is just “high” Music and perhaps as you will get with the music of Bob Marley. I shall desist from explaining this view for fear of misrepresenting the man. Like I said, I wasn’t sure if I understood he idea enough.

Currently n tour in Australia, here is a link to the video of our conversation when I met the man recently at the Achimota retail center with . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRVBd4AcmVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Geid75jkbaw&feature=youtu.be

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Maanaa unfolds the Black I journey

For the morally-conscious individual, it is very easy to write off dancehall music because of the disturbing lyrics (often violent and near-pornographic) that have come to characterize the genre. Those who understand the music however, will contend that this is not a true reflection of the original dancehall music that started in Jamaica as a sub-genre of the conscious, liberating and righteousness powered reggae music. Like a normal child, dancehall became more morally decadent with every step it took further away from its mother genre. In the process, love gave way to hardcore pornography and the rant for justice gave way to wanton violent lyrics strong enough to shock the unprepared mind.

The situation is however, not hopeless as the genre also benefits from the work of both young and veteran artiste who are championing what is referred to in reggae-lingo as roots and culture. This breed of musicians, are working hard to bring moral sanity into the music while pursuing the restoration of true African values that are in sharp contrast to the now mainstay. In Jamaica, musicians like Anthony B, Louie Culture, Bushman, Capleton, Buju Banton, Jnr. Gong and many others are senior officers in this Special Forces unit of the Army.

The scenario is not that different in Ghana. Since dancehall music slowly begun to gain mainstream attention, it brought along the violence and the explicit sexual lyrics. Indeed it is this kind of content that has defined Ghanaian dancehall music with the conscious soldiers having to strive harder to project the positive, progressive, youth-conscientizing, love-promoting and nation-building aspect of dancehall music. This is what can be referred to as the “clean-up exercise” now being championed by Atlanta based Black I aka Nii Quarcoo. On the Ghanaian scene, he is the commanding officer in this unit of the Army.

Black I shot onto the scene with the bellwether-ing Tininii Kwano (the right way) that effortlessly forced a fan base into place leaving them yearning for more. His latest offering; Maanaa is a love story like no other. It is a commendable reverence of the African woman through the Rastafarian cultural conduit leading to the much needed heavy dose of consciousness for the neutralization of the debauchery in the music. The lyrics glorify culture in countless ways as much as it upholds the powerful image of the African woman. It promotes the unadulterated version of her character and bares the often not so evident African man’s love for his woman. Maanaa is a masterful work of art not only in lyrics but also in sound and quality. It is a well-crafted crossover born out of a fusion of traditional dancehall and hip-hop that is guaranteed to win the hearts of even non-dancehall enthusiasts. This great piece was produced by the young Golden Kid under the guidance of the indefatigable Atlanta based Kaddafi who has been behind the many hits from the Black I camp. Maanaa is bound to shift the Black I engine into 5^th gear leaving many behind as far as Ghanaian reggae and dancehall is concerned.

In Ghana and Africa for that matter, talent abounds. The bane of artist has always been character and discipline. Black is a combination of talent, discipline and sound reasoning and this is demonstrated not only in his lyrical dexterity but also his choice of sound. Maanaa epitomizes all three into one work of art. If you haven’t heard Mannaa yet, get ready to be wowed out of your skin. If you are not a dancehall fan, prepare for your baptism. Maanaa is juts that song and Black I is just that artist. Listen to maanaa here https://soundcloud.com/blackimusik

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The Roverman Clockwork works

I have a reputation for being hard to please. I do not feel flattered by it and I can assure you of that—it is not very positive is it? I like to think of myself more as a person with high expectations. I just feel people can always do better no matter how good they are. On a continent where corner-cutting is the standard, I might be more of a blessing in disguise than a necessary evil depending on how you think as a person. Take your pick but at the end of the day; you want the best you can get and I just happen to be the guy who thinks you are entitled to it.  This is the reason we created the SPiD-UP® recognition program—so we can recognize people for their efforts when they do manage to put in the effort. You must like that somehow.

Over the holidays, I was literally blindfolded into the national theater in the name of surprise. Apparently this has become necessary because I spend “too much time” on my laptop and phone. I don’t get out much and consequently, I have not seen any of the famous Ebo White plays. Ordinarily, I would have thought it not a big deal. I didn’t see Luciano perform when he came to Ghana and I am still alive. After all, I have listened to uncle Ebo on radio and as far as I know, his thing is marriage. Not my terrain at all and you can ask the women who have suffered my…never mind. I was in for the surprise of my life and not many things surprise me beyond my continuous painful endurance of the lack of integrity and common sense that is ever present around me.

The first thing that struck me was that; the place was filling up really fast. Really, do people like plays in Ghana like this? Our tickets were reserved and the attendant had no trouble whatsoever producing the tickets as another steward ushered us in with utmost politeness. I became very suspicious; were we being set up for something. So you can imagine the alarm bells going off in my head when we were offered free ice cream from Fan Ice. Ok now I was ready to walk out of the place, I have had enough nice treatment for one evening. Something just wasn’t right. Then I was asked to fill a survey form before I got my Ice Cream—I knew it; there had to be a catch.

 

As we approached the entrance to the main hall, two stewards gestured us to come this way. We found the perfect seats after my usual mucking about what is the perfect seat for me without any interruption at all from the stewards. Really? They let me do what I like? Amazingly the play started exactly when they said it will. Not one second late. Wait! how does anyone get anything to start on time to in Ghana? I was honestly mystified at that point. I was in for a shock. From cast to costume to plot, this play was something out of this world. I never expected to laugh from start to finish and learn very valuable lessons about politics and human conduct and its influence on his environment at the same time. Nobody warned me about the humor especially. I guess I did not know this Uncle Ebo like I thought I did. To say I had the time of my life and regret missing all the previous plays will be an understatement of the worse kind. But not to worry, he has something called the festival of plays where you can see a lot him in a week or so.

Nowadays there is a lot of talk about brands and experiences. I myself am an adherent of the experience idea and I chant it every opportunity I get. The Roverman team has mastered the art of crafting life changing, perception shifting and hope building experiences. If I have seen high performance anywhere, this will be it. The play; women on fire, its writer, its production team, the company behind it and its leader all deserve a standing ovation. This is the reason whey I and the team at SPiD-UP® in our quest to engender high performance consciousness, have recognized Roverman Production as a high performance organization. We insist; If you are looking for great entertainment and an opportunity to learn something about society whiles laughing your lungs out, an Ebo white play is your best option. As for me and my household, we are converts for life. #SPiD-UP.  visit them here http://rovermanproductions.com/global/

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Weak gods and no gods

So I am little agitated this morning simply because I could not have a cup of tea —long story. I figured some writing therapy (works every time) might be the way out. I decided to tackle some of the issues I have encountered in my many debates on and off social media. They are mostly about religion and afro-centrism. In my many escapades, I have identified five groups;

1 Those who preach atheism and in their cluelessness confuse it with afro-centrism.

2 The pseudo-atheists/near-agnostics who are in search of a black god to emancipate them from their mental slavery and deem it fit to preach it to others though they themselves haven’t found him yet.

3 Christianity haters who do not even know why they do it so they promote anything that sounds anti-Christian even when they don’t understand it; often collapsing their own arguments even before it has begun.

4 Baby-Christians who do not understand a lot of what is being said; so they occasionally question their faith.

5 The very interesting group who have a burning need to isolate spirituality from religion. This group is very diverse and surprisingly includes even atheist. It is however, dominated by new agers and serves as a converging point for all types including some Christians who say things like; “God is not a Christian”.

While I might not be able to address all of these groups, I will attempt a general response to some of the issues they keep raising to make their comical cases often erected on wobbly scaffolds.

First it will be interesting to examine what kind of a person pressures another to abandon their faith to join them in their faithlessness. Faith forces a modification of conduct—discipline and a conformity to a set of rules. The opposite of that is chaos to say the least. A life that doesn't believe in anything is border-less and value-deficient. This type is a personification of anarchy and manifests as a rebel without a cause and must of necessity amount to nothing. It is a purposeless life that has no anchor. Its direction is uncertain because its goal is non-existent. It epitomizes the word LOST.

Take some time to think about it. When a man tells you to leave what you have and come to nothing; take a critical interest in his motives. They are not as intelligent as they try to sound and they don't know the things they claim they know. In my experience 90% of the people who claim they have read the Bible have not. Especially those who claim they have read it from cover to cover. So how then do we validate their quoting of scripture, warped exegesis, and distorted homiletics? Not to mention their unpardonable blasphemy against history as a discipline.

If a man of Richard Dawkins’ caliber can make a complete monkey of himself with hate comments not befitting of his intellectual stature, it is not beyond these one-book-readers who parrot utter poppycock because they heard something somewhere that justifies their carnality. If you walk past a person who tells you to love even your enemies only to go with a person who tells you to mock and hate someone who believes something different from them and then comes back and chants one love, you have MAJOR issues.

I had a conversation with a Bobo Shanti priest recently. He was busy with his burn Jesus mantra prior to that. I asked him a few questions concerning the basis on which he claims Haile Selassie as the return of Christ. After yammering about how many psalms he reads a day and what the difference between knowledge, wisdom and understanding is, we finally got to the point. For his theory of Haile Selassie second coming and kingly manifestation of Jesus to work; he first needs the same historical Jesus he was burning and claims never existed. In effect; burn Jesus and lose Rastafari. You cannot have the reincarnation of something the never existed—that’s below even basic logic. When he couldn’t explain himself any further, he resorted to cussing and called me a journalist (I never understood that part) and a trickster. So much for the TRUTH he was teaching.

There is also the “my culture” people, who are guaranteed to be shocked out of their melanin laden skins if they should learn about the causes that have formulated what they now call their culture. But verily verily I say unto you; a culture that does not evolve is doomed to failure. Nowadays I hear families are accepting ipads as part of bride prize. You might be disgusted but I say that’s smart thinking. I will choose an ipad over a bottle of schnapps from Holland any day. And if you think our ancestors were wearing kabba made from wax prints before they met the Dutchman, think again. There are some musicians who claim, hi-life is our traditional music insisting that the youth must stick to it if they want international recognition. In the mean time they themselves in their days played funk and jazz and force-labeled it hi-life: it will be interesting to know which one of the instruments they use to make their “traditional” hi-life was invented by their ancestors? If it is not the guitar then maybe the keyboard or even the drum? Perhaps hi-life started with xylophones and jembe and kpalogo drums—we really ought to know the difference. One thing is for sure; a culture that remains the same in a changing world is in danger of trailing behind the progress of the very humanity it is a part of. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised at the current state of affairs.

Then there is the “we have our own god(s) people”, I say; you do indeed. Go to Cape Coast castle and take the tour. When you get to the shrine that in all honesty is an obscenity that stains what would have been an insightful tour, ask the perpetually silent, poker-faced attendant who I guarantee will be sunbathing somewhere on the shores of hebetude a question. The guide will refer to him as a “fetish” priest and (I have never understood why he can’t just be a priest without the fetish). Beseech him to explain how it is that the god he represents did not stop the white man and his god from subjecting his people to the atrocities we are all ashamed of. You might not get a chance until you ask the guide why there is a black man’s shrine sitting in the middle of the white man’s castle. So be sure to ask. Then you will learn, that apparently, this god of ours was sitting right there on the shore when the white man showed up with his god, gun and whisky. (Talk about selling your birth right for a pot of stew) If you have ever spent some time on National Geographic, you must know that even animals defend their territories (until they encounter inhabitants of the higher strata of the food chain of course). But the white man did not just rob, rape, kill and enslave, he also built a castle right on top of the shrine in which he engineered and managed the crimes even as he worshipped his god every Sunday while our god just sat there and did absolutely NOTHING for four hundred years. He did not even call for backup(LAPD style) from the battalions of gods across the nations.

It is easy to isolate an issue and discuss it as if your perspective is all there is to it. As Platonians show with their allegory of the caves, slavery as you know it may be your reality and you might believe that what happened in the middle ages is the first encounter between the two races concerned. You might even think; as many do that yours is the first slavery story in history. But the reality is that the transatlantic slave trade is but a sub-stratum of a larger slavery problem that dates back the empires of antiquity. Unjustifiable as it may be, it is what you will see if you are willing to look beyond the shadows on the wall of your little cave. Your true character begins to show when you insist that the larger problem must be interpreted by all through your narrow perspective. Such behavior is indistinguishable from selfishness and is in fact Nazism in essence. Many of these people, I am willing to wager will be among the first to engage in the same acts they claim to hate if the tables should turn.

When afro-centric historians write and speak about the so-called glorious days of the black man, they are not ashamed to mention how the moors traded white women and how other “inferior” races were enslaved too. It has always been a norm with every dominant force to make slaves of inferior forces. You might want to look into your own traditional history and you will see it there. It is the reason many who parrot Garvey still do not understand some of the agreements he made with perceived enemies. Such thinking is beyond normal people. His was an attempt to correct the ills of humanity slavery clearly being among the worst of them. So he posits, we are not against the white man, we are seeking to better the Negro (I paraphrase), Very few people understand the difference you see. He found grounds on which he engaged with the Ku Klux Klan of all groups. There is a common cause and in this cause even the enemy is an ally. I submit to you; that the best scenario for humanity is to have all groups function at their full capacity. Race, color or creed not withstanding (maybe that will sound familiar). Emporer Haile Selassie’s groundbreaking speech at the League of Nations made famous by Bob Marley in the song; war, contrary to what many believe was more pro-humanity than it was pro-black.

“Until the color of a man’s skin is no more significant than the color of his eyes”

Regarding matters of Pan-Africanism, they don’t come any bigger than Garvey and the good Emperor. On religion, what Garvey sought to do was to blacken the Jesus that the white man has presented as white. Not to replace him with the 99 gods in Brekuso. He, together with Bishop Mcguire who argued that Christ was historically reddish brown rather than white, will later form the African Orthodox Church under the wings of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

We believe in God, the creator of all things and people, in Jesus Christ his son, the spiritual savior of all mankind. –UNIA Creed

What Garvey believed is that religion can be a powerful tool for liberation. I personally believe; if it can be used to lock the mind, it can be used to unlock it. It is an absolute absurdity, to lock something with one key and seek to open it with another. The key may look like it fits but can it open the door. If it is the church that has sold a white Jesus to our people, who better to sell a black Jesus (or better still a universal Jesus for all) to our people and indeed many churches are doing that. Nowhere in the Bible did Christ mention that he had come to save any particular race. On the contrary, did he not make it possible for gentiles to become heirs of the Abrahamic covenant and is his kingdom not universal?

The roots of Christianity are no secrets. The ills that have been committed in the name of Christianity are no mystery. The true positions of Christianity on many issues including these crimes against humanity are clearly stated in the Bible for those who are willing to read it well enough. The liberation and salvation of mankind is the very objective of the Christ way. For those who insist that religion and Christianity for that matter is a weapon of the white man against the black man, tell us what your weapon against him is. The gods at cape coast castle couldn’t stop him. If you are going to worship idols in the name of African spirituality, no one will stop you but I sure hope they bring you the mental freedom that you seem to think rest outside of yourself. Whatever you do be sure to remember that others are entitled to their preferences too and that atheism fundamentally is un-African. 

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Corporate Dialogue with Oil Magnate at Role Model Africa

Role Model Africa is a mentoring program that connects young persons in Africa to role models. The key feature of Role Model Africa is a Corporate Dialogue that engages African personalities with influence beyond Africa. The Corporate Dialogue enables the Role Model to share his successes and challenges in business in an open dialogue to curious audience from across Africa. The mentoring platform is designed to preserve African values of hardwork and excellence by way of enabling personalities who have made significant impact on the continent to share their stories so younger ones can learn from them and sustain the heritage.  The concept is to say that Africans can serve as their own role models by telling their stories and mentoring younger ones. Oil Expert and entrepreneur, Mr. Caleb Ayiku will make his appearance at the second edition of Role Model Africa to share insights in the area of finance and business in Africa and particularly Ghana  as he speaks on the theme 'Financing the African Business'. 

Role Model Africa is designed to attract African Presidents, Business Owners, Founders of Churches,  Founders of African global Companies, International African leaders, African Policy and decision Makers, Influential personalities in the arts, Business Magnates, Investors and you name them.

Various mentorship opportunities are available through the umbrella of Role Model Africa. Individuals can sign up for the One-On-One mentoring session or come together as groups for the Business Mentoring Class. ‘The Magnate Community’ provides mentorship for families and friends in a rather informal approach. INVENTS Mentoring Hubs are available on various campuses to train and mentor students.

The second edition of the Corporate Dialogue is scheduled for Sunday 24^th January 2016 at the African Regent Hotel, Accra-Ghana from 3pm to 6pm and will be honored by Oil expert, Mr. Caleb Ayiku, C.E.O. of Breakthrough Consult.

Over 18 years, the Role Model has distinguished his career in several sectors in Africa. Caleb has rich experience as a Chemical Engineer working for over thirteen years in downstream petroleum industry in Africa. Aside working with and rising to the position of Managing Director at Engine Petroleum with affiliates in Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya, Mr. Ayiku also worked as Country Manager for Oando Ghana Limited.

A trainer and management consultant, Caleb Ayiku has trained and consulted with several blue chips companies including Barclays Bank, Citi FM, Enterprise Insurance and FEDEX.

The Role Model who is also the co-founder of Rex Oil Limited will be sharing perspectives on the theme ‘Financing the African Business’ to impact businesses in Ghana and Africa at large. 

The Convener; Mr. Samuel Agyeman-Prempeh shares that the program is opened to the general public and will attract audience from various parts of Africa. Audiences are expected to be seated 30 minutes ahead of the program.

Event tickets can be purchased ahead of the program. The public can contact 0503183555 and 0503183699 to have tickets delivered to them at their convenience. Further details available on the website of INVENTS (www.inventsfoundation.org).

Role Model Africa is an initiative by INVENTS Foundation, a mentoring organization that focuses on raising young people as Leaders and Entrepreneurs before they turn 25.

Since October 2007, INVENTS has been consistent in using personal Leadership models and projects to reach out to millions of young people through its Mentorship Hubs on various tertiary campuses.

Our flagship programs and projects include: the She Magnate Project, Role Model Africa, and Ideas Pulpit.

Our events have attracted remarkable personalities such as Bishop N.A. Tackie-Yarboi ; Founder and Presiding Bishop of VBCI, Dr. Yaw Perbi ; Global C.E.O. of the HuD Group , Dr. Mrs. Ellen Hagan; Founder and C.E.O. of L’aine Services, and Mrs. Comfort Ocran; Co-Founder Legacy And Legacy.

The Premiere of Role Model Africa was honored by Dr. Samuel Onwona, as guest to be interviewed on the platform. Dr. Onwona is a former World Bank Official.

Role Model Africa: We tell a story.

Credit: Samuel Agyeman-Prempeh

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Leadership duality— Encourager vs Challenger

In my recent article on leadership in which I made a point about the difference between effective and efficient leadership, I pointed us to effective leadership as the better option if change was desired. This article is a necessary installment intended to deal with the next stage of leadership i.e. guiding others (or leading if you like) through the new territory. This is based the premise established in the previous article; that leaders set the pace or lead the way in a particular area—it is what makes a leader. It is in this realm that such matters as leadership styles become worthy of the microscope.

Any reader of Lee Roberson is familiar with the expression; everything rises and falls on leadership. It is also a well-accepted notion that Leadership is cause and everything else is effect. Whiles much has be written and taught about leadership styles with so many different theories being thrown about, I find two attitudes showing up in my own experiences and observation; challenging and encouraging. 

To most people it is always the nice guy who is the most attractive. In many success stories, there is always that leader who encouraged someone to do something and how lucky they were to have met that individual. The encourager is loved because of his seemingly calm and loving nature. He is accepting of people’s weaknesses and encourages them to do what they think they can. People want to be treated nicely, feel loved and respected—the encourager model serves this purpose perfectly.

In a recent attempt to teach a lady friend how to drive, I found myself failing woefully simply because, I was not using the encourager model. You see I am more the bad guy type. The kind of guy who will throw you a challenge and expect you to rise to the occasion after having sold you the idea that I wouldn’t ask you to do it if didn’t think you could. The challenger doesn’t want what you think you can do, he wants what he believes you can do. The challenger wants to work with people who have a will to do things (transcend themselves) not those who need to be convinced to do thing. That’s the challenger guy and he is not the most popular.

The challenger is usually (not always) quite low on socio-emotional competence. He is more performance oriented and less people sensitive. He is not concerned that you havn’t had lunch and that your child has a headache. Nobody likes people like that but the fact remains, it is results that make great people and for that reason alone a focus on performance instead of comfort may be the winning formula. The larger point however, is that leadership is not for everyone (don’t look so shocked).  A leader is a game changer—he charts a course —a new course and from all indications a majority of people do not do that. Those who change the game are constantly in the face of challenges. It is the ability to rise above a challenge that sets them apart putting them in the lead creating something that others will emulate. A person who has trouble with challenges can therefore only follow such persons with pain. Yet a leader cannot be a leader unless he has followers who he must guide on this path. People have needs and that includes comfort and love. We also know that people are their best when they are comfortable in what they are doing. So that it is clear that the two models have merits and demerits. The most versatile leader will know not only how to throw a challenge but also how to encourage followers to take them up without threatening their self-esteem.

If you are an encourager, then encourage more while recognizing the need for throwing a challenge. On the other hand a challenger must challenge while encouraging where it is needed. As is always the case; one may be stronger in one area than the other, this is fine and decides what kind of followers he assembles. If John C. Maxwell is right, then a leader must aim to raise other leaders. What kind of a leader will you train, how will you do it and why? Go lead with high performance!

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End poverty—did we miss the mark again?

I came very close to calling the World Bank End Poverty Campaign event held at the University of Ghana recently another patronizing charade. But for the fact that there were highly intelligent individuals who have demonstrated great capability in many areas on the panel, I am sure I would have stuck to my conclusion. When you have the likes of Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu   (Heirs holdings, the united bank of Africa, Transcorp, Tony Elumelu foundation); Forbes’ one of the 20 most powerful men in Africa on the panel, you tread cautiously. You might be missing something. We do not have many of such men on the continent and for that reason; we have a responsibility to protect the few we have. And yes, such men and women can be instrumental in our fight against poverty. But should we be fighting poverty in the first place?

I am in all candidness deeply concerned about the notion that agribusiness is the way forward as far as this end poverty thing goes. Apparently the figures for what they are worth, prove that young people are actually interested in agribusiness since 30% of applications to the Tony Elumelu foundation entrepreneurship program actually needed support to grow their agribusinesses (one would have thought that meant that we were already in agribusiness). This might be true but does it really support the idea that agribusiness is the way forward. One cannot help but to wonder what the other 70% of the applications were about but since we do not have the benefit of adequate information a degree of deductive reasoning must be resorted to.

Ghana’s very own Professor Nana Opoku Agyemang who happens to be minister of education on her part insisted that Women and children are the most vulnerable. Groundbreaking information! How about a more detailed analysis of the issue of poverty itself and not the group you think it affects the most? I am leaving the children out of the equation for now but is poverty really a gender issue? Is your country itself by accepted standards not poor and is that because we allowed the women to live in poverty?

Dr. Kim Yong Kim of the World Bank group (is that a Bretton woods institution or is it just me?) thinks it is the poor child living in and around rural areas between the ages of 0-5 that we should be concerned about. He insisted: “It is the height of unfairness to relegate children under the age of 5 to never being able to learn. Children have to be able to learn anything and quickly. We have to dedicate a huge portion of our operations to the achievement of this objective”. (Really? Show me) But the question is this; are we going to simply put the children in school or are we going to empower the parents to make sure they handle their responsibilities?

Dr. Kim adds ; “this is the most important thing I can tell you, the Korea of 1959 is now the Africa of 2015, we talk about Africa rising but in quiet conversations we hear all kinds of talk about impossible, you know what we hear from the prime minister about DRC lots of people were saying that’s impossible. Don’t ever believe and certainly don’t believe it by yourselves”. Erm, Africa is a continent Dr. Kim.

Mr. Akinwumi Adesina’s (President of the African Development Bank) view is not nothing near unorthodox; Agribusiness and technology is Africa’s best bet at reducing poverty. “65% of all the world’s arable lands are not in Asia, Latin America, but right here in Africa, great sunshine, great water, and cheap labour. You throw anything up, it comes down it grows”.  Yeah… thank you very much! We did not know that. Their final words did not add much;

Dr. Adesina: just end it. Well… How?
Dr. Kim: listen to young people and listen to the women. Oh Thanks but were they represented on your panel?
Opoku Agyemang: focus on quality education delivered in the right medium. Who will do that again? And are you saying these won’t be necessary if we weren’t s poor? Bright Simons has a few words for you on that language thingy.

Tony Elemelu at least gave us five factors on getting out of poverty; “hard work, enabling environment, discipline, culture of saving, long term thinking, aligning with people with similar perspective”. The first two; sound like something from an economic text book. But one can almost be certain that if hardwork made people billionaires, 98% of women in Africa will be billionaires ahead of Tony Elemelu. Nobody pays you for how hard you have worked; they pay you for what you have produced. Enabling environment however, is another matter altogether; it just doesn’t exist but we have to at least continue our search for it. The rest are just the usual you hear from motivational speaking sessions. It will be refreshing to learn that Mr. Elemelu saved his way to billions; that will at least provide some comfort in that direction.

The source of worry is simple; one cannot be so sure what purpose an event like this with all its pomp was supposed to serve. Maybe it is just useful to keep talking but if anyone is really interested in eradicating poverty (and I have reached a disturbing level of skepticism on the matter), they must first stop telling us that agribusiness is the way out. In America, less than 2% of the population is involved in agriculture, in Africa, some 65% is. The difference is that the American farmer is a billion times more productive. Perhaps we do not need to be told we ought to be in agriculture, we are already in it, always have been. For most of Africans, we return to the land when other things don’t work out. We have always been in it and if things don’t change soon, we are seriously considering migration.

But here is the thing though, if the idea that how one thinks about something determines how he deals with it is anything to go by, then we must stop looking at what we do and start thinking about how we do things. Africans always find something to do. Our “vulnerable” women are working hard in the markets and in the streets amidst the threats to their well-being often perpetuated by government and its agents. It is how they do what they do that is the bone of contention.

Walking through one of our many slums recently, I counted 6 traditional drinks; Brukina, lamugii, Asana, Ice-Kenkey, Sobolo, Shitor-daa, Nme-daaa. I am told there are many others. None of these drinks have made it to commercial levels and they have been around for a while. There is clearly a viable market for these products. A small study of Kenkey sellers and how they do their busin6ess (and they DO NOT think of themselves as business people and potential billionaires) revealed some obstacles to wealth creation. They all insist on making their own Kenekey. It turns out most of them are not good at making Kenkey (the process is nowhere near simple) yet they refuse to buy from those who make better Kenkey and resell. Or perhaps it hadn’t occurred to them that they could do that and possibly make more money. On the other hand, those who are good at making it do not even realize their competitive advantage so they do not capitalize on it to expand by making retailers out of their weaker competitors. Because of this, Kenkey making still remains a cottage industry even in the heart of the city whiles still remaining the nation’s number one meal. These are real thought problems that when addressed can unlock the wealth trapped within communities.

It is known that the way out of poverty is a positive motivation not a negative one. Negative is flight (trying to get out of a situation) positive is fight (making your way to an aspiration). Wealth creation mentality might just be the best thought system for ending poverty. Citizens must be led to think about aspirations—what they could be and how they could be it.

One must stress the point that we are not short of things to do; our issues are more to do with how we do it. Those who insist on agribusiness must at least see if they can promote the making small mechanical equipment with the engines and hydraulics that have been developed by Safo Kantanka in the hope of improving the performance of the average farmer.

These are the reasons why we think a project like SPiD-UP extremely important. Each African must be conscious of what we do and how we do it. We must insist on being the best we can be regardless of what we have chosen to do with our lives. We must see the world standards and want to meet or beat it. This is a way of thinking and it has to be said; it was to be the new African that Nkrumah wanted to create.

Those who claim they want to end poverty must therefore, of necessity turn to performance consciousness. Without that, we will put 80% of our people into agribusiness and end up worsening the conditions. This is easy to predict with the benefit of antecedents. A change of pattern is needed and if Dr, Kim is serious about ending poverty, lets see some -more investment towards changing mindsets towards performance consciousness. 

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Atiemo's 5-in-1 book

I was once informed about a young lady who said she did not read Ghanaian authors. As a writer and Ghanaian myself, this didn’t go down too well with me. But I am also a pragmatist and that means I face facts. This lady is not that different from any typical Ghanaian. For us anything made in Ghana or by Ghanaian is not good enough. She will choose Paulo Coelho over Albert Ocran any day as perhaps she will choose Stacy Adams over Doris Okraku-- nothing unusual there.

I am not a promoter of affirmative action. If you are at a disadvantage it is an opportunity to surprise everyone. If you can’t bring the element of surprise (the only advantage you have under the circumstances) with you, you are normal and that is simply not good enough. But a person who makes such blanket statements is also saying that she has read most Ghanaian authors and has found them not worthy of her precious reading time. I do not believe this is the case with our lady friend and clearly her wrong judgment has done nothing but deny her the life transforming experience possible when you read an author who understands your setting. Whiles I could mention many young Ghanaian authors my focus in this review is Sam Zeph Atiemo’s Embracing You Inner Courage.

I met Sam Zeph Atiemo recently at the Ghana’s premier university where we were both facilitators of a seminar on Agri-prenuership. Nothing prepared me for the surprises that awaited. He spoke extemporously with a firm grip on what was clearly a passion and a life mission. He had an idea; conscious entrepreneurship.   After his presentation, I could not wait to review his book; Embracing Your Inner Courage.

No book I have read in a long time is this packed. It has 5 parts, 31 chapters and 220 pages. As the author himself put it, “this books is five books in one. It inspires me every time I read it so I know it will inspire others”. With countless anecdotes from the author’s own experience as a successful entrepreneur in three countries and two continents, the book can fairly be described as semi-biographic.

The first part treats Passion, Planning, Massive action, Commitment and fulfillment n that order. The book literally captures the whole spectrum of personal development with its 31 chapters establishing it as a natural route to entrepreneurship. Having established the basis for entrepreneurship as a means to eliminate poverty, something he called an indictment on the continent due to her many natural resources, he makes an outstanding case for the establishment of his own Business Factor Initiative For Africa where he provides consultancy among other services for entrepreneurs.

Passion is a highly efficient fuel for performance regardless of your field and this book starts first by igniting it within the reader. This is a useful technique because with passion one can achieve anything. It achieves this through the many probing questions that seem to pop out of nowhere while reading the book. Answer the questions and you begin to see a new you emerge.

The great thing about the author is that he is a practicing entrepreneur with years of experience and several ventures under his belt. He understands the Ghanaian experience and interprets them with astounding accuracy. 

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The Spousal Influence on existence

A lot has been said about the spousal influence on the possibility of the maximization of existence. This is a natural course of reasoning if one premises that everything we prefix with the “MY” is either an asset or liability—something that either aids or sabotages the cause. If this is the case, then the choice is of great importance as spouses are to be life partners. Perhaps the single most important decision after purpose is that of the partner with which the mission must be accomplished. As we all know, two heads are better than one and two people pushing the same cart in one direction provides an overall better output than one person. But this is only if they are in agreement of course.

From the man’s perspective, the woman is to be a helper (as far as Christian thought goes). But does that imply that the woman must not have aspirations of her own? Why then will God give the woman dreams too? So lets face it; the questions have not all been answered. People are often more attracted to the things of little value considering their own aspirations. Let me clarify that quickly before I send you on a trajectory of confusion. Some people have said that men are attracted to what they see, so they tend to want the most beautiful woman around and they may not be the best choice. Now if this is the case, then we have a problem. Even the most beautiful flower withers at some point. Women in this sense then become useless when they loose their glamour. Luckily beauty has also been said to lie in the eyes of the beholder. Is this really true that what is beautiful to one person may not be beautiful to another? This is also another problem to solve? Are the proponents saying that you and I can’t booth look at a Rolls Royce Phantom and agree on it’s beauty? Or is there a possibility that we can disagree on Joslyn Dumas’ hips as an outstanding work of God?

There are many more questions that need to be resolved in spite of the many we think we already have answers to. A friend told me recently that his idea of a good woman is one who is capable of taking initiatives. He gave 25% for looks, 25% for character and 50% for intellect. I thought that was interesting given my friend is a minister in training and hence very active in the church. But control my big mouth I did. Minutes later he came back with “well she also has to be spiritual” without stating what percentage that was to be. You may start worrying for his wife to be at this point. The truth is that we don’t always know what we want any more than what is good for us. A lot of the things men accuse women of are really human problems more than women problems. As a man I know from experience that my male friends have deserted me when I was down quicker than my female friends. The case is true the other way around. Perhaps instead of looking at the world through gender-filtered eyes we are better of looking at it through moral-filtered eyes. There are good people and not so good people—simple.

So lets admit it, we haven’t got all figured out. Not even us ministers. One thing is for sure, the person you choose to carry out your quest for maximization of your existence with must help your cause or you can forget it. I don’t know what whether it is beauty or intellect you need and I am willing to wager that you don’t either. Whether you are male or female won’t matter much if you threw in the idea of shared aspirations. Partners at home and partners at work? Well…the term is life partner and life encapsulates all aspects of your existence. I believe this is the working model but what do I know, many times I failed to get it right myself. I can tell you one thing for sure, people change.

A lady friend who was desperately looking for marriage at some point, later described herself as a single mom by choice. Many women are resorting to having children for men they have no intention of marrying. Others think, they are safer sharing another woman’s husband. Hopefully, like me these issues confuse you enough to want to hear what mentor and seasoned counsellor C J Buckman and his team has to say at the WHY AM I STILL SINGLE summit on the 6^th and 7^th of November 2015/ The event is supported by Joy FM, Hitz FM and SPiD-UP.COM and you my friend, are invited.

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