C0VID-19: “Presidential Sneeze And Cob-web Clearance"
As children, when we sneezed, our parents smiled and said “Good luck!” A good sneeze made one feel good! With time, ‘Good luck” got upgraded to “Bless you!” Indeed, one of the finest sneezes I have been a witness to, and to which I said “Bless you”, came from a former Head of State.
Uganda
From 2008-2009, I lived in Uganda as the UN Military Adviser to former President of Mozambique His Excellency (HE) Joaquim Chissano. In 2006 HE Kofi Annan the Secretary-General of the United Nations appointed former President Chissano his Special Envoy for the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)-Affected Areas of Northern Uganda, South Sudan, the DRC and CAR. I was appointed President Chissano’s Senior Military Adviser.
Kampala, Uganda’s capital had a fine Ghanaian restaurant. On this occasion I had invited President Chissano for lunch. Unlike us West Africans who eat lots of pepper, East and Southern Africans do not eat pepper. I therefore warned Kofi the chef to use very little pepper for the tilapia light soup for Course One.
“Presidential Sneeze”
As soon as Mr President swallowed the first spoonful of soup, I could tell from his countenance that, the pepper was too strong for him. No sooner had the second spoonful gone down than Mr President sneezed heavily. I gave him a reassuring “Bless you!”
Looking at me intently, he said “General, this sneeze from the pepper has cleared all the cob-webs from my head” to which we all had a good laugh at his sense of humour.
So how come a delightful nature’s act like sneezing which was met with “good luck” and “bless you,” and which could clear cobwebs from a president’s head, suddenly be met with disgust and hostility?
COVID-19 has changed the rules of the game!
Now, if one sneezes even into one’s elbow as prescribed by WHO, one still feels guilty enough to say “Sorry?” Indeed, if this is done in public the ugly looks at the sneezer cut sharper than any verbal rebuke.
Abnormal Times
This reinforces what has now become a cliché that, we are not in normal times and that COVID-19 is going to change the world. One aspect of our culture which must certainly change is that of funerals.
Funerals in Ghana
Funerals in Ghana have become a very expensive activity fueled by the multi-million cedi funeral industry. Event Planners, Bankers, Transporters, Caterers, Printers, Musicians, Textile Designers and Morticians as well as many others have all cashed into this lucrative industry at the expense of bereaved families.
So much time, energy and money is wasted giving the deceased “fitting burials” which leave families in huge debt and in endless litigations and fights over such debts incurred.
In some cases, corpses are kept in mortuaries for months while “preparations” are made for expensive funerals. This Ghanaian phenomenon is completely different from my experience in Kenya.
Kenya
In 2017, I worked in Kenya as the CEO for the African Peace Support Trainers Association (APSTA). The Chairman of our Board was a renowned Kenyan diplomat Ambassador Kiplagat, probably the Kenyan equivalent of our HE Kofi Annan.
Unfortunately, soon after my arrival in Kenya, Ambassador Kiplaglat died. After a week, I asked my Secretary to arrange a visit for me to visit the bereaved family on behalf of our organization. To my surprise, she replied “he was buried yesterday!”
She then educated me that in Kenya, funerals are generally held in one week. In extreme cases where children of the deceased have to fly home from overseas, a maximum of two weeks is allowed, but nothing beyond that!
So, why are we so fixated on expensive funerals? Ghana must learn from such simple and inexpensive practices.
Attitudinal change
While not decrying the need to import things like machinery and vehicles, COVID-19 must teach us to stop the importation of frozen chicken wings, tooth-picks, tilapia, toilet roll, tomatoes, low-cost textiles and basic food items like rice and corn.
Indeed in the 1970s under “Operation Feed Yourself,” Ghana became a net exporter of rice and maize. Dawhenya rice was special both in taste and aroma.
We must learn to eat what we grow, and grow what we eat and develop the “DO IT YOURSELF (DIY) culture.
Uncle Ebo Whyte
In his submission on Joy FM Radio on Thursday, 7th May, 2020, Ghana’s foremost playwright Uncle Ebo Whyte stated among others that, “Ghanaians are not happy at the successes of their kind!” We would rather support foreigners to succeed in the “traditional Ghanaian hospitality” to foreigners while busily undermining and sabotaging our own in what we call the “pull him down” (PhD) syndrome.
We must change this negative character of ours and learn from the many positive examples around us.
Conclusion
Sneezing, which once upon a time cleared cob-webs from the heads of presidents and brought delightful joy has suddenly become a misdemeanor, courtesy COVID-19. Others which must change include our penchant for expensive time-wasting funerals, and the psychology that we must import everything even when we have a comparative advantage producing it ourselves.
Fellow Ghanaians, WAKE UP!
Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd)
Former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association (APSTA)
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