Should we be ourselves at work?

I have found my self studying for many hours on why Africa is lagging behind professionally, what makes a doctor generally less helpful or a policeman less dutiful. On the face of it you tend to think its a financial problem. however over the years living in Africa i am now coming to the conclusion that it is more to do with social understandings and work ethics.

Most of the world outside of Africa and admittedly parts of Africa hold close the idea of having professional roles attached to our working life. These "roles" we learn on entry to our Professions by mostly copying others. These roles or work characters come from the best way to get our works technical goals achieved.

For example it is customary for a policeman in London when speaking to a member of the public to use words such as "sir" or "madam". This isn't because it is part of the rules of law enforcement, but over the years they have found that addressing the public in this manner brings the best environmental results for him to administer his duties.

You might find that the local butcher engages in constant chit chat with his customers as he busily prepares the meat. This again facilitates his ability to be in tune with their orders by building a relationship with them.

I guess there are hundreds of examples that show how different we are at work from our natural normal home selves. In fact this role playing is part of everyday professional working duties that in most cases are expected, but not written down. Those of you who are reading this from outside of Africa i want you to imagine what a world would be like without people assuming professional roles at work. A world where everyone didn't change any aspect of there normal character mood or communication efforts at work.

In fact in this world everyone was exactly how they are at home, in work. The only differences was what they where physically doing . Let me use our friend the butcher as an example here. Of course one day he is going to feel pretty pissed off and he would go into work with this same mood. He might not feel like talking. so his customers will be speaking to him and he would not be reacting well in fact that day he might even be rude. Because he does not make a distinction between how he should behave in work from being at home. As a result he will sell less.

If this is so for the butcher what about the policeman or a judge the list goes on a minister of the government perhaps and so on. All will suffer a loss of technical achievement as a result of not fostering a mental approach towards their working duties.

This world to a greater degree is Africa. There is always an exception to the rule but generally this is what's going on. I pray our brothers and sisters here in ghana will mature and quicken to the benefits of asuming work ethics and behaviour paterns whilst they go about thier professional duties.

Driving In Ghana

I remember taking my last taxi to Tema before picking up my new second hand car that came off a ship from Germany. It felt good that i was finally avoiding bartering with the greedy taxi drivers who when seeing a foreigner would double their fare.

You see the taxi driver is one of the most arrogant and contentious people in Ghana. I was later going to find out that their plight i had only exchanged and not gotten rid of.

I stood there amongst many cars next to mine waiting for the Ashanti dealers to arrive for the exchange of the millions of cedis cash i had in my ruck sack for my car. Soon they came smiling and after counting every note they handed over the car to me.

Everything seemed to go smooth i had the car ownership papers my road worthiness and tax along with my driving license within a few days. It wasn't long before i was stuck at kwame Nkrumah's circle in a huge static traffic jam. I had Taxi's and tro tro's on all sides boxing me in and not giving up even an inch.

It was a million miles away from driving in the mostly good mannered streets of south London.
Sure in London there was "Road rage incidents" that could lead to your death if you met the wrong driver in the wrong situation, but in Ghana minus the death every driver almost is the wrong driver. All of them want to go before you. All of them don't have respect or have knowledge of "The right of way", and even more shockingly some are literally suicidal in there driving.

I know you the reader outside of Africa probably think i'm exaggerating but believe it or not i am being very careful to choose my words carefully to only tell you the truth.


Let me give you some examples. It is very common for you to be driving along and a parked car usually a taxi without checking his mirror pulls out in front of you making you slam on your breaks to avoid hitting him. He will do it without apology and most of the time in total oblivion to you your speed and any eventuality he may cause.

In the cases where you hit him he will blame you, and to be truthful if you are a foreigner the local people in most cases will also blame you.

I have even had on about 3 occasions a suicidal driver over taking about 4 vehicle's coming to wards a row of cars ahead of me in our lane. In these situations i remember the drivers flashing there lights ignorantly to move the traffic ahead of me out of the way even though we are in our rightful lane. Amazingly the cars ahead of me would give them way by driving into the place where people walk. In other words giving these deranged individuals the priority of an emergency at the cost of endangering pedestrians and other road users.

But by far the most amazing thing i have experienced was in a place called Dodowa. You see Dodowa is a very quite town hardly any cars at all. I was driving though there one Sunday afternoon, i was the only car on the road. Up ahead i notice a woman standing on the reservation that separates the road. She had already cross half the road and was waiting i thought for me to pass with a small boy before she continued.

To my surprise the woman made a desperate run in front of my car pulling the hesitant boy. I slammed on my breaks and swerved to miss her causing a screech. When she got to the other side she foolishly smiled.

A woman who felt it fit in inpatients to risk her life and the life of her son rather than to just wait till i pass. This made me think for some days after, and i can only draw the conclusion that Ghanaians both pedestrians and drivers have an erroneous and unhealthy attitude towards road use. This can be confirmed in the number of fatal road traffic accidents that happen here every day. According to the government 3 people die due to road accidents every day in Ghana.

Only just last month on the Accra Wenniba Road some 45 people perished as a truck carrying yams from Tema hit two cars that had crashed in the middle of the road. People who was about to rescue the occupants of the cars where ran over by the truck.

Even though there are far less cars in Accra than in London, driving in Accra is far more demanding. In order to get from A to B you have to anticipate whats unimaginable in London.

I can almost hear you ask "What about the police in all of this?". Well they are very busy trying to make a decent salary from road block bribes rather that chase bad drivers. I had a policeman stop me at a road block, he checked for everything. When he saw i had all that the law required he just asked me for money. The asking for money was the purpose of the road block it seemed.

Wilton Muhammad Accra Ghana

Diasporians Africa's Mirror

 Diasporians are like a "mirror" for Africa. They being outside of Africa and holding kinship to her are in a special position. What is apparent to the Diasporian by life's experiences hold keys to Africa's rise.

Africans around the world are in need of Justice a divine favour from almighty god. This justice that we seek is a birth right and anyone who is in opposition to it is in opposition to god. Its that simple!!

It is clear to most of us by now that White supremest are behind most of our problems in Africa and in the Diaspora's. This system is the most powerful cognitive device, an institution of deception that permeates every corner of our globe.

It is responsible for many injustices most of which have involved both Africans at home and abroad. We don't always suffer at the direct hands of it, but it also have our own brothers and sister acting out prescribe roles in positions of responsibility in its own peoples absents. From slavery to this very hour we are under a measure of influence from those who do not have our own interest at heart.

Everything in nature has an interest, and has whats in best interest for it. White people will confirm this fact, as they have done many times in there study of "wild life". Yet there practice on earth is totally to the contrary. They dictate to us whats in our interest along with the interests of other people in the world.

In nature that would mean that the goat can dictate to the lamb what it should eat. When in fact the lamb pays no attention to the goat. This is not racism in reverse just truth and facts.

Diasporians (Those who where born outside of Africa particularly the children of slaves) are concrete proof that the so called white man is of a different nature to us. Why, because despite living with him, schooling with him, fighting wars for him, we still are very different and our community's have never lived in peace together. I can safely say that even though i was born in London England i am more comfortable by far here in Ghana than i could ever be in London.

Black Africa should be constantly studying diasporian experiences. Its Africa's only true source of valuable information in which it needs to become truly independent. The diasporian by way of life experiences holds key knowledge for Africa if understood listened and respected.

The most important of all of the diasporians experiences is slavery. But slavery is not the only experiences that Black Africa needs to study form the diasporian. Really every aspect of our travels in the diaspora are good lessons to our brothers and sisters on this continent. A qualified engineer in London who is black would be extremely valuable in Ghana or any African city.

He could live like a king, and can create situations that potentially alleviate poor living conditions for thousands of people. Instead he sits at home with his small house in London suffering himself, and paying bills. Whats wrong with this picture? What is wrong is that the poor engineer, the poor nurse, the poor doctor etc has allowed someone to dictate to them whats in there best interest.

In nature everything behaves according to the law in which it was created. Lets see if the white man has a different nature form the black man. For a start physically the white is much weaker than the black. As Doctor Leakey a white anthropologist said "dark eyes are dominant light eyes are recessive you can get the recessive from the dominant but not the dominant from the recessive." Instantly we see that even just on a psychical level we differ.

The question now must be does that physical difference translate into the mental and spiritual?

I would seem that anyone studying theology would have to bear witness that it takes strength to be right. Strength of character etc. To do wrong is referred to as weaknesses. When ever we are telling the truth it takes a measure of strength. whenever we lie it comes from a weakness.

Do you think when the doctor was talking about weakness he only meant the eyes? What about skin, bones, hair, muscles and of course brain?


If his brain is generally different to ours then simply he is of a different nature to us. Ok we are all quote unquote human. But so is the bird family all bird, that doesn't mean the Eagle should hang out with the Budgie Or in the cat family the Tiger chilling with the house cat.


One of our great thinkers to my mind the greatest The Honorable Elijah Muhammad Gave a very telling lesson to The Diasporian he said we should "Accept our own and be ourself". What is interesting here is that this was one instruction and not two.

Accepting our own is tied to being ourself. You cannot attain one without the other. Isn't it great to conceive that we all both diasporian abroad for no matter how long, and born "Africans" are kin? Not out of romance but out of the recognition of pure facts.

If we view all as a family body of people then it would be no use having a head without a heart or a foot without a hand. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that the understanding of our plight lies in the conception of us being a whole. It is also evident that our solutions also are contained in this conception.


I have listened to diasporians try to extricate themselves from involvement and association with Africa. This can never be successful because we are simply in truth a part of that family of people. Even if you the individual have convinced yourself, the rest of the world is not with you in their view of you. This leaves us in a very weak position because then we are trying to belong to something that is non existent. This has undoubtedly added to how others have lost respect for us and in some cases consideration for us.

Our born resident Africans on the other hand fall on this point too, because of the boundaries of tribalism and nationalism. BOTH in 2007 are not in our best interest.

The Great Asagefo Kwame Nkrumah Knew this. That is why he was a Pan Africanist. He also had great admiration for Marcus Garvy who created the concept "The black star" which is proudly shown on the Ghana flag. As great as Ghana is she should be viewed as a State in Africa along with Nigeria etc. This is not impossible and it MUST be done in order for us to secure our future as a people.

Ghana was born out of a conception of mutual understanding and recognition of both the diasporian and the born African. Garvey a Diasporian Nkrumah the born African both recognized what was important here.

I love Nkruhmah i accept his ideals as my own he is a father to my thinking along with all the diasporian greats. It is disturbing to me to see his name and idea's rubbished buy Ghanaians because as a Diasporian having my understanding of the outside world i can see he was and is principle to our survival and restoration as a people in and out of Africa.

Naturally a arm re attached to a body successfully will bring benefits. What benefit would seven miles of black star line ships full of diasporians pulling in to Tema harbor bring to Ghana?
Not that this is the way it should be done but there would be great benefit, too much to mention given that we where successfully resettled.

As quiet as it is kept the most beneficial and feared knowledge diasporians have and can deliver to Africa is the Complete understanding of the White world its weaknesses its intentions its capability's etc all we have learn t as a matter of second nature.

It is this knowledge that is missing painfully in Africa!!

The re attachment of this knowledge is linked to why slavery was allowed to happen in the first place. This is the crown that is granted for our lynching and burning and whippings. It is our graduation a precious gift born out of pain and suffering. I believe our experiences and knowledge if used in Africa will unlock an ability to deal with investment, infrastructural theological and social issues with the outside world better and more justly for our benefit.

Indeed there is no one that knows the white world better than the diasporian bar only the white man himself. Our four hundred year journey in HIS HOUSE was not in vein.

when i think along these issues i can see how our history was orchestrated buy our father in heaven as preparatory to a great future. Let me know your thoughts on these points raised, as no one brother can be as definitive as the collation of more than ones thoughts.


Wilton Muhammad Accra Ghana West Africa.

FOR THE LOVE OF GHANA

I have been told that my blog is a bit negative. That i am painting Ghana in a bad way by highlighting the wrongs rather than the achievements. Let me make my position clear.

It is the wrongs we should focus on in order to build a better nation so all of us living in Ghana are happier. As long as we speak facts we should not worry

Needless to say Ghana is full of goodness and this is what this article is about.

The truth is i sit here by Allah (god)'s grace writing this article from my beautiful house in Accra region. The workmen almost literally hand built the house and considering this they done not too bad a job. In London i could never of afforded the equivalent property because of the ridiculous property prices there.

As you can tell i have a internet broadband connection also, something that i thought was near impossible in Africa. Construction in Ghana is at full steam you cant go anywhere without seeing houses being built. Some of them are simply magnificent by any world standard. Most of the people around me are god fearing decent and hardworking people.

I enjoy fresh food fruits, vegetables fish and meat are all in abundance. Not to mention the fresh air compared to London.

People have a higher sense of family values here also. In Ghana you don't have to worry about your children ending up being snatched, murdered or ending up in gangs. On Sundays Ghanaians put on there best dress to go to church. In the morning you will see teams of elegant dressed people, waiting to board dilapidated mini buses (Tro Tros) going to there respected churches.

I truly believe i am amongst potentially one of the best behaved groups of people on this earth. I love Ghana for increasing the quality of life it has given me and the prospects of leaving something to my children. This England fails to do miserably.

I will caution all Ghanaians leaving Ghana seeking to live in the hell hole of Europe and the USA. What is under your nose is sometimes missed especially if you don't have a polished mirror. Diasporians are your mirror,we know the evils and indecency of the west. Let us find ways to make Africa better together.

The Meaning of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

GMT is a standard of time. Well to be exact its thee white mans time standard. The whole world sets there watches by it, its the ground zero of this worlds conception of time. If you look on any atlas or globe you will see that where the town of Greenwich is in London, the time line is zero.

This time line runs north and south right down the length of the planet. In Greenwich it self is a museum dedicated to time. Its called interestingly the Maritime Museum, an indication that the white mans naval activity's and his understanding and measuring of time came about simultaneously.

Greenwich, as a recipe has the ingredient's time and travel two very significant developments in the white mans life on this planet. But the whole thing is even more interesting considering the fact that slavery also begun in Greenwich. I'm talking about the white transatlantic slave trade.

You see around 1555 a deviant by the name of Sir John Hawkins commissioned the first slave ship. It was called The Jesus of Lubeck and probably was built in neighboring Deptford. The name Deptford has etymological roots in two words deep, and ford, indicating the deep ford of water that passes through that area. It is documented that even the Romans used Deptford as a port along with the Moors. The so called Queen Elizabeth at that time actually lived in Greenwich and she gave Hawkings the money to build his ship.

Seeing that slavery, white time and his conception of world travel begun in Greenwich we can say this is point A for us and him in this world. The beginning of slavery herald the beginning of the white world and its better described name of, The Racism/White Supremacy System. It is also logical to assume the end of slavery is also the end of this system.

Is this where the MEAN in GMT comes into play why "mean"? is it i mean to tell you the time? Or is it the time is mean, not enough. A complaint to god perhaps. I personally think the latter is more fitting. This sentiment is reflected in the Bible Saying "the devil had come down (south) showing great wrath because he knew he had little time."


Lets follow the GMT time line south, down across Africa till we reach Ghana and another port town Tema. It built buy the great Asagefo Kwame Nkruhmah Who was the first none nationalistic African leader post the advent of slavery. He being a Pan africanist Built Tema exactly on the GMT line as a significant sign of the beginning of black international consciousness.

This frighten white people because it was a sign of the sun setting on there world. I believe Nkruhmah was in full knowledge of his actions he knew what he was saying and more importantly doing. Of course the white man is not about to loose his grip on the world especially in Africa, so he went to work immediately against Nkruhmah for this. He still is working very hard against any of Nkrumah's work in present day Ghanaian politics.

White intelligents goal is to delay the rise of Africa, it is like the ships lookout on the titanic.
Simply because if Africa was to truly rise independently and self sufficiently America will fall and so will Europe. The raw material that they still steal without correct payment will no longer be in there hands. So it was written in a UK based newspaper "Shall we re-colonize Africa?" For the purpose of insuring our raw material consumption. A serious article.

You see Africans don't realize there own value so when you are in this position you cant claim your worth. Others then take advantage of you knowing you don't know any better.

The Electrical problem i wrote about in an earlier article refers to what i believe are outside influences, who keep Ghana in this insufficient electrical dilemma for the purpose of making her uneconomically viable. Those who are more interested in creating a Ghanaian national identity system BEFORE constant electric power, water, and good roads are acting alien to the best interest of the nation. There is NOWAY Ghana will get sufficient foreign business investment without guaranteed electricity!! Everybody is well aware of this outside Ghana.

This is proof that Africa is still being played. We must know the enemy.

When we look at Greenwich and Tema, we see two opposing efforts one white one black. Both highly significant, and both on the most important time line on the planet. This is not a coincident but rather doors to two worlds one old and the other new. One brought slavery and the white world the other when understood correctly will bring about Africa's Freedom and justice for the rest of the world.

I welcome your comments Wilton Muhammad

Our Ultimate Conclusion!

Wise men amongst the Diasporian community agree that the status quo between non white people in the world and the white power machine cannot remain, however either justice or death is a question that cannot be too much longer ignored.

White people are increasingly faced with either to kill us all as non white people or to issue complete justice to us all, all the time. Alarmingly both of these tasks are well with in there perceived power and can be there intention at any whim. I say perceived power because there is another factor here to be taken in consideration.

That factor is written in the fact that we did not create ourselves. So who, or if you like what put us here in the first place has the responsibility of keeping us here. In the attempted kill us all scenario it is fair seaming that, the person or force that brought us into existence will show a hand if it is executed .

The good news is that Justice also was created by presumably the same being. So working against it is working against that being or force. The mere fact that non-white people are actually only asking for something that is part of universal law, should indicate that we do have a better relationship with the creator than those working to deny justice.

Every member of the non white population of this earth, have suffered at the hand of white people . This cleverly has been done over a span of hundreds of years. But make no mistake white people have dealt unjustly with the entire human family. None more than in Africa and with Africans.

Everything in nature has an enemy!!

Our problem is Africa doesn't know its enemy. Your enemy is the one who is denying you justice.

Now it is easy to get us to blame ourselves, especially considering the ground work their fathers have already put in through slavery and colonialism. Now of course we are to blame for allowing others to influence our private affairs

It is only when we take a step back and look at the problem from a objective view point, that we see our enemy. This is because our enemy also is the enemy of others.

For example the Tootsie and the Hutu in Rwanda where enemies. I say where because they are not killing each other like they did in the 90's today. Nor did they kill each other like they did before the 90's. If you read the history these tribes had difficulty's since the 15th century according to white people.

This ironically would only be more proof of a hidden hand. Because you can say they have handle the degree of hatred for one another since that time till the 90's and since the 90's.

A clear indication of another force outside Tootsie and Hutu. A force that was only present and active at that time. That means they where deceived. You can verify this in the fruitlessness of the reasons for the slaughter. This out side force is their common enemy because his reason for the killing was not for the benefit of neither Hutu or Tootsie .

What about the rest of Africa and the world? Could it be that this one outside force has affected us all?. A simple answer would be only at different times, as stated earlier. Justice has been denied in Africa because of the desire to steal the mineral riches under her feet. But it is also denied to others for different reasons. These real reasons are only for the benefit of the real enemy. This in so doing denies justice for those involved.

Iraq today is a good example for us to study.

He is not interested if they die or starve. This suffering sometimes is actually beneficial for him in getting his reasons fulfilled. But he is a common enemy, a enemy to us all. Will he concede and give us justice even if that justice is to his detriment? Or will he attempt to kill us all? Any humane human would concede.

Do white people fall into this category ? I believe this question is about to be answered.

Out of Context?

A Diasporian by nature of his name is out of context somewhat to his environment . I knew something wasn't quite normal when i left my parents house and had to go to school. Instinctively i wanted to stay home. It wasn't that i was a lazy child but i felt alienated.

On the face of it i was different in appearance to the pasty white children screaming around me. But that difference was small compared to the differences in our behavior. I unlike them already knew right from wrong by then, my parents took care of that.

I would like to say at this point that i'm sure if i was to write about my parents household the Ghanaians reading would find many similarity's in how we where brought up.

You see everyone is within context in their own parents house. This is the point i am driving at here.

As a child i remember going to my white friends house for us both to go to school. We was about 10 at the time. When i got to his house his mother answered the door and invited me in. she stood there in a nightie with a cigarette sticking out the side of her mouth. Soon my friend came running down the stairs to meet me at his door. As we where leaving the strangest thing happened.

He asked his mother if he could squeeze her breasts. I was expecting his mother to give him "lashes", like i knew i would get even if such a thought where to enter my head. But to my shock surprised and embarrassment she offered it to him, and to his delight he squeezed it while looking at me feeling smart.

This was my very first incite into the white mans household, puzzled i pondered over it for many years. Now i know this was a single event happening to me many years ago. Hardly a case against a whole people, and certainly being subjective never helped black people.

However no one would dispute the fact that white people are managing the most debased societies on the earth. I'm demonstrating the connection between the human household and the wider nation and world. Our nations reflect the content of our houses in simple terms.

We have herd social scientist coin phases such as "peer pressure" or "working class" and "well to do" these terms indicate the influences that we receive socially.

But the same social scientist choose to ignore the household as a definitive of our identity. In fact it is totally ignored, to the extent that we can say the west wants to eliminate the recognition of any household family influences on its population. Even though as an element it is far more important to our psychology than social pressures. Why is this?

The truth is most people are influenced more heavily the earlier their age. Like a computer the human brain takes what is is given first as a barometer to what follows later.

That is why Jeffrey Dahmer the white necrophiliac cannibal who ate several people in Milwaukee USA was studied mostly at his household upbringing level. In his case it simply could not be ignored. This coupled with the shear disgust in his actions they didn't want white society to take the blame so ironically they put the blame where it should be.

But white people in high office clearly don not want the populous to study family life as a definition as to who we are. This you will agree if you look closely is because it alienates white people and negates them. You see at the household family level non-white people clearly have a lot more cultural integrity and morality.

Also this Cognitive device gives white people a massive advantage over others in "their society" because they don't have to adjust culturally and morally when they get in the school, college, work place etc. Because their household is the same as there society. That fact along with the resources of the world at there beck and call they excels us. Not because genetically they are in anyway better than non-white people. What we black people keep failing to recognize is that we are opposite to him in on a far deeper level than skin.

An official recognition of our household differences will demand a very different educational structure to start with. Not to mention the fact that laws according to our home background would have to be formed. The assumption being what was acceptable among one group can be offensive with another.

This white people are clearly not going to do too much of, especially when its against there benefit in there own house and nation. They have tried this on a very small scale with racial discrimination laws. The best example of what would be needed in existence today is the Muslim mortgage law. A acceptance that Muslims do not recognize financial interest. This law in the west is clearly not socially based.


I said earlier that "everyone is within context in their own parents house", this statement works on mental spiritual and Geographical levels. Spiritually if your father is god you would be better off in his house as Joseph's discovered.

Mentally, non-white people think along the lines of fact and truth more. Cognitive devices are less common in our thinking. To implement a device implies deception. This is so common in the west it has a well known term "Social Engineering".

Social engineering can only be accepted by the secular mindset. It negates the guidance of god.
Whether you accept it or prosecute it, you by validating it exposes your secularism. This is very different from the installation of laws according to "family values" which implies godly guidance.
Another reason why the west reject it. They make this known with there open declaration of a separation between church and state.

In white society you have to do things you feel uncomfortable with to others, in order to get anywhere. Rather than having the recognition of truth and facts as the factor of success. This practice is not only found in the work place but it is also present in high governmental office positions and principles.

(I would note to my Ghanaian brothers and sisters think before you run from Ghana to the west these things are real and you will face them when you get there.)


Diasporians are at the apex of everything i have mentioned here. We are the most out of context in the white mans parts of the world. Despite being there in some cases longer that any other group. Admittedly we are also out of context to some degree in Africa. But this degree lyes socially and not mentally or spiritually. And seeing that one of the most important element in the definition of an individual is with his home upbringing, we have to bear witness that the African born and the Diasporian are undoubtedly family.

For any mental and or spiritual similarity of two peoples who have been apart for the best part of 500 years, and under the influence of another is amazing proof of kinship.


Don't think for one minute that white people do not know this. They knew it from the time they took our fathers from Africa. They know where they got us from. It is some of us who still suffer from the Colonial and Slavery social engineering devices that have a difficulty in this area. Also those who accept our social and or national identities as definitive. It is better in order to recognize your kin to see if he comes from the same household values as you do.

I hope i have made some things clearer for Ghanaians as to where Diasporians are coming from and why they are coming.

I also hope i have shown Diasporians in the Diaspora why you should as least invest in your fathers motherland. You can do this or subject all your future generations to being out of context.

As always dont just read this blog write your reactions and post them.

Will Muhammad

Is This Culture?

Culture, not a word that i have a full understanding of. Is this because i am a diasporian, born under the influences of the west? Or could it be my disagreement with some cultural practices. Let me explain my self more clearly.

In Ghana culture is not only a choice but rather a hidden interwoven set of behaviors that manage there everyday live's. For the most instances this is beautiful, real community spirit, respect for elders and such. Things that have long been eroded in the Diasporian black community's.

However it seems some of this what is called culture gets in the way of progress. In those instances it should be shelved. As was the culture of selling our own people.

I will give you an example. Recently the great Volta lake ran low in water. The electricity company of Ghana declared that there will be forced power outages staggered around the country "The power shedding programme" they called it.

Consumers are being restricted to "Light off" from between 18:00hrs and 06:00 in the morning.
Or from 06:00 to 18:00hrs in the evening. Thats everyone businesses, homes, factory's industry's, everyone is supposed to get light off at some point.

This in the west would be just plane lunacy! It undoubtedly would lead to massive legal actions against the power company's. Particularly bearing in mind that there was no backup system. Even as every car has a spare wheel.

But in Ghana people accepted it, to protest is not in there culture especially when you are complaining about those who hold authority. This as well as the fact that Africa lives culturally in the dark led to a popular silents.

Sure there was those on TV3 and Ghana TV "discussing the issues" but nothing said that would reflect the massive damage to the economy both with restrictive production now and with any future world business proposals. How can Ghana be economically viable with no constant power?

The culture of bad chiefs where those who are your elders, (as stated before) command respect even if they where WRONG, has somehow translated in to the elected offices of government positions. Hardly democratic, in fact its bordering on the dictatorship. Ironically even the Chiefs would agree that they need Electricity all the time.

A professor at University of Ghana Legon said to me that "Ghana is a country experimenting with democracy". He wasn't wrong.

I would ask can culture be limited to a tool used to beautify the nation, and not one in the way of essential progress? Maybe the born Ghanaians reading this blog can answer this question.

Having read that you probably asked yourself "why did i leave my nice cold fully infrastructural integrated council flat in south London for lunacy?" That is because i didn't say Things don't get done they do, but at a slow, painfully slow pace. Lets give those who have learnt that "nothing should get in the way of building a nation" a bigger voice.

PS suffice as to say construction work has begun to create a power backup system in Tema.
Thank Allah, God.

I Welcome your comment. Will Muhammad

Sugar cubes in my fridge

The term cultural shock is very real. A split second of brain overload, a sense of loss coupled with confusion. Like the day i woke sweating and feeling dehydrated. This led me to my newly acquired Tosiba fridge. It was only when i opened it i became conscious of my being in Africa. There was a box of white sugar cubes placed on the eggs tray by my friend the evening before. Puzzled i laughed, maybe she is loosing her mind but on second thought she was very right, ANTS!

You see back in London ants where something we played with at school or watched when we where waiting for someone in the park. However in Ghana ants are not to be played with, and they love sugar. If you are careless enough to leave sugar out uncovered, in the morning you will be visited by the colony. Unwanted guest's who systematically remove your life stock in there thousands.

Any similarity of the ants and the early white colonialists is not intentional, however understood.

I remember when i was a young boy growing up in South London in the 70's and 80's Africa was a word used to refer to small potbellied starving children with flies in there eyes. I hardly heard the word being used in my West-Indian household.

Until the Nigerian Biafra war started bringing waves of Nigerians to London they like us ended up working on the buses and other working class jobs. Immediately there was a isolation between there community and the resident west Indian community's .

West Indians felt we where better in that we was there first and could speak English as our first language. I guess the dumb amongst us was glad to find someone who was considered less than we where living in the UK. I wonder what the educated whites where thinking during this time. Undoubtedly they watched to see if we would embrace ourselves.

Fortunately for them this was not the case. The social engineering of us through slavery and them through colonialism worked and they breathed easily at that time to see us still disliking and not knowing each other.

This engineering and my personal indoctrination of Africans came about in school. Where my history teacher showed Africa exclusively in a negative light "These are savages" he said "They are cannibals". This with the amount of newspaper cartoons depicting Africans with bones in there nose's dancing around a big boiling pot cooking a white woman was damaging to my and many other West Indian childrens psychology.

This damage like a virus left unchecked accounts for most of the negative encounters diasporians and born Africans experience. Especially in the diaspora.

In Ghana this damage although not as severe as in England still exists. Out of the diaporians who come from London UK and the USA to relocate here many have spoke of there unwelcome as a member of the family. They conclude that Ghanaians just see them as American or British. Some Ghanaians go as far as to even call us white.(obruni) One Ghanaian MP declared that "We don't want them coming here building there ghettos".

Thankfully this is not the norm and only a example of a dying minority who have not bothered to educate themselves to the dictates of our history. Slavery i have discovered has had many victims not only those who where sold. But also the sellers have to come to terms with there guilt.

Most Ghanaians know the part played by slavery in our history, and i have been asked by them if "i know that we are brothers". This is also echoed in the government with there initiative The Joseph Project where Ghana is officially reaching out to us to return or invest in the homeland.

This Blog invites you all to comment i will be writing more soon and look forward to hearing from all of you peace. Will Muhammad