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One of the unresolved mysteries of 2014 is the disappearance of a Malaysian Airline Flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12-member crew on 8 th  March. Another one, which is very close to us, is the disappearance of Hip-Life Musician Castro and his female friend who went jet skiing on the Volta Lake. We thought the mysteries were enough for 2014 but just this morning, another Asian Airline goes missing with 162 passengers including 17 children and 7 Airline crew. It is just three days to the end of 2014, and news just came in that some girl called Effe is accusing one of Ghana’s finest entertainment and fashion icons, KKD (Kwesi Kyei Darkwa) of rape. The news sent the shivers down the spine of almost everyone who heard it; at least the ones I saw. I would guess that KKD might have thought to himself that “thank God the year is coming to an end and nothing evil has happened to me.” But that thought was obviously not enough to prevent this misfortune, which we are told he ...

Being a child in the early 90s was so much fun trust me. We had our own problems but it wasn’t as bad as it is now. Technology has really made things faster and easier to do but maybe it would have been better if it stayed only in the West. Bringing technology and certain western cultures to Africa is not a bad idea, but truth be told, some of these stuff are just not meant for us. Imagine Africa with all its original traditions and cultures modified to suit this 21st Century. We have rather buried our traditions and adopted other people’s, which does not suit us. A few cultural and traditional practices at the community, institutional and national levels may have survived the test of time. But the more domestic ones are dying due to lack of effective communication from generation to generation. Traditions like pouring of libation, customary marriage rites , naming ceremonies and others have survived, but with some western touches. But, some others have been totally scrap...

Trotro News Yes, so I was telling you about news in ‘trotro’. Listening to news in trotro is the most fun thing to do. Everybody has their own perspective of the news. They put such wild interpretations and twists on the story. The interesting part is when I have just left my newsroom and I know exactly what the story is about, but I hear people form their own impressions about the story, usually very wrong one. I feel like telling them they are wrong. But I often let them go on and on, pretending to be listening to music on my phone but I listen to the gossip and laugh. And the most ignorant ones are usually the loudest. It is fun situation to hangout in. Try it. Drama    It could sometimes get very dramatic on a trotro. I figured that it’s only in Ghana that a young lady can slap a Ghanaian man without him replying. Guess what happened…one of my bosses shared her experience of how a gentleman who deliberately rubbed his penis on her thighs got a dirty slap. My b...

I think I was born gay. I’m sure you are wondering why…well I have so many feminine features, I talk like a girl and walk like a girl and do other things like a girl. We lived in a compound house and I remember how other mothers used to tell my mother I was so beautiful and would look better if I were a girl. Most of the little boys in the house would scream at me whenever I tried to mingle with them. They would called me all sorts of names like, ‘barima kotobonku’, ‘kojo besia’ (these are popular names given to males who behave as females in Ghana). I gradually got used to playing with the girls rather than the boys. I felt more comfortable around the girls. Every time there were no girls around to play with, I would be around my mother or my big sister all day. I asked my mother why the boys treated me the way they did. She told me to stay away from those who did not like me and I did. My parents later realized the situation and I don’t know who gave them that advice but the...

People think ‘trotro’ is the cheapest means of transport in Ghana but it is one of my favourite hangouts. Strange huh? It is only in ‘trotro’ that you hear people who are totally ignorant ‘polluting’ others with wrong information and arguing confidently. I sit back, laugh and shake my head while this goes on. I have enjoyed the drama in ‘trotro’ for a very long time and I just can’t stop picking ‘trotro’ even now that I have my own car, thanks to my dad. I can’t imagine myself missing all the fun in trotro, especially a day after fuel price increment. Passengers fighting drivers and their mates over increased fares and all that, how can I miss all that? Barima Sydney’s ‘scent no oo, scent no’ song helped to kill the usual bad odour on trotro drivers’ mates (conductors). But I think we need another artist to do another song about the bad odour on most drivers’ mates. Ei! If you are unfortunate to get the seat beside the driver’s mate on a trotro, then sorry. Your neck will ke...

A lecturer once said that most African proverbs and traditions are the reasons most African kids are not confident. I agree with him. I grew up in Ghana, so I would like to narrow it down to Ghanaian proverbs and traditions and examine their impact on the confidence level of Ghanaian children. But before I begin, allow me to remind you of a story the late ace broadcaster and BBC World News Anchor Komla Dumor once shared. The Late Komla Dumor, (may his gentle soul rest in perfect peace) once made a joke out of an incident that confirms how people know Ghanaians to be timid. It was Komla’s first time of meeting one of Nigeria’s renowned economists, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. He introduced himself by saying ‘hello madam, am Komla from the BBC.’ Then the woman said ‘oh Kola, how are you?’ Komla then replied ‘excuse me ma, my name is Komla and I’m from Ghana.’ Then the woman replied ‘really, and you are so confident’. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala could not just place confident Komla Dumor among...