THE GJA AWARD, MY CATEGORY AND THE STORY BEHIND IT

 

Some have been wondering and others have been asking about the category of award I won on Saturday at the Ghana Journalists’ Association awards.

The category was TRANSPORT AND ROAD SAFETY (PRINT) and the story that won the award was about the preventable accidents that continue to occur in the infamous Asitey curve - located on the Odumase-Oterkpolu road - the resultant fatalities and injuries.

The story was done in partnership with a colleague, Seth J. Bokpe. Our first attempt at telling the story about the disturbing trend was in 2009, eleven solid years ago. I remember we did an extensive investigation into the phenomenon. The two of us had to travel all the way to Koforidua to engage the then Regional Manager of the Ghana Highways Authority. We got the story published in the Daily Graphic newspaper and expected that it would jerk the duty bearers out of their slumber to remedy the situation.

Several years down the line, the situation remained same and more terrible accidents were recorded in rapid succession at the same spot – in the curve located at the end of a steep escarpment.

Between 15^th and 18^th June 2019 alone, there have been three reported accidents, resulting in 10 deaths and injuries to about 63 people. The above statistics include seven deaths and more than 50 injured members of the St. Barbara Catholic Church in Akosombo who were on a return trip from a funeral. A few days after that ghastly accident at the spot, another accident nearby killed three persons. On June 18, a tipper truck went off the road and ended up in the drain to the right of the curve.

In October 2018, a science teacher of the Mangoase Senior High School died at this same spot when the bus on which he and some 56 students were travelling reportedly failed its brake and crashed into the valley.

In this story that won the award, we traced the phenomenon to twenty years back and shared scary statistics including research findings and recommendations on how the recurring crashes could be averted or at least reduced.

We also looked for some of the surviving but maimed victims of the numerous crashes who recounted their ordeal and ‘miserable’ life after the accidents. One of such people was Madam Dede Kosi from Kodjonya whose right leg was amputated as a result of an accident at the same spot 22 years ago.

Madam Kosi who presently uses a prosthetic leg, owned and operated a flourishing business at the time. She was transporting her wares together with some of her colleague traders when they came crashing, an event that threw her life and those of her dependents into disarray. Some of the victims ‘checked out of life’; she was lucky to have survived but she lost a leg. Her business and aspirations came tumbling as a result.

It will interest you to know that not even the Ghana Police Service or the Municipal Assembly could readily produce data on the repeated accidents. That is how serious the situation is. The authorities have absolutely no data to inform their decision on what to. It makes you understand why the situation remains same, because you simply cannot appreciate the severity of the issue without any meaningful data. Anytime accidents occurred at the spot, the authorities went there to transport victims and cleared wreckage/debris at the place apparently in readiness for the next crash. Can you imagine?

And so folks, this is but a gist of the story behind the award. It’s more of a recognition of the effort that goes into the stories I do at leisure. Journalism has been my dream but I found myself doing something else soon after school. For now, it’s more of a past time.

Click the link below and read the award winning story in detail.

If you meet my friend, no, brother, Seth J. Bokpe, somewhere, give him a hug, he is such a skillful writer. His works and how he goes about them make journalism so inviting. 

 

PICTURES:

Pic 1: Seth and I in a pose shortly after receiving the award

Pic 2: A short of the infamous Asitey curve

Pic 3: One of the many vehicles that crashed at in the curve

Pic 4: Madam Dede Kosi, one of the survivors of the many crashes. Her right leg was amputated after her accident in the curve

Pic 5: Award winners from the Graphic Communications Group in a pose with Information Minister, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

6. ‘Opana” showcasing the award

DONALD GWIRA, AN ANGEL IN HUMAN FORM

 DONALD GWIRA, AN ANGEL IN HUMAN FORM

Many who have monitored my education and, if you like, career, keep wondering why I ‘betrayed’ my first love’, journalism, and veered into something else soon after graduating from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).  Till date, a lot these people who knew about my level of obsession with journalism keep asking what could be keeping me away from the career I was so passionate about, growing up.

That is another story to be told. Today, I simply want to tell you about some really refreshing experiences that have come to convince me beyond doubt that angels exist in human form right here on earth. If you haven’t encountered any, I have.

In 2009, I had a golden opportunity to join the corporate communications department of Zain Telecommunications Ghana (which later transformed into Airtel Ghana); my job title was PR Coordinator and I was mainly in charge of Media Relations - a role I really fancied at the time.

The people I met in there and the interesting learning experiences I went through have been the most compelling set of factors that influenced what I still consider a prudent switch from journalism (my first love) to Public Relations.

Mr. Donald Gwira was one of the bosses I was privileged to work with. He joined the company as the head of the Communications Department around the time I was wrapping up my stint with the firm and so we parted company just around the time our paths crossed. I don’t remember working with (or under) him for more than three months – I had to go and I left. He knew very little about me so I didn’t really expect him to do me any favour.

Unbeknown to me, this man had spotted something in me and took special interest in my career. It was a pleasant surprise when I had a call from one of the breweries to come for assessment for the role of a communications officer, based on Donald’s recommendation. Guess what, I missed that big opportunity narrowly because of some basic errors in the script I produced during the written assessment. 'The thing pain me oooo'.

In my estimation, I had embarrassed him and shredded the confidence he had in me but he proved me wrong and drew even closer. The relationship grew stronger; Donald will not stop pampering me like his own son. He kept showing me the way to the top of the PR profession and throwing more offers at me.

Toward the mid of 2018, I had just resigned from my job due to ill-health and was shuttling between hospitals fiercely fighting my way back to good health. I was gradually mending but there was no immediate plan to return to full time employment. Then the call came from one of these finance companies that someone had strongly recommended me for the position of a Corporate Communications Manager. I couldn’t escape the conclusion that Donald was architect behind the move. A call to him would later confirm that.  

Despite that fact that I was trapped in an ailing body, I was hesitant giving him excuses so I prayed about it and consulted a few friends including 'that boy' called Paa Kwesi Forson to pick their brain on my dilemma – to go or not to go, given the challenges at hand. They were all like ‘go”, don’t allow the sickness to hold you down.  

I attended two interviews; saying they were grueling will be an understatement, but I came top of the candidates and had my offer letter waiting for the agreed date to start work in a new environment and a new sector that promised to be challenging and equally rewarding.

While I was relishing the prospect, I had yet another call from a leading brand in the media space and the news was that someone had recommended me to take up the role of CSR Manager. I attended that interview too. In essence, I had these two opportunities to choose from. I settled for the former, after thorough consideration and took up the Corporate Communications Manager role in May 2018.

You won’t believe that Donald drove, on many occasions, to my office to see how I was faring and offer some tips to enable me excel in the role. I can go on and on and on.  

I think Donald believes in me more than I do myself. When you have people like this around you, you can only reach for the skies. It is this belief in me that makes me feel like I can be (and will be) the next UN Secretary General from Ghana. I have started working on that dream, and bigger ones.

Folks, do convey gratitude to Donald, and remember to tell him I said I will make him proud one day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHEN YOU HAVE A FINE BROTHER TO SHOWCASE

WHEN YOU HAVE A FINE BROTHER TO SHOWCASE

Herman Ablade Kodjo Adjase-Kodjo 

When you have someone going ahead of you, you don’t struggle finding your way. Meet Herman Angmornor Ablade  Kodjo Adjase-Kodjo. I come straight after him in the lineup of children born to Mr. Peter Angmor and Vidash Koryoe Adjase-Kodjo.

He’s been an example in all respect. Let me tell you a typical example. Growing up, I often dreaded coming home with my TERMAL (terminal) report when school vacated because the report Herman came home with made it look like I was just escorting my mates to school. Ask and you will be told about the record he and his circle of friends left at the Forman Memorial Junior High School, Odumase-Krobo and later, the Okuapeman Senior High School, Akropong-Akwapim.

He is simply a pacesetter and a standard bearer. Those of you who keep complimenting my two-by-four writing skill, check like you haven’t encountered this young man. Look, his is a pure talent; he has the flair to summon words - at will - to do his bidding.

In the words of George Sydney Abugri, one of my favourite writers of all time, Herman “makes words jump, skip, do triple jump, somersault and fly like sparks in people’s mind”.

The love is deep. There should be a reason so compelling for your brother to name his first son after you. He and his wife recently honoured me when they named their first son after me.

Folks, do join me to wish Herman Angmornor Ablade Kodjo Adjase-Kodjo, husband of Gifty Hermanda Oblekie Adjase-Kodjo (Nee Quaye) and father of Henking Nene Angmor-Atserdi Kodjo Adjase-Kodjo Jnr. a happy birthday.

We pride in him.

 

 

A GOOD MAN HAS COME AND GONE

 A GOOD MAN HAS COME AND GONE

Last Saturday, I joined my JSS and SSS mate – now a brother - Gyan William, to bid farewell to his late father, Elder Sampon Kwame Gyan. If there’s any man I ever encountered who, in my estimation, came close to being a perfect human being, it’s Elder Gyan.

In the words of Mr. Djembi Lawer, one of Elder Gyan’s confidantes, “Elder Gyan’s lifestyle advertised his church, the Church of Pentecost”. He lived the tenets of the church to the latter and exuded, in no mean measure, the characteristics of a Christian.

He had a certain level of humility, decency and strong faith that put him in a bracket of his own. He was a man of refreshing candour, one with an endearing presence. He made sure he didn’t tell us – those who encountered him at close range - how to live, instead he lived and let us watch him do it. His whole life was one of fellow-feeling, modesty and simplicity; he had no time for excesses of any kind.

It’s often said that artisans are cunning but this man was a different brand. He built my dad’s house and many others in the Odumase-Krobo community and so this eulogy is born out of experience and coming deep from my heart.

He was a workaholic; idleness was never a part of him. He worked his way into recognition everywhere he went. It is amazing how God, in his infinite wisdom, put all these qualities in one man.

Given the chance to describe him, I will say he was a good man. We bade him farewell with tears rolling down our cheeks unbidden. The emptiness arising out of his physical loss is so overwhelming but J. K. Rowling’s words provide some form of relief. He said “To the well-organized mind and the man who has fully lived, death is but the next great adventure”. Old man is simply on an adventure now, and mortals as we are, we shall take our turn on this adventure that will give us the opportunity to meet him again.

Fondly remembered, Elder Gyan.

 

Published: Wednesday December 11, 2019

 A CHRONICLE OF EVENTS - WHY THE LOWER MANYA KROBO MUNICIPALITY IS NOT TAKING PART IN TODAY’S NATIONWIDE ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS (Part 1).

1. In the year 2010, government stirred an existing boundary dispute between the people of Manya Krobo in the Eastern Region and their Dangme brothers of the then Dangme West District (now Shai Osudoku District) in the Greater Accra.

2. The government, through a Parliamentary Sub Legislation Committee, acted on the Local Government Instrument 2010 (LI 1983) and illegally moved SEVEN ELECTORAL AREA from the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in the EASTERN REGION to the Dangme West District of the GREATER ACCRA REGION. 

3. The affected electoral areas which make up the Akuse township were Akutue, Zongo New Town, Osorkutu, Bungalow, Amedeka, Salon, and Natriku.

4. Follow this illegal act by government, the Electoral Commission (EC) attempted to rope in the candidates of these seven electoral area into the 2010 assembly election under the Shai Osudoku District INSTEAD the Lower Manya Krobo municipality where they rightly belong. Note this area carefully.

5. It must be noted that, by this action, the EC, and government for that matter were ILLEGALLY REDEMARCATING regional boundaries (the Eastern and Greater Accra regions) in a clear violation of the provisions in Chapter Two of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

Note that by moving the seven electoral areas from Lower Manya Municipality to the Shai Osudoku District, government/EC were changing the boundaries of two regions, Eastern and Greater Accra. The constitution listed a series of processes which must be followed, if regional boundaries are to be changed at any point in time, among which are:

i. The setting up of a Commission of Enquiry by the President to determine if there is the need and a substantial demand for the creation, ALTERATION or merger of any region(s). In this case, they were ALTERING the Eastern and Greater Accra regional boundaries.

ii. If the Commission of Enquiry set up by the President satisfies itself about the need for the creation, alteration of boundaries or merger of the regions, it shall recommend to the President that a REFERENDUM be held to decide on the creation, alteration or merger.

NB: It is a tall list of provisions, you may want to refer to Chapter Two of the Constitution and read the provisions in detail.

Government didn’t go through these processes and yet it went ahead to move the electoral areas from Lower Manya (Eastern Region) to Shai Osudoku (Greater Accra region).

6. Government and EC’s action infuriated the people of Manya Krobo who registered their displeasure by besieging the Lower Manya Krobo EC office and locking it up. It remained locked for several months, and impeded the work of the Commission.

7. Then the Manya Krobo Traditional Council, led by late Nene Azago Kwesitsu (TESCO) and late Mr. Charles Mate-Kole (Chaley) took the action further by initiating a legal action against the EC and placing an injunction on the process to restrain the EC from conducting assembly elections in the municipality WITHOUT the seven electoral areas. The writ was issued in the Supreme Court on 24th December, 2010, a copy of which I shall make available on demand.

8.  After one and half years of a NEEDLESS legal battle occasioned by the action of government (December 2010 to June 2012), the Supreme Court declared LI 1983 (on which government and EC were basing their action) UNCONSTITUTIONAL and thus retained the seven electoral areas which were in dispute in Lower Manya Krobo in the Eastern region. The Court gave its ruling on 13th June 2012. The nine member panel of judges who sat on the case were Atuguba J.S.C (Presiding), Dr. Date-Baah, Ansah, Adinyira (Mrs), Dotse, Anin-Yeboah (who has just been nominated for the position of a Chief Justice), Baffoe-Bonnie, Gbadegbe and Akoto-Bamfo (Mrs).

9. All this while, the Lower Manya Krobo municipality was without assembly members. It was being administered by an Interim Management Committee (IMT) under the leadership of the then Chief Executive, Hon. Isaac Tetteh Agbo.

10. More than two years after the nationwide assembly elections were held ( i.e halfway through their four year tenure), and nearly one and Half years after the Supreme Court ruled on the dispute in favour of the Chiefs and people of Manya Krobo - retaining the electoral areas in Lower Manya Krobo -  EC was still not showing any sign of holding the assembly elections, rendering the Lower Manya Krobo Assembly empty.

11. Government/EC literally had to be compelled to hold the elections.

a. WHEN WAS THE LOWER MANYA KROBO ELECTION HELD EVENTUALLY?

b. HOW WAS THE EC COMPELLED TO HOLD THE ELECTION?

c. WHAT LED TO THE DECLARATION OF ‘SELF-GOVERNMENT’ IN LOWER MANYA?

d. WHO PLAYED WHAT ROLE IN PUSHING GOVERNMENT AND THE EC TO ACT?

e. WHY WAS THE COMMISSIONER OF KLOMA GBI AND 13 WOMEN/TRADERS FROM THE AGORMANYA MARKET DRAGGED TO COURT?

f. WHAT BECAME OF THE COURT ACTION INITIATED AGAINST KLOMA GBI AND THE MARKET WOMEN?

g. WHY WAS THE LEADERSHIP OF KLOMA GBI DRAGGED BEFORE THE REGIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, CHAIRED BY THE THEN REGIONAL MINISTER, HON. HELEN ADJOA NTOSO?

h. HOW DID LOWER MANYA KROBO END UP HAVING ITS OWN CALENDAR FOR ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS, AWAY FROM THE NATIONAL CALENDAR?

i. WOULD OUR CALENDAR EVER BE REALIGNED WITH THE NATIONAL CALENDAR? WHEN? HOW?

I shall return.

klonobi2007@gmail.coma

Published: Monday December 16, 2019

WHY I DREAD USING THE MADINA FOOT BRIDGES. (Part 1)

WHY I DREAD USING THE MADINA FOOT BRIDGES. (Part 1)

A lot of people are calling for the arrest and prosecution of pedestrians who refuse to use the new foot bridges spanning sections of the Adenta-Madina highway.

In fact, there is a video in circulation which shows some "hungry-looking" military officer subjecting perceived lawless pedestrians to rigorous physical exercise, apparently, for refusing to use the bridge.

I have a contrary opinion on this whole subject, informed largely by experience and observation.

I declared independence from my parents not too long and so I managed to secure some ghetto around one of the gutters in the Madina Zongo area. That is why I FREQUENTLY use the footbridge close to the Zongo junction intersection, if not on a daily basis.

But trust me, I have my own reservations about - the use of - this footbridge, some of which I have detailed below:

If you use the bridge in the evening from 9:00pm thereabouts, I swear, your commentary will change.

There are no lights overlooking the top of the footbridge. It can get so dark you hardly see ahead of you. Every step makes you feel like you are stepping into an empty space/bottomless hole, which sparks that funny or uneasy feeling that you could trip and fall off and onto the road.

That aside, the place is so dark that when on the footbridge, you keep looking over your shoulders and holding your valuables (like phones, purse, bag) firmly while cautiously suspecting those criminal-looking guys who idle about or perch on the metal railings.

You see, the ideal thing is for pedestrians to use the bridges for the purpose for which they were constructed. But my problem is about how people jump into conclusion and accuse pedestrians in the area of lawlessness without crediting them - at least some of them- with some small "sense".😏

There are real issues, which are worth considering. If you only drive pass the place *vuuum vuuum vuuum* or run your commentary from afar, you may not have a good feel of the inconveniences the perceived "lawless pedestrians" go through, which virtually compel them to do what they are doing.

A holistic assessment of the situation will prove very useful.

I shall return

Published: Friday 10th January, 2020

EDDIE KWABI - A FRIEND TO REMEMBER, A BROTHER TO MISS

 EDDIE KWABI - A FRIEND TO REMEMBER, A BROTHER TO MISS

Late Eddie Kwabi 

There is something disorderly about the death of a young person. In a universe disturbed by so much over which we have no control, an untimely tragedy – such as the passing of 32 year old Eddie Kwabi - rattles the teeth of our already shaken confidence. (Faye Moskowtiz’s quote rephrased)

It is the morning of the second day of May, twenty twenty; Edward Kwabi should be lying within the confines of his narrow wooden bed by now, ready to make his last public appearance before taking that eventual stroll into a new life in eternity. I find myself trapped in my room, reflecting on Eddie’s passing and wondering what to say. The season in which we are has also robbed us of the opportunity to even congregate as friends and see him off.

The mere mortals that we are, some are wont to think and classify this call and the physical loss of such a gem as too sudden but ‘His thoughts are not our thought, neither are His ways our ways’.

Eddie and I were in GIJ together at a point, we were not tight friends while on campus though; he had his circle of friends and I had mine. We rather became closer after leaving school and that must be because we ended up on the same alumni page where ‘boys and girls’ mingled, had fun, reflected on life on campus and peeped into the future hand-in-hand with so much confidence and hope.  

From school, I drifted towards Public Relations practice while Eddie landed and remained in mainstream journalism. He excelled and was fast rising when the uncertainties in life swung in his direction, bundled him off and truncated that promising career.

You know how important media and media contacts are to PR practice right? He made my PR work easier. He was just a phone call away. He could book and block interview slots for you at the snap of your fingers; he could arrange media coverage for you with cheeky ease without subjecting you the hassle that came with upfront payment. He was a walking phone directory. He put his links and expertise at the disposal of his friends. I am a grateful beneficiary of Eddie’s near-perfect human relations and friendship.

Eddie dressed and carried himself like a real gentleman, he reasoned intelligently and oh, he kept our alumni page alive, sometimes, he literally set it ablaze with his sense of humour, refined and light-hearted jokes. Alphonse de Lamartini’s said – “sometimes when one person is absent, the whole world seems depopulated’, I think I am making more sense of this expression now.

It was Marcus Tullius Cicero who also said, ‘the life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living’. Death thinks it can take you away from us, but it doesn’t know that you will always live in our memory. Brother, God has you in his arm, we have you in our hearts and minds.

Father in thy gracious keeping leave we now thy servant sleeping.

Published on Saturday May 2, 2020