Prostitutes Don’t Have Friends

At wooded Cantonments in the City of Accra, near the landmark post office, I coasted round her wide-curve hips and on my friendless homeward route. I could not stop to enjoy her because she sold her time and curves. Social rules lie that she cannot be my friend.

The Hausa Koko Seller

On a cold, wet, Adenta night, the Hausa Koko seller!

'Land Guards' in the City of Accra

They fight on the land. They fight for the land. They maim on the land. They maim for the land. They kill on the land. They fight encroachers. They fight claimants. They fight the police. They fight the law. They fight (or snub) the courts. They are the law. They have the guns. They have the support in high places. They have the invisibility. They have the alibi. They have the anonymity. They have the land. They have the drugs. They have the greed. They have the back of the person with the money.

Send Me a Text Message

I’m often locked up in meetings-for-miles or at solemn places where I can’t receive calls. My phone is rigged to reject calls with a message - I’m engaged and can’t pick your call. Can you send a text please? Four times out of five the message alert doesn’t beep. It’s not because they’re loath to disturb (for they can irritate you with redials forever if you ignore the maiden ring). Is it that the calls are usually bagatelle? Or is it that people are just text-timid?

Could We Have Built This Differently?

Could there have been another way? Could there have been another way to build (in) Accra? A way to keep out all the rain and yet keep the rooms cool while it shone? Could we have avoided all the glass and still kept out the flies and birds? Could we have explored mud-brick, wood or something not as dense as concrete? Could we have built around our trees, avoiding the easier choice of scything them down? Could we have kept our water bodies for beauty and ecology? Could we have continued with planning when we finished with Tema? Was Ghana not always meant to look as green and neat as Akosombo? Could we? Couldn’t we?