THE THREE MOST GHANAIAN MOMENTS

Undoubtedly there are millions of things that bring Ghanaians together and make it what it is. From our festivals to other cultural practices. From our celebration of Independence Day to the joy of marriage ceremonies and the smiles that blow across our communities when a new member emerges.

But there are three moments I have come to realize lead the pack in the numerous things that bring Ghanaians together. Good or bad, whether we fight and insult one another, after we are betrayed and divided by our politics etc, no matter the degree we come together in unison by some reflex action of a sort to express a common feeling, normally gathering all the energy, the happiness or the disappointment within us.

Number One is when the Electricity Company of Ghana “does the thing”(dumsor dumsor). The constant power outages in Ghana have to come to be a normal occurrence and a culture the Ghanaian people have had to grapple with. And so as soon as the lights go off, depending on where you find yourself you would hear male and female, young and old, shout on top their voice with disappointment written all over it OOOOHHHHHH!!!!!!! ECG. This would normally be accompanied with a barrage of insults and curses on ECG, and you can trust that President John Mahama or whoever is the president at the time would have his fair share of the insults and curses (hahahaha obviously because this is a country where people even scream the name of the President when they break a glass)

From wherever you are whether you have lights or not, when you hear such loud screams OOOOOOHHHH ECG!!!!!, you should know what just happened, except of course you are not a Ghanaian. This is a moment every Ghanaian identifies with.

Any attempt to play the ignoramus to ask WHY WHATS GOING ON? Will only solicit one answer. ARE YOU THE ONLY STRANGER IN GHANA? At that moment I’d advise you don’t ask a follow-up question because that’s likely to earn you a blow on your cheek because obviously it would be viewed as a deliberate attempt to frustrate the person.

Number two on the list is quite obvious isn’t it?

Normally not even “light off” by ECG can stop Ghanaians from shouting GOAL!!!!!!!!!and getting on the streets to celebrate . Because when the Black Stars of Ghana play even the radio is enough to get all Ghanaians seated.

Boys or Girls even those who don’t know how a football looks like, define their ‘Ghanaianness’ once when a ball enters the post in favor of Ghana. It is then you would see people running out of their rooms to the streets amidst loud cheers of GOAL, with car horns hooting all over. And when we eventually win the game, the joy bursts out and the streets get flooded, sellers hit the jackpot and some of us get the longest and deepest hugs there are(refer to the street cameras of the streets of Konongo in 2008 when Ghana beat Nigeria 2-1 in AFCON 2008 quarter finals)

Obviously in all football games be it Uefa Champions League, English Premier league, World Cup etc when goals are scored you hear people scream and shout goal, but anytime you hear   GOALLLLLLLL that transcends beyond the boundaries of your neighborhood, make no mistake and don’t get it twisted, the Black Stars have scored and Ghanaians are happy, So get out there and request for anything you need. I assure you, you’ll get it. Try hugs first, you’ll love it.

And finally another Ghanaian moment that almost everyone associates with is when the ECG finally does the honorable thing and restores the lights. Here you wouldn’t hear an OHHHHHH ECG, neither would you hear GOALLLLLL, but when you hear a massive and loud YAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!! anywhere in a community in Ghana, make no mistake the lights are back.

Ghanaians are a wonderful people aren’t they? Even though they have been denied lights for decades and it’s virtually become a right to have electricity the gratitude they show when incompetence is corrected is amazing.

Sad thing is when they do their YAAAYYYYYYY over the restoration of the lights, President John Mahama gets lost from the picture. The insults are not withdrawn and the curses on ECG continues to stand. Hahahahahha

So whether its OHHHHH ECG!!!!!!! that brings disappointed, grief, insults and curses or a GOAL!!!!!!!!from the Black Stars that brings joy and happiness or YAAAYYYYY!!!!!!  that signifies a restoration of lights and normalcy , the wonder with which everyone joins in these celebrations and disappointment in their individual homes by some (reflex action so to speak) only reinforces the Ghanaianness in us. 

I love Ghana.