Opinions of Tuesday, 13 June 2017

Columnist: Benjamin Afrane Amankwa

End to our ineptitude as a country: A poem to all Ghanaians with conscience

Poem in honour of the late Major Maxwell Adams Mahama Poem in honour of the late Major Maxwell Adams Mahama

NEVER AGAIN; NEVER AGAIN!

THE BLOOD AND SOUL THAT MADE THE LAST LOUD CLAMOUR; NEVER AGAIN

We all saw it coming, yes we all did see

Like the sea, its evidence has never been hidden

Hidden, yes not even the worst liar will testify against

Yes! Against our ineptitude, our selfishness, our greed

Our poor self esteem, our hypocrisy, our deep sea fishing


Fishing, fishing in the wrong waters, hunting in the forbidden forest

Making game of our own offspring, killing of our own kind for dinner

This has been our character from old, our modus operandi in ages

Tickling ourselves and laughing, trading the last faculty that made us Homo sapiens

Seen, seeing, will see, yes all know the truth, none happened in oblivion


Oblivion? Not even the devil will lie about this, for we saw it all

We saw our kind die of buruli ulcer, we saw them die in the pits

We sold our souls to the alien, we made fools of our very selves

We fooled the very last wisdom that ensured our survival

Our survival rests in the voice of the blood that spoke the last word

Never again, never again, so shouted the last voice of honour

The voice of honour that broke the eardrums of the stubbornest heart

The voice that shaked the footstool of the entire nation

The voice that brought common sense into one pivot and rhythm

The voice that was, that is and the shall forever be a monument for posterity


Posterity! Posterity shall forever celebrate the voice that shouted, never again

But for this voice, we killed our water gods, we killed our brethren in the aqua world

But for this voice, we destroyed our forests, we killed the oxygen of tomorrow

Tomorrow, we thought would never come but tomorrow has always been with us

Tomorrow stared us in the face, tomorrow shouted but we failed to listen


Never again, never again, so shouted the lone voice

The blood that made the last loud clamour, the soul that changed yesterday to today

We saw it all, we saw our youth radicalized, we saw our culture failed to sacrilege

We became hunters without reason, hunting for Gold that has been with us all awhile

The craze for wealth that killed common-sense to make us destitute


Wealth, oh wealth, the bane of mankind's problems

Wealth that exchanged our Royalty into servitude, that made Kings bow to aliens

Aliens that came from afar, short in stature, fair in complexion, destructive in nature

Aliens that never spoke our language but flirt our women, ate our frogs, our snakes

Aliens that stole our Gold, destroyed our lands, waters and culture, left behind bastards


Never again, never again, so shouted the voice that made the last clamour

The soul that suffered pain in the hands of the ignorant detractors

The soul that was sacrificed on the altar of ignorance, of greed, of stupidity

The soul that was sacrificed to apeace the gods of greed and stupidity

The soul that shall forever live afresh in the memories of our very eyes


Major Maxwell Adams Mahama, your soul shall forever be

Major Maxwell Adams Mahama, your soul shall be a monument

Major Maxwell Adams Mahama, you lived for all the souls that suffered lynching

Major Maxwell Adams Mahama, you died to save the forest, the waters, the land, our culture

Major Maxwell Adams Mahama, you died to save us all and posterity

Major Maxwell Adams Mahama, you died to say, never again


Rest, Rest, Rest in perfect peace

Rest in the bosom of our Gods and Ancestors

Rest in the minds of the living

Rest in the hearts of the unborn

Rest until we meet again, Rest in the ambiance of the Heavens

Rest! GOOD SOUL, Rest