I get excited whenever I visit kantamanto and why shouldn’t I? This is the “land of opportunities”. It is in this district that you find the phrase all things are possible rolling out before your very eyes. Here one can sell “iced-water” and own a brand new Mercedes, a magnificent mansion in Kwahu and many more. Kantamanto is business-home to many people who hail from the only paragliding city in Ghana. I have never seen anyone begging on the streets of Kantamanto, have you? Maybe it’s an oversight on my part but it speaks volumes. Kwahu has great musicians as well from Nyame, through the legends Nana Kwame Ampadu and Kojo Antwi to young stars such as Kobby of Wutah fame who are all carving a niche for themselves.

I woke up a few days ago full of energy. It looked like an ordinary day from my bedroom but as I stepped out the grass appeared dry and the streets were empty for that time of the morning. I saw a few cars parked by the roadside with their drivers fidgeting with one thing or the other. The fuel stations had short queues with no one serving fuel.

A few metres later, I found very hungry looking children by the roadside, some were vomiting profusely. Their hands were dirty obviously from a lack of proper handwashing. Then things begun to get worse, I saw dead bodies all over, no trees or greenery. Gutters were choked with rubbish. It appeared that I was in a dead city. Why this sudden change?

At a traffic light, I saw motorcyclists go through the red light as though it did not exist. Strangely I could count at least two uniformed men looking on. Young men on skating boards were crisscrossing through the cars as if they were immortals. Taxi drivers and trotro drivers stopped right in the middle of the road to load and unload. Try correcting these chaps and you will be greeted with a barrage of unprintable words. Indiscipline! Indiscipline! It runs deep in our psyche; from the professional who thinks he can go to work a whole hour late to the cleaner who will skip work yet will scream for more money. Indiscipline pervades every aspect of our lives even our eating and exercise patterns.
The radio in my car had been silent and then suddenly I heard an announcement; there was free-money for party members at the Villa Special Ones. Then I heard players for the national football team being called to camp; they came from everywhere including Ethiopia, Botswana and even Estonia. You had to play outside the borders of Ghana to get someone to make time to assess you closely and call you to join the band of chosen few who get to defend the good name of Ghana. Then there was thunder and lightning; extremely frightening but no rain.
I arrived at the hospital drenched in sweat. I realized I had not eaten breakfast but my mind was racing. What had I just witnessed? Things were worse in the hospital. Sick people were strewn all over the floors, benches and every conceivable space. This was no child’s play. The sick had outstripped the medication and the health professionals could not cope. People were screaming to be seen, and then three men approached me with a gun. One pointed it to my forehead and screamed that I should save his dying wife. I pinched myself to make sure this was no dream. It looked like a jungle. The lady was bleeding profusely but there was nothing I could do for her. I could see her life ebbing away and I stood frozen at the doorway. How did we manage to run down our dear country to this extent? The gentleman begun to pull the trigger; beads of sweat rolled down my cheeks probably mixed with tears, heart pounding and body trembling I looked up and the calendar read July 3rd 2033 and then I woke up to the music of Kojo Antwi blaring from my radio. I was drenched in sweat and I could neither move nor speak but I was extremely thankful to the Almighty. He certainly reveals to redeem.

I started recalling events of the past:

• As a country our leaders had failed us for years and we had also helped to destroy our motherland.
o We may not even need to go to the ants to learn their ways. Go to Kantamanto and learn the art of prudent living.
• We had ignored Climate Change and we were being punished – no trees, no greens and no food.
• The drainage systems had never been taken care of. Our gutters were choked and we probably had experienced several floods and bouts of Cholera; killing innocent Ghanaians.
• Handwashing with soap and water had been taken for granted and we were reaping the fruits of filth.
• Our hospitals were overburdened because we had not taken lifestyle diseases seriously. We could easily have tackled these by investing in and aggressively promoting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging people to patronize our own superfoods such as cocoa.
• George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is still relevant today as it was over six decades ago. Why do we treat people differently? Why don’t the same rules apply to all of us? Why should the sound of my name, the party I belong to or my profession make a difference?

Then I fell into a deep slumber that will be the envy of even the Lotus Eaters and what I saw was pleasant, yes very pleasant and it was the Ghana we all don’t just dream of but want to live in.

This time I saw a Ghana that was self-sufficient and exporting processed products. A Ghana where discipline reigned, one in which politicians respected the people and remained accountable to them. Citizens played all the roles expected of them including paying our correct taxes.
Hospitals were virtually empty most of the time. Preventive medicine had been tackled aggressively. Every Ghanaian consumed a cocoa product a day and sugar had virtually been replaced by Asaba the miracle berry. A Climate Change desk at the Ministry of Health had put in the appropriate measures to brace ourselves and make appropriate changes. Trees provided a beautiful shade and plantations prospered.
There were no open drains or gutters. We had had no floods in over ten years. Money for roads went into constructing roads. Handwashing with soap and water was routine for even toddlers. The last case of Cholera was a decade earlier. It was rare to hear of a woman losing her life through childbirth and under-five mortality rivaled that of Europe. The date is July 3rd 2033.
Then I was awakened to the sound of sweet romantic music. It sounded like one of the hits of Kojo Antwi. This is probably a remix. A lot can be achieved in two decades, it only requires that we take control of our health, our destiny and then even the sky will not be able to limit us.

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Moms’ Health Club
(dressel@healthclubsgh.com)


*Dr Essel is a medical doctor and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy and fitness nutrition.

Thought for the week – “No matter how packed your day is, make time for a cup of cocoa or a dark healthy chocolate and your body especially your heart will be eternally grateful to you.”