*By Akadu Ntiriwa Mensema, Ph. D.

“President Atta Mills … is set to begin the coming year… from the Flagstaff
House … he is reeling under the guilt of his own criticism of the construction
of the presidential palace by Kufuor-led NPP. All the security gadgets at the
presidential palace have been replaced. The newly-installed security gadgets
were imported from Germany and installation done by 17 German experts… All the
curtains in the presidential palace are expected to be changed following the
change of name to Flagstaff House. The curtains bear the inscription “Jubilee
House” (Ghanaweb December 14, 2010)
Call it all
Golden Jubilee House
German Security House
Flag Staff House
Konongo Kaya House
JJ’s UNBURNT House
Do it all
Change the curtains
Paint
Keys and all
Our viral sensation of pettiness
Of lazy parasitic dependency
Of hopeless educated elites
Of thievery educated elites
Killers of the dream
With their fraudulent regalia
Vultures poised on carcasses
Parrots of hymnal ineptitude
Lions of miragic independence
Hooked on local pettiness
Addicted to African inferiority

Oh! Educated Fante Mills
Panorama of recklessness
Our template of the postcolony
The watershed of inferiority
German security gadgets
Bolts of false security
A simile of pivoting naivety
A hawk soaring over chickens
Like a cat gate-keeping a mouse
Like JJ with kerosene & matches

The P/NDC’s nest of progress
A holding grass of pettiness
A holding for eggs of trivialities
Hatched by Obonsam Fireman
Bringing to life the MESS-iah
The confused Swedru child
Chained to Obonsam Fireman

NDC touched by Jubilee House
But caressed the slave Castle
They called it all
Coffin House
Poultry Farm
Museum Outfit
Hospital of Death

Oh! Jubilee survived
The assault
The insults
Rawlings
Mills
Bagbin
Tony Aidoo
Asiedu Nketiah
JJ couldn’t TORCH it
Ghana survived another fire

Snail Mills unleashed
Released from the Castle
Snail-pace to the Jubilee House

Ah! Kufour’s Jubilee House
Let the NDC call it all
Konongo Kaya House
Atta Mortuary House
Atta the Snail House
Atta Who Born Dogs House
Atta Team B House
Call it all names
Flag Staff House
The House JJ Hates
The House JJ never built

Ah! Kufour’s legacy
Let MESS-iah change it all
Curtains
Windows
Keys
Tiles
Doors
Furniture

Security gadgets from Mars
Bring Martians to fix it

Let Obonsam burn it
Let it burn like Ridge
With Konadu saluting FIRE
Poised in Kente
Head-geared on Valentine’s Day

Hopeless educated elite
Thievery educated elite
Killers of the dream
Their fraudulent regalia
Vultures poised on carcasses
Parrots of hymnal ineptitude
Lions of miragic independence
Hooked on local pettiness
Addicted to African inferiority

Oh! Educated Fante Mills
Panorama of recklessness
Our template of the postcolony
The watershed of inferiority
German security gadgets
Bolts of false security
A simile of pivoting naivety
A paradox hawking pettiness

*Akadu N. Mensema, Ph. D., is a nationalist Denkyira beauty. She is a trained
oral historian cum sociologist and Professor in the USA. She lives in
Pennsylvania with her great mentor and teaches Africa-area studies at a college
in Maryland. In her pastime, she writes what critics have called “populist
hyperbolic, satirical” poetry. She can be reached at akadumensema@yahoo.com