He was an accountant for a reputable financial institution. He was well-paid and lived a happy life. You will not describe him as a rich man but he was living a descent and happy life. Married to a beautiful African queen, they were blessed with two children; a boy and a girl. On Saturdays when he is not at work, he will either take them out to the Central Business District for shopping or they will play in the front garden of his bungalow. He will look at the kids argue among themselves about the spelling of this word or the other. Life was quiet and moderate; no stress! Then one morning (out of the blue), he tendered his resignation letter. His gob-smacked superior asked why. All he could say is that he just wants to leave. And he left!
He was a successful businessman with assets worth millions. He was the centre of attention of the community. Up and coming boys in the neighbourhood looked at him as a role model. When elders in the community who saw his humble beginnings reminisce over his success, they have no option than to admonish their own to strive hard and attain greater heights. Business was smooth-sailing and he could see glowing light at the end of the tunnel. But like the accountant above, he decided to liquidate a large chunk of his assets to finance his trip abroad. He was a victim of misinformation.
And this student was a brilliant student. He had won several awards for his distinguished academic achievements. He also left all that and decided that he will go to London; the cosmopolitan centre of learning. He dreamt of finishing his medical course, obtain a job and possibly work in one of the best hospitals in England. But the best he could get is a job as a care support worker in a private home. As a trained medical practitioner, he should have been working with support worker not as a support worker. As a matter of fact care workers and what have you take instructions from doctors. But here he is having to be instructed.
The best job the accountant could get is to be a security guard. In Ghanaian parlance we call it ?watchman?. This is a job for the illiterate old men. That is what the accountant could get. When he thought about the fact he had his own security guard, a garden boy and what have you, tears trickled down his cheeks. He has committed a monumental error of judgement in his life. This is a point of no return in that if he returns he will have more questions than he can possibly answer. So what he does is to brood over his current predicament and go hmmm!
The businessman could only manage to get a cleaning job in the underground. One day he was mopping a toilette then wham! One of these boys in the hoods came in and decided to urinate right where he had finished mopping. He was all tears. He said to himself, if it were back home he would have sorted this boy well and nice but here he is- speechless.
All the above people and several others are victims of two monsters; one of these is misinformation. Many are those who allow themselves to get absorbed into the sugar-coated words of our brothers and sisters who return home with no stories to tell but lies. They paint a picture of a Europe and America over-flowing with abundant opportunities; A Europe and America with rivers of wine and mountains of butter. A Europe and America where manna falls from heaven unend. Of course the opportunities abound but for the right people and you know what I?m talking about here. I will tell you a story about the lies of our people.
About a year ago, there was this young lady who was working in a warehouse in London. Months later she came back to Ghana for her wedding. She is now wedded to a renowned pastor in Ghana. At the wedding reception, journalists were invited and in the interview she granted THE GHANAIAN MIRROR, she asserted that she is a ?London-based secretary?. Well this was a lady who will pick up every available over-time working in a temperature of well below the freezing point. It may be difficult, but what harm would it have caused if this young lady had told the world the truth? Wouldn?t that have helped to demystify the rather erroneous perception we have about the western world? When we saw the story in the papers, our heads were sent reeling. What sort of picture was she trying to create? But her case is just the tip of the iceberg. Several other cases abound where people create fanciful visions of the western world. The deadly repercussion is that the youth swallow this nonsense hook, line and sinker; they will do anything on the planet in order to go to the west. They only realise how stupid they?ve been when they arrive at the airport of their destination country.
(This is just the preamble; watch out for the remainder of this article)
LONDON
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