Reflections, one year on…
Last Saturday was exactly one year since REFLECTIONS made its debut in the Daily Graphic. I must admit it has been one long year and it is a matter of joy to me that I have never defaulted even once. What I am saying is that REFLECTIONS has appeared regularly every Saturday since October 11, 2014.
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I think I must first give thanks to the Almighty God for giving me the strength to be able to sustain the column this past one year.
When Mr Ken Ashigbey, the Managing Director of GCGL, first sold the idea of writing a column to me early last year, I was indeed scared. I told him I would think about it but I wondered if I would be able to write consistently and regularly for a considerable length of time.
Time is key in such a venture and if you don’t have the time to sit down and put down your thoughts, well articulated too, it is not worth pursuing. Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t have the time. I thought I had taken on so many things and was always on the move, travelling almost every weekend to one place or the other.
Managing my time
Apart from the time factor, there was also the age factor. My close friends and associates always tell me to slow down to avoid breaking down. But I always tell them I make sure I rest a lot. I tell them for most of the time I try to get home by 4:00pm to avoid being caught up in traffic during rush hours which can really kill, especially in Accra.
Believing that I already had so much to do, I thought I should not add to my problems. As a result, I always tried to avoid the MD anytime I was at Graphic to do business with the company. However, I could not avoid the Editor, Mr Ransford Tetteh, and any time I was in the newsroom. Even if I did not go to his office, he would catch me in the newsroom transacting some business. Mr Tetteh, I realised, would never sit in the office but would be out to see what was going on at the various sections.
If we should bump into each other, he would also remind me about starting a column after he had dragged me to his office for a chat. There were so many issues I wanted to discuss with the MD regarding the Graphic Old Staff Association (GOSA) of which I used to be the vice-chairman, especially about its revival. But I could not book any appointment to meet him despite the pressure from some of the old executive of the association.
This was the situation in which I found myself as time started to fly and the year rolled by.
What to write
When finally I decided to write, the next problem was what to write on. I realised most of the columnists wrote on topical political issues, especially current happenings in the country or the society. I thought I should not add to the number.
Since I studied history and was always interested in what happened in the past, I asked myself if I should not write about the past. I thought of so many interesting events in the past which would interest readers. I started dreaming about so many wonderful things of the recent past, some of which I was involved.
As a journalist, I have travelled to so many places, witnessed so many happenings in my line of duty. Why don’t I recall some of these interesting things and share the fun with readers?
Journalism, as we all know, is all about informing, educating and entertaining your readers. That was all I set out to do, to educate my readers about some petty things that happened in the past which they may not be aware of or recall. I also wanted to create fun by making my readers sometimes laugh about some of those events.
That was what I had in mind when I set off on that journey on October 11, 2014. Before then, I had written about four episodes which I handed over to the editor. He immediately directed that the column should start that weekend.
Reaction to my articles
I was not sure whether I would make the mark or the impact, I was, however, surprised by the reaction to my first piece, which was on the state of the newsroom at Graphic 40 years ago and some of the wonderful journalists I met as I embarked on my journalistic journey.
The first of the old brigade to call me was Sister Ajoa Yeboah Afari. While congratulating me on my effort, she drew my attention to a “small” slip where I referred to Lovelace-Johnson as Wallace-Johnson I don’t know why I made the mistake but it was my fault. Thanks Sister Ajoa.
Other colleagues such as Alhaji Alhassan Abdullai, who was the Graphic Union Chairman at that time and was a no nonsense reporter in his own right also called to congratulate me. I had visited him on several occasions at his old office at Nima to discuss matters of mutual interest.
Another old comrade who called me was good old Ken Bediako, with whom I live in the same neighbourhood at Gbawe. Since I write a lot on sports, I have relied on Ken when I am not sure about some facts and he has always been helpful. I find in Ken an encyclopedia on sports, the very embodiment of sports.
It is a sport that has brought Ken and me together. I appreciate the cordial relationship that has lasted all these years. There is no time we meet, especially in a group, and Ken will not remember his first trip to Tamale when I had to virtually drag him and other sports gurus, including Ebo Quansah, to witness a football match between Hasaacas and RTU. I wanted them to see things for themselves and to let them know that what I used to write about RTU was real.
They saw things for themselves but Ken has never forgotten the first time he ate TUO ZAFI in Tamale. Thank you Ken.
Still on sports, I must also thank Mr Oheneba Charles, a patron of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana(SWAG) and a good friend of mine for his words of encouragement since I started the column.
In the same vein, I wish to thank Mr T.V. Musah, who is associated with Accra Hearts of Oak but whom I have never met, for the message he sent through Mr Maurice Quansah, the Deputy Editor of Graphic Sports, for the reference I made to Bismarck Odoi in one of my pieces which should have been Frank Odoi (VCIO).
Regular readers
I cannot end this piece without paying special tribute to my regular readers, who after reading will call to make their comments.
First on the list is Nana Akuoko Sarpong, the Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area, who will be the first to call me every Saturday morning to tell me what he thinks about the piece. While he congratulates me, there have been occasions where he told me about his dissatisfaction about how I ended the article.
Many may not know that Nana is still mentally alert and still looking good, despite the setback he had in his health some four years ago.
Nana, thank you for always being there for me. We pray for good health for you while we look forward to celebrating the 40th anniversary of your ascension to the throne on December 23, 2015.
I cannot easily forget my childhood friend, Johnson Addae, with whom I started primary School in 1957 at Salvation Army School in Kumasi (Ash Town). Thank you for being a regular reader of my column. The same goes to my good friend, Lawyer Joe Mensah Obuor who was my mate at West African Secondary School (WASS), where we offered the same subjects for our “O” Levels in 1965. It is a pleasure to be together all these years from the Castle to Nigeria and back.
Space will not allow me to mention many more who have been supportive during this past one year. But at least, I have to mention Alhaji Musah Baba, Alhaji Sidiku Buari, Mr Nadi Nylander, Mr Mufutau Shittu, my own brother Alhaji Moomen El-Alawa, Mr Tandoh of Koforidua, Professor George Armah, Ms Beatrice Sackey and many more for their words of encouragement.
Thank you all.