Category: Ghana

“Can we become a little more aggressive as a people?…..Can we demand a little bit more?”
– Ace Kojo Anan Ankomah

Once upon a time, the people of a certain nation were sailing to a new World called Prosperity-for-All. Their old lands had become uninhabitable.
To make sure they reached their destination, the people picked a group of men and women to sail and navigate the boat to it’s destination. The men and women in this group were called the Leaders.
Unfortunately, the boat they were traveling on was old and taking on water through several holes in the hull. The people realized that the clothes they had on were impervious to water and so they tore off pieces to plug the holes. They did that even though it was cold.
However, as soon as they did that, the Leaders pulled out these pieces of cloth being used as plugs to keep for themselves. They figured that they could patch the pieces together into shirts or trousers for themselves and their families. They figured that they were smarter.
So the boat kept taking on more water. As fast as the people tried to plug the holes, even faster did the Leaders pull them out. In the dead of the night when the people were sleeping, the Leaders made more holes in the boat’s hull. This caused the people to tear off more clothes to plug the holes, which the Leaders in turn pulled out for themselves.
So the people resorted to not only tearing up their clothes to plug these holes, but also use their cups, bowls and pans to scoop out the water that kept rising. They were tired, hungry and cold.
The leaders, on the other hand, seemed totally oblivious to the impending doom. They were warm, well-fed and happy.
One day, a little boy on the boat asked his dad, “Dad, why are the Leaders clothed while we are almost naked? Why do they look fat while we all are so skinny?”
His dad was silent. The other men who heard the question went silent too. A look crept into their eyes. Slowly a realization dawned on them. They looked at each other. Their nods were imperceptible.
That night, a group of men stayed up. They watched. They watched as one of the Leaders’ went through the boat pulling out the plugs. They watched how he poked new holes in the boat. In the glow of the moonlight, they saw his smirk and heard his laughter. From where they hid hungry, naked and cold, they watched feeling raped, violated and misled.
So you are probably going to ask me “What did they people do?”
If you are Ghanaian reading this, then those people on the boat did what you are doing now – NOTHING!
Yes, NOTHING!
The people went about their lives getting raped, shafted, violated and did nothing.
Even when the boat finally sank, the people were still using the clothes they barely had to plug holes while the Leaders had jumped off into a life boat they had somehow hidden from the people.
May those who have ears hear!

I don’t know why the NPP flag-bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, was drinking Kalyppo four years ago in that car. That picture however, has resulted in a campaign that has drawn the members of the opposing party as well the general Ghanaian public together like not seen in a while.

I found out about the boxed drink Kalyppo, on my last visit to Ghana. My mother-in-law bought a pack for my kids and my son fell in love with the Fruitimix flavor. Thereafter, there were days when we were out hunting for that flavor. That particular one was difficult to get.
So back in 2012, an occasion rose that made this grown man, an accomplished attorney and statesman, favor a boxed drink that kids love. Was it thirst? Was it curiosity? Was he reaching for a bottle of water and absent-mindedly grabbed a box of Kalyppo? Whatever the reason, at that point in time, Kalyppo was good enough.
So it is in life. In a society like Ghana, where millions of people struggle everyday to make ends meet or even get basic healthcare, most have to make do with what is available. For these millions, day in day out, the mantra is “Kalyppo has to be good enough. It just has to do!”.
It doesn’t matter that it was made for kids or favored by kids, sometimes, Kalyppo has to do. The little ball of kenkey has to do. Not going to see a doctor has to do. The kids missing school to go sell water by the road has to do. Becoming a galamsey has to do. Their own personal “Kalyppo” has to do.
So to see minions of the ruling government, often blamed for the morass we are in now, deriding this powerful symbol – a symbol of Nana Akufo-Addo making do – was enough to ignite something. Those minions deriding Nana Akufo-Addo for drinking Kalyppo was like a derision of the millions who make do each and everyday in Ghana.

Are you then surprised at how widespread and popular the campaign became? Sure, there were the wags who saw (and still see) that as an opportunity to draw laughs. Yet underlining all that was a powerful message to those in power. The message said:
“You may have your Voltics, chilled bottles of Coke and freshly-squeezed orange juice. However, most of us are lucky to even get a box of Kalyppo and we are proud of it and make do with it. Just remember us when you are sipping on you bottled water, Coke and orange juice in your mansions. Remember, because we put you there and we have the power to remove you.”