Personal Reflections

Fitness, fashion, kenkey and a surprisingly serious economy on the Ayi Mensah to Peduase road There is a special kind of person who wakes up on a Saturday morning in Ghana and says, “Today, I will take care of my body.” And then there is everyone else on the Ayi Mensah to Peduase route, who […]

A friendly plea from a passenger whose nose has seen too much Some experiences in life you never forget. Your first love. Your first heartbreak. Your first salary, which disappeared faster than it arrived. And certain smells you meet in a Ghanaian trotro. I am now convinced that the human nose has a better memory

In my last article, I argued that a rule against preaching and hawking in a moving vehicle is not an attack on the gospel. Several readers responded with a fair challenge: if the state is not the Church’s greatest problem, what is? I want to take up that question, carefully and without pretending to have

There is a particular kind of suffering that comes with trying to lose weight. It is the suffering of a man who has invested in healthy living, studied the benefits of natural foods, experimented with different diets and listened to countless health experts, yet still has a belly that behaves as though it has signed

Every few months in this country, a new controversy erupts over something someone said, and within hours the same tired battle lines form. One side shouts free speech. The other side shouts insult. Almost nobody pauses to ask what either word actually means, and that confusion is precisely where the trouble begins. Let me try

Ghana’s political history has been dominated by two parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Despite the emergence of smaller parties and independent candidates, the political reality remains that these two parties are likely to remain the principal contenders for the presidency for the foreseeable future. That, however, should not

Name: Justice Also Known As: Equality Before the Law Last Seen: Standing proudly beside Democracy, wearing a blindfold and carrying a scale. Date Missing: No one can say for certain. The disappearance was gradual enough that few noticed the exact moment Justice left the room. Suspected Circumstances of Disappearance Justice was last seen, reliably and

Before I begin, let me make another important announcement for the sake of peace in my home. This article is not about my wife. If she laughs while reading it, that is between her and her conscience. Now, gentlemen, let us discuss one of life’s greatest mysteries. Saturday evening. Church is less than twenty-four hours

Before I begin, let me make one thing very clear. This article is not about my wife. If you think it sounds like her, that is entirely your imagination. My wife is a rare exception to everything I am about to write. I value my peace, my dinner, and my place in the house. Now

There is a particular stretch of road between school and home that has become, without either of us planning it, the most honest interview I face all week. Every afternoon I pick up my daughter and her younger brother, and before we have even left the school gate, the questioning begins. How was your day?