There’s an old Ghanaian saying; “A farmer thinks highly of himself and overestimates his works, only to discover his failings when he visit some other farm”.

The truth hidden in this message has immense application for several aspects of life. After all, ignorance of the law is no excuse right? You may never see the extent to which something is lacking or the level of difference in any sector till you experience something better only to discover the level of damage, and this applies to relationships, business, family life and any other thing one could ever think of.

The main angle at which I’m looking at this is in relation to television entertainment. Previously, there was only a single television station in the whole country. This was GTV, a nation owned station which was tightly controlled by the government and was the source of many of our influences as kids and even the only source for our parents and older generation. GTV, managed to deliver a variety of programs to a wide array of audiences. I mean it was effective to an extent, I gotta admit, I didn’t love all the programs. Actually I sincerely loved quite a few, but since it was the only choice available I watched most of it anyway. Some programs I loved were, Inspector Bediako, Captain Planet and other titles produced from the Tim is Nafti series. Most people enjoyed Akan Drama (aka Obra). There were shows I rarely watched, if at all, some were “Missing Link”, “African Heritage” amongst others.

            Later, after 1999 some private channels started making way over the Airways, TV3 and MetroTV started during this period.

TV3, a Malaysia owned network (see the irony?) became very popular quickly and MetroTV, a Ghanaian owned station begun to offer variety and choice. This spurred minor competition amongst the station and television entertainment got better.

            As of this writing, there are about six tv stations in the Accra – Tema area. These are: GTV,TV3, MetroTV, NET2, TV Africa and ________________

NET2 started transmission in 2008 and is notorious for their amazing display of movies, mostly current and theater-level titles. This made them quite popular.

All the Ghanaian station did their best to please their audiences, but after accessing foreign content have I realized the dismal quality of Ghanaian television in comparison to other countries on the continent. Etv, a south African TV station is commendable in this regard. I never noticed how bad the graphics were until I started watching other channels. The difference in the graphics is beyond words. The comparison between the studios is superfluous. Makes you wonder why there is soo much difference. It then gets obvious that the whole thing seems poorly managed. The Light Exposure, Color combination and use of designs is very awkward. My exposure to American content increases this theory.

               The visuals, aside, the quality of the Ghanaian programs is an issue to be skewed. Personally, I didn’t watch much TV when I was in Accra. They wasn’t much to excite a young brother like myself who wanted something challenging. There were laudable attempts like ForesightTV and “Things we do for love” and Home Sweet Home. These programs were enjoyable to the average person, but didn’t offer informative materials depending on a particular demography.

The point am trying to make is that, local television stations invest more in original content(programs) which would be both pertinent and standard for various ages and intensify their spending on standardization, because, presently the Ghanaian TV industry and the international networks are light years apart.

Probably,i might be on that deal tooo..

The actuality is, you have little knowledge of how well you know yourself and it takes only a small moment to have to stare the nasty truth in your face and taste the bitterness on all your preconceived ideas and set out perceptions. It’s a rather sourly liberating experience which in my opinion should happen to everybody at least once in their life.

              I remember it like yesterday, being in Accra. God, I love that city!! Accra, the beauty, ….ok, I was surrounded by dusty gravel roads, _ but still. Accra had a kind of life in it, I can compare to no other city (except Calcutta).

             The irony is, I hated it when I lived there, time over time I remember being pissed, cursing out against … nobody in particular when I woke up only to be greeted with a blackout and discover the taps weren’t also flowing.

In the area of scenic places, as in parks, Accra didn’t shine much either, the only public park I’m aware of is the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park and it’s location is far from several residential areas ..hence making it some sort of commercial park.

So What was it? … It still didn’t make sense, but I missed it, very much now. But What did I miss? The windy streets?  Or the Dusty roads? The Fufu pounding spree’s on Sundays across my neighbourhood? The ancientness of the Ghanaian society, the massive Ignorance cast like a curse among the people? The Hot Sun blazing on the populace on a typical afternoon? The messed up transportation system which insists you either pick a “trotro” or go through the annoying routine of bargaining with every taxi driver you come across? The “waakye “seller who wouldn’t cut me some slack, For God’s sake it’s Saturday, who cares if am cutting the line? The cobbler who escaped with my shoes?

What was it? …….

                       That answer I didn’t have. But what I know is I love Accra, and nothing seems to change that.

There were several times when my comrades and I got soo upset when we discovered a glitch in the system. When we discovered something minor which wasn’t available in our part of the world Which hindered us from accomplishing our goals. We got sooo pissed we just began blaming and yelling at the stupid place we live and why God put us in this forsaken land. Mostly we just ended with the sad sentiment, “we were born in the wrong country”. This seems extreme but you have to bear with the reasons for such statements. I mean the whole internet connectivity thing was one of the biggest pitfall. In an age where information technology ruled the world, how can we afford to be in a country with no fibre optic connection, there were times that we wanted to either partake in Xbox live or other online based multiplayer experience. The internet speeds weren’t fast enough to better accommodates such an experience.

I could bet there are several people who feel what we felt and the need for more structures to better support the needs of a modern age individual in such primitive society.

                 In my experience the key is self reliance. The prevailing system is light years away from the modern world and the attempt to catch up is a rather weak one. It’s therefore up to individuals and private groups to bolster the transition process.

I was listening to a program on BBC the other day and there were countless complaints on the side of numerous African states complaining bitterly about brain drain and the role of the West in bringing a stop to it.

The question I asked myself was … Why should the West put a stop to it?

I mean don’t get me wrong, I realize brain drain brings untold hardships to the already crumbling economies of African countries and yet I somehow see the how the cycle is out of the control of developed countries which house these scholars.

Reflecting on this topic still doesn’t seem to make sense to me.

Most third World countries don’t put the necessary emphasis on education as it’s supposed to. There’s little attempt being made to create the free basic education environment which is beginning to look like an illusion outside our reach.

On the other hand, developed countries like the United States, Canada and Most European colonies offer free education on the junior to high school levels of education. Making it a MUST for their future leaders

        The other reason, which seems so justified on the part of those who leave their countries, is the unavailability of facilities and strictures to help them further their goals.

An example was given on BBC about a Medical Researchers who have to flee for Europe or the States just to be able to do their research … and you wonder why the drugs you are taking aren’t performing their roles (Cos it wasn’t really tested on African’s to compare environmental features as well as social effects, generic drugs).

Personally, I can relate to this reason. Sometimes, you are so hungry for knowledge and you are prepared to climb the ladder…. the only thing missing is the available step. So what other choice do you have, when you are ambitious?

The previous post has brought several agitations which my brain has tried to severe and suppress because of the lack of perspective and a better judgment.

The fact is that the Ghanaian education system has failed us all. Most people may not want to accept the reality but it is the cause of untold number of problems which bother the motherland in this day. You’ll all agree with me that inadequate education is always better than no education at all.

          But still …. MORE COULD BE DONE!!!

Education is the driving force for development and success in any human establishment. A typical example is the Malaysia-Ghana comparison. These two countries attained independence at approximately the same time yet, the difference in the economies and level of development between them is better untold.

Our education system is a parasite which is eating us from within and if not rectified, we’ll realize the damage too late(assuming it isn’t already.)

 The problem all comes down to practicals. In a country where several people give unnecessary respect to blue collar jobs and an economy who partakes in solely service provision and little in the way of production is ultimately doomed to failure. The nation in itself has no integrity and has lost its pride.

Is customer satisfaction too much to ask or am I plain unreasonable?

The thing is, African businesses have come a long way from the traditional business practices and I applaud them for each single step they take along the race track but before eagerly handing off the baton just Hold up for a sec.

I was made to believe a customer was always right. At least that’s what my Grandma told me. Did this rule pass way with her as well?

I’m not soo much a power consumer as I am an agile spectator, but when I pay for a service I expect nothing else in the lines of satisfaction. This situation I’m facing is quite a tricky one. Ecobank is among the first three banks in Ghana and I would be lying if I didn’t agree. After all, they are quite the innovating kind.{Not holding my breath for the paypal support tho. Lol}

I mean, I was among the first ones to acquire the VISA Gold debit card that was advertised by Ecobank, because among other things. I do a lot of transactions online. That being said, I traveled out of the country for a couple of weeks and I lost my user login details. All I wanted was for EcoBank to reassign or even recover my lost account information to enable me to handle my business. C’mon! How bad is this?

I’ve being through a marathon of emails in which period I was made to disclose every possible information needed over plain email. And after all this, I still cant check my account balance online. WOW!! So I know I don’t say this much, but EcoBank …. I’m really PROUD! you give a whole new meaning for customer disatisfaction.