Berth

She has a frantic urge

To fight the odium that haunts the ledge

On which her soul clings to the very end

With innocent eyes weary of tears

And lips desperate for a drink

She looks life straight in the eye

Why has your unfairness seemed fair for so long?

She fed on paintings of food

Born with a heart of gold

Shares this consoling moment with a pal of old

In this turmoil she abandoned Berth

Her teenage mother,

Fighting the sprites of adolescence

In the city lazily lay her dad

Laughing vociferously at jokes that often turned bad

With no clue of his promising child

Hope seemed to have forgotten her existence

Faith had become a compulsion

Tomorrow, a luxury she always pursues

As her tiny feet steps out alone into the cold, Berth records Day 3…

Excerpts from Bring Back Our Fathers. A Cape Coast Story co-authored by Atsu Dogbey and Tony Afuti

COMING SOON!!!

A Worshipper's Cry - Spoken Word Poetry

So I’m back again to square one
I find myself committing the same old sins
That burns me up with guilt
O Lord! Why do I feel consumed by this fire?
I am confused, my soul wrecked
My heart sinks low
Although I believe the Holy Spirit resides in me
All I feel now is a hollow space and my conscience, it eats
Where can I find you Lord?!
You taught me to search in my heart for you
I want to come before you Lord!
My Fortress and my Rock!
I long to worship you!
Instead, I hear a loud voice ridicule me
“Oh you sinful being!
Do you think He is a God your worship can ever please?!”
Lord! Help me!
I wish I could stop listening
But I can’t
I could feel the guilt gather up inside of me
I feel I’m about to explode
Unexpectedly, underneath this loud accusing voice
I could hear a soft voice call out my name
It was firm but tender
And wasn’t accusing me either
It was so comforting I listened harder
And this time the voice grew clearer
Before it said anything else
It asked that I worship the Lord
And quickly I did
I knelt down on my knees and cried;

Holy! Holy! Holy!
Lord God Almighty! I worship you!
And like the Psalmist, I sing praises unto your Holy Name!
I yearn for you Lord
I adore you! You’re all I need Lord!
Fill me with your Holy Ghost!
That I can worship You in Truth and in Spirit

/***Musical Interlude***|

Immediately I could feel Him grow greatly inside of me
I could feel a big burden vacate my soul
The one time loud accusing voice grew distant
And my burdened heart slowed its beat that instant
I could feel my head grow lighter
As I felt an inner peace unravel
I embraced this soothing sensation
By letting go of my spirit
So the Holy Spirit takes full control of me
I broke down into tears
‘Cos I was stunned by the beauty of His Presence

Holy! Holy! Holy!
Lord God Almighty! I worship you!
And like the Psalmist, I sing praises unto your Holy Name!
I yearn for you Lord
I adore you! You’re all I need Lord!
Thank you for your Holy Ghost!
That enabled me to worship You in Truth and in Spirit

/***Musical interlude***|

If I had my own way, I will leave this earth to reside forever in Your presence Lord!
He touched me gently
And with a voice so sweet and tender
He reassured me;
“I kept calling you from the beginning
But you kept listening to your guilt
Remember always,
That I promised to be with you always
Your sins can never separate you from Me.
Continue to Worship Me as often as you can
And I pray you heed, every time I call”

/***Musical Interlude***|

                                                                                                                                           Composed by:

                                                                                                                                             Atsu Dogbey

                                                                                                     (www.thedogbeyleague.blogspot.com)

                                                                                                                                             #letsallwrite

The Father of the House has finally Spoken!

On Wednesday, the 16^th of March 2016 I published a story on my blog www.thedogbeyleague.com  and later on the online platform of the University of Cape Coast’s radio station ATL FM www.atlfmonline.com . The story I captioned #Bring Back Our Fathers sought to unearth one of the major but ignored truths underlying the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and child streetism in Cape Coast. My story although well received attracted few critiques from stakeholders. They were of the view that my story was biased and asserted that I had been too hard on the male student populace.

A few months after I published my story, ATL FM covered a story of a Chief of one of the towns in the Central Region who held the view that the introduction of free maternal care meted out to pregnant teenagers was the leading contributor to the prevalence of cases of teenage pregnancy in the Central Region. Although I do not agree completely with this assertion, I noted a troubled Chief attempting to curb a situation so commonplace it is like a capital city to the Central Region. Subsequent publications and contentions from concerned Chiefs and stakeholders in Cape Coast who desired an end to this undying canker were all channeled to obvious reasons including illiteracy, minimal sexual education, poverty, and the lack of jobs among others. These findings had still not elucidated the problem. I did not deny the fact that these reasons were contributing factors, all I wanted was to showcase the unnamed but major contributing factor.

I had not given up and went back to my drawing board to figure out the best way to address this issue. Although I was dealing with a sensitive issue of gender, I did not wish to join in the chorus of others who painted a partial picture of the problem by ruling out the major contributing factor for fear that it might taint the image of any educational institution in Cape Coast. I had lived in Cape Coast for practically 6 years and have noticed this abnormal but conventional happening. These ladies were nicknamed ‘Nkoso’ (I still have no idea what language it was created from and what it actually meant) and the male students from the senior high and surrounding tertiary institutions engaged in unhealthy sexual relationships with them. It was more like a norm and nobody seemed to find anything wrong with it.

I held on to my viewpoint and could not be convinced to ‘drop’ this story despite unfriendly reactions from my colleagues. Outstanding among these questions was, how much research went into my story?  

A valid question I must say. They wanted proof that is, to see in person, the ladies I had interviewed. I was conducting research on a very sensitive issue and none of these young mothers will want their identities revealed. Some of them still continued in the act and ignorantly blamed it on poverty. I had identities to protect and this brought more doubt to my work but I can assure you; if the entire student body were writers, they would have written countless pages on the prevalent and infamous ‘Nkoso’ phenomenon although conformists will still require an approved research from a credible and powerful research institution like UNICEF before acting on the story. 

So on the 30^th of September I received a barrage of messages in my inbox containing mostly hyperlinks directed to the online platforms of media stations including www.myjoyonline.com and www.3news.com pertaining to a story of Nana Yartel III the Chief of Amamoma who threatens forced marriages on male students of the University of Cape Coast should they impregnate any female native.  Concerned lawyers and ‘lovers of the law’ like myself did not agree completely with the strategy of forced marriage and for a Chief to opt for this technique did not only reveal how bad the situation was but also clearly states the lead sponsor of this undesirable act, that is the male student populace. Nana Yartel III had indirectly approved of my story and I am ever confident to round up my research and publish the contents of my findings into a book showcasing not only the causative factors of this canker but a concocted way to address this issue. The book captioned ’Bring Back Our Fathers’ to be dedicated to the Chief of Amamoma, Nana Yartel III, will be used as a means to raise funds to construct a skills training center for these vulnerable but promising kids. 

Bring Back Our Fathers - A Cape Coast Story co-authored by Atsu Dogbey and Tony Afuti  

COMING SOON!!!

Reduced-To-Clear

On my way back home one morning from my regular jogging sessions, I noticed a ‘reduced-to-clear’ signpost hoisted on a clothing shop and someway, somehow, it got me rather thinking about the dubious but silly means employers exploit their employees. Reduced-to-clear is a jargon adopted and frequently used by salesmen in the advertisement of products that have remained on the shelf for a long period of time or products whose supply exceeds its demand. To get rid of these products, the salesman declares the sale of these products as ‘reduced-to-clear’ (donkomi! donkomi!!) so they are purchased at cheaper prices (consider it as a 99% discount on sales).

This is the situation majority of degree holders in Ghana have found themselves in and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. So you (a first or second degree holder) dress up handsomely in your suit and tie for a job interview and the recruitment officer offers you a basic pay of GH₵ 600 per month for your services. Just when you feel like giving the recruitment officer a slap so dirty it will take a surgery to correct the damage the impact of the slap will cause, he/she acknowledges the painful truth about your predicament as though he/she was reading your mind and speaks “Gentleman/Lady, majority of job seekers will be privileged to be in your position and will gratefully accept this offer so you better take it or leave it!”. 

With a few seconds of deliberations and without any form of physical coercion you settle for this scanty amount. Rather strangely, after breaking what you deem a not-so-good news to your unemployed colleagues at home to solicit their empathy, they give you a stern look of envy for being chosen to offer your services at what they consider to a very good price (some jobs offer as low as GH₵ 400 per month). This is when you realise that the canker is severe so much so that graduates themselves openly express their over satisfaction for underpayment. It is as though the Single Spine Structure forgot to protect your rights as a degree holder, and yet watches you begin your life of slavery, but with much enthusiasm our forefathers never had when they were conveyed to work as slaves overseas.

A real life scenario of a reduced-to-clear situation is evident in the introduction of the new initiative of government that is the so called National Service Extension that seeks to offer degree holders the opportunity to offer their services at an amount of GH₵ 350 per month for a few additional months after exhausting their actual national service period. I believe strongly that it is about time the government and employers come to a realization that a degree holder’s service is worth more than four times that flimsy amount and should consider revising this demeaning strategy.

On the contrary, the reason some graduates find themselves in this mess and have not caused themselves to come up with a change strategy can largely be attributed to the fact that they lack the prerequisite skills (they neither reflect their programme of study nor class inscribed on their certificate) to fit in jobs that they are supposed to occupy.  

Although it has now become trendy for most graduates to go entrepreneurial, they are faced with economic hardships coupled with minimal or absolutely no support from financial institutions and the government.

Nonetheless, I humbly recommend that degree holders begin to nurture a service or a business idea no matter how small and despite the challenges. Ever heard of the Law of Cause and Effect? Or maybe the saying that “you reap what you sow?” In a few years you will enjoy the fruits of your labour almost invariably in larger quantities.

Selling your services cheap to an employer can only get worse in the long term because no one ever treats a ‘reduced-to-clear’ or cheaply purchased commodity with respect or importance even if it contributes largely to its well-being. So in spite of the current circumstances, I urge you to sell your services at an equitable price and if no employer seems to be interested in paying you that amount, save yourself the trouble and employ your services yourself.

Never sell your services cheap and always bear in mind that paid employment is ideal when ones’ integrity is kept intact.

Congratulations to all 2016 Graduates. I wish you well.

Best Regards

 

Atsu Dogbey

(thedogbeyleague)

#LetsAllWrite