kobina ansah

This July promises to be amazing as Ghanaian playwright, Kobina Ansah, is set to unveil his new suspenseful play, THE BOY CALLED A GIRL. The 11-cast family play, set in a dance studio, is pregnant with a great plot that will hurl its audience into a new world of bewilderment.

“You can never be president,” he was told.”

Naysayers are all over the place. They see nothing ever achievable because they have no guts to even try them out. They’ll do all they can to tear down what others may try to build or aspire to be. They see gloom, speak impossibility and give their ears to vanity. Whether you allow such pessimists to stand in the way of your dreams or not is yours alone to decide.

It’s that memorable time of the year again― graduation of university students. The joy on the faces of graduates is so conspicuous. In fact, we were all told there was more rest after school only to realize there was even more work. No matter how much academic life stressed you, the issues of life will even stress you more! Well, let me share with you these few lessons I wish I had known back in the day. It may still be useful to someone out here.

Ahead of our stage play, #Tribeless, I shared these utterly essential tips with my team and we thought it’s worth sharing as you may also find it useful:

When you come from Africa, you need not to be told how important weddings are here. Your parents can get so involved as though they are the ones walking down the aisle. As if that’s not enough, you can actually lose friends you don’t invite… forever. Yes, you heard me right. Forever!

There are great fathers who have laid down their lives to make their children who they are today. However, there are equally bad ones whose children’s potential could never be a reality because they were never there for them.

Christmas is here again and we are all excited to be alive to see the year come to a fruitful end. There is an umpteen of events to attend. Especially in this year of return, there are a lot of activities to spend on… and that’s what makes it dangerous if this Christmas was an unplanned one for you.

Cheers! We all made it to 2020! This is a year we all should make a conscious effort to raise queens out of our daughters— not slaves. In this year, we ought to be intentional about how we are going to make our daughters and sisters perceive the world around them by the thoughts we sow into their minds.

The past few weeks have been a tough one in the world over. Hospital beds are exhausted. The old are dying just as much as the young are. As many rich people are perishing as the poor ones. The economies of nations are crashing. Businesses are on their knees. Life has literally come to a halt and everyone is fleeing from one name— coronavirus!

I have always been an apologist of simple things. I literally adore having things done in the simplest way possible. Even as a writer, I always want to communicate to my readers in very simple language. If my readers need to consult the dictionary after every sentence, my piece no longer becomes a creative one. It becomes an assignment.

Over the years, my team and I have managed to consistently produce plays with the aim of changing some toxic narratives and above all, changing our mindset. Every play of mine has the family in mind. I believe society can only stand when the family unit is intact. Our style of theatre, thus, is to communicate inspiration, lessons and fun.

Life is hard for an underdog. Imagine trying to get DJs to play your songs just because you are an underground artiste. Imagine begging for platforms as a novice.  Imagine begging potential clients to give you a chance to provide a service for them because you just started a business. Being an underdog is such an uncomfortable experience.

In 2015, I took a bold decision that changed the course of my life greatly— I quit my career as a Biology teacher of St. Roses SHS, Akwatia. Well, I never set out to be a teacher (neither did I ever dream of being a writer) but by dint of fate, I found myself teaching these young, brilliant girls how to pass their exams. It was a whole new level of adventure and fun between 2011 and 2015.

Death reminds us that our lives have a deadline. It always reminds us that we will not live forever and that whatever we may need to do, we must do now. When Christ hanged breathlessly on the cross, one lesson death was teaching us was that how long a man lives doesn’t matter as much as how well he lives that while.

Questions keep a conversation going. Some questions, however, hold the power to break down a man you are having a conversation with. They can be a constant reminder of what they never had. A man may not be heartless but the caliber of questions he asks may give him out as such.

One’s environment has an influence on their mindset. The way we think is directly or indirectly due to where we have lived and what we have been exposed to.

“And David said to Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.”
― 1 Samuel 17:34-35[KJV].

Giving birth to a child makes one either a father or mother but making a responsible adult out of that child makes them a parent. Being a father or mother doesn’t make one a [good] parent. Every mother or father has the responsibility to be a parent; a good one for that matter.

At the 2017 International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Championships in London, the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, awfully placed third. This was the Jamaican athlete’s first major defeat at a major championship final in many years. When asked what he thought may have been the reason for this defeat, he cringed, “A bad start.”

“4: And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 5: When Jesus SAW their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."

Quiet recently I was at Kaneshie and had to head to Kasoa from there. I asked some passers-by who directed me to a waiting vehicle at the station. Guess what. I went to sit in without asking for any further clarification from the passengers and slept off.

In a certain phase of the lives of most young women, marriage is a priority. While others are overly obsessed with settling down with their special ones, a lot more only want to have a wedding. Marriage may not be such a thing for most young men. On the flip side, however, it’s such a big deal to women.

In my short stay on Earth, I have come to realize that we often major on the minors and minor on the majors. We spend so much time building our talent and only little time to build who we really are or ought to be.

Packaging attracts you to buy a product. However, what you really need is the content of that product. Regardless of how expensive the packaging may be, the content of every good product should be more expensive. Content is the need. Packaging is only a want. Content is of more priority than packaging.

The scare of coronavirus has consumed the world and it is no doubt that many would still harbor the fear of mingling freely with others long after this virus is gone. Many things are going to change after this period; both good and evil. Some things are going to change for the better and others, for the worse. Our addictions are going to change.

Written By Kobina Ansah - Hello. It’s me. I hope you are enjoying all the fun and excitement that comes with being in a tertiary institution; the freedom; the variety of friends to make, just name them. I know exactly how it feels like. We all do. We all have been there before.

Skipping lectures seemed fun. After all, tuition fees were not from our pockets. Back in the day, using as many gadgets as we could seemed like a trend. Besides, we had no idea how our utility bills were paid. All we wanted to do was to just pass our exams (obviously with a first class) and work right after national service in a topnotch company with an unusually fat salary.   

Then… reality set in. Life after university. I guess no one told us that our wishes back then were fanciful. Frankly, a few may have had such wishes coming to pass. However, for the masses, they were just wishful thoughts. The uncomfortable truth no one told us was that… the government didn’t owe us a job after school, especially in this part of our world.

Listen. When you are fortunate to have a profitable job (not all jobs are at the end of the month), go to church and thank God profusely with a juicy offertory. Well… many others join the queue of unemployed graduates who, like reserved footballers, pray for someone’s exit either by death or retirement. They join the tall queue of job-hunting graduates who may spend, at least, their first two or three years in ‘retirement’ before a job fortunately finds them.

And… this is when others will sit in the comfort of their homes and advise comfortably, “Why are today’s graduates so lazy? If you can’t find a job, create one!” Little do they (who ironically haven’t created any job on their own) know that no job was ever created with an empty bank account!

Take this from me. First, save. Secondly, save. Thirdly, save. Yes, save! No bank owes you a loan to begin your dreams. Spend less on wants, more on needs. Spend less on parties and hair-dos, more on books and skills. Spend less on looking like a bride every day. Spend more on giving your brain a new look each day. Forget the politician. You are responsible for your future!

Don’t repeat the errors of others. Prepare for your exams but prepare even better for life. Your exam results should not define your life’s results. Life’s exams are not multiple choice questions. They are not the ‘chew-pour-pass-forget’ shade of questions. You can’t answer them by rote. Life’s exams are passed by experience. You go through a gradual process. You make gradual progress. And… you become a gradual success! Pass your school’s exams but don’t fail life’s.

Prepare for life’s exams by thinking outside the box. Be open-minded. Read wide. Think wide. Be extraordinarily unique. Stand out. Know who you are and who you are not. Everyone can pass an exam in class. Being extraordinary depends on the skills you learn outside the classroom. Standing out will revolve around what you are doing on your own to build your self-capacity.

Attend capacity building seminars. Maximize your talents. Explore yourself. Volunteer in and out of school. Learn a few skills out of the classroom. Leave school as a well-baked graduate… not a poorly toasted one who only went to school to mind their own business. Mind you, the world is run by people who have decided not to mind their own business! If all you leave school with is a paper called a certificate, I wonder how you can fit in a world which has problems certificates can’t solve.

Also, learn how to sell as much as you can. You know why? We live in a world where sellers rule buyers. The rich are almost always selling. The poor are almost always buying. The earlier you learnt some marketing skills, the better. You need to sell your talents! Every career is a selling one.

The medical doctor sells his skill just like the banker. Like the carpenter, the architect is selling their skill. He who sells best wins. Learn how to sell and sell well!  Your skills and talents may sadly sit inside of you till you find your way into a grave until you devise a means to sell them. Always remember… sellers rule. Buyers are ruled.

Dear Mr. and Ms. University student. I know you are often too busy to make good friends or even show a kind gesture or two to those around you; your room mates, course mates, friends in your hall or department, name them. However, don’t be too surprised to see the same people you are ignoring today sit in places of authority tomorrow. We call it network. Take advantage of it!

Share your plate of rice with that roommate. That kind gesture may open a door wealth can never buy someday. Be nice to that course mate. Who knows? She may be the one to introduce you to your yet-to-be spouse someday. Be sure to have made a good network of friends before you leave school.   

Last but not least, spend your time well. Start something on your own, no matter how small it may look. It may be door-to-door delivery of snacks or even stationery. Create a product or service. How you spend your time after lectures tells a lot about how you may spend your time when you have no job.

The writer is a playwright and Chief Scribe of Scribe Communications, a writing company in Accra. Like his Facebook page, Kobina Ansah, for more motivation.

It is a dangerous place to be if you see nothing good in the deeds of those who have gone ahead of you. It is a dangerous thing to do if you go about repeatedly punching holes in the reputation and hard work of others. It is a dangerous company to be in if those around you are only interested in seeing others fail so they can look successful.

You are not alone if you grew up in a home where “vagina” and “penis” were abominable names to mention. You are not alone if your parents quickly changed the TV channel immediately a kissing scene popped up in a movie you were watching together. You are certainly not alone if sex was a matter shrouded in great mystery all through your teenage years.

As life goes on, new opportunities come. Definitely, we will run into new doors. We will get to know new people and places. Time will make us exposed to better offers in this life. Thing is, as new doors open, you don’t slam the old ones behind you. Gently close them.

I believe in prophecies. I believe that they are one of the ways divinity interferes in the affairs of humanity. I have come to believe that some predictions can materialize in our very eyes even if we doubt them. No matter how much we debate prophecies, some will surely come to pass.

Age 30 is a big deal in every woman’s life. When a single woman is about to celebrate her 30th birthday, there is often one thing running through her mind— marriage. Her married friends will remind her about it. Her parents will also do same.

Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26, 2020 were supposed to be big days for my team, Scribe Productions. We were supposed to have staged our new play, EMERGENCY WEDDING, at the National Theatre.

Life can be good sometimes. At other times, it may hurt us so badly. Life can be one whole jolly ride at a point… and before one knows, so many vicissitudes have ambushed them. There are ups and downs in this life. They are our fat and lean seasons.

You are born either male or female not by choice. Like one’s skin color, one does not choose their gender. If one’s gender is not by their preference, thus, it does not make sense to look down on another because you think their sex makes them think lesser.

The past few weeks have been one that will go down the annals of history as one of the most unforgettable ones. Thousands have perished and many more are still perishing. Businesses are on their knees. Gradually, the world's economy is crawling into a recession.

It’s that time of the year again that we make a long list of promises to ourselves and others. Calling them New Year resolutions, many of these dreams don’t live to see the light of the day because it’s either we don’t have the discipline to see them through or they are just unachievable.

“No one ever uses their hard-earned money to marry their enemy” is an Akan proverb that is always worth pondering over by unmarried folks. Otherwise speaking, some couples were great lovers until marriage made them great enemies.

It is a hell on earth dating someone who is still stuck in their past. No matter how much you help them get over whichever mess their ex created, they will still go back to them when they come back to apologize. Regardless of how good you are to them, they still assume it could have been better with their ex. When a man or woman has still not gotten over another, they presume no one, apart from the said person, is ever good enough.

Yes! You have found love. You’re so excited about it. You can’t wait to flaunt them to your friends. You can’t wait to let your ex know that you weren’t a piece of good-for-nothing being after all. You want the whole world to know you’ve swept someone off their feet

For some weeks now, customers of Ghana’s self-acclaimed gold hub, Menzgold, have been wailing. It doesn’t look like their locked-up investments with the gold-trading company will be paid any time soon.

Moses passed on his baton to Joshua just as Elijah passed his on to Elisha. Mentorship passes on a baton from one generation to another. When people are mentored, their journey to the top is made easier because they are likely to skip all the errors of their mentors. They are likely not to repeat the mistakes of those who held their hands because such mentors forewarn them about where some choices may likely end them.

 Every New Year comes with its own excitement. While many of us are expectant of our dreams coming to pass, many more are so certain things will be better just because it is a new year.

Men ought to love women and women, men. It is just natural for a man to have a thing for another woman. Indeed, God made man for a woman just as like a jigsaw, He made the woman to fit into the life of a man.

A few minutes past midnight.
On my PC is a new script of a play.
On my table are scraps of strategies; sales and marketing.

“Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do for them; for this is the law and the prophets.”― Matthew 7:12 [World English Bible]
Back in high school, we had one notorious senior who was the pain in the butt of every first year student. This bully would come to school without a chop box yet only few weeks into the term, would have one full of all the goodies in his dormitory.

I have heard stories of Ghanaians who have sold all their property only to give the proceeds to a ‘connection man’ to secure them a visa abroad. I have read heart-wrenching tales of what stowaways subject themselves to all in a bid to travel abroad. Indeed, if there is anyone who has told the god of death “Not today” severally, it should be the one who has gone through the Mediterranean Sea and deserts to travel to Europe. When a man’s mind is made up to travel abroad, not even the smell of death scares him!

Society, oftentimes, has subtle ways of reminding you that you aren’t growing any younger. In as much as it’s awesome to marry early, it is more important to consider walking down the aisle when you are ready.

Society, oftentimes, has subtle ways of reminding you that you aren’t growing any younger. Inasmuch as it’s awesome to marry early, it is more important to consider walking down the aisle when you are ready.

Producers of the stage plays: “This Family Is Not For Sale Season 1 and 2, I Want To Sue God, My Wife in law, Tribeless, and The Boy Called A Girl” are auditioning this Sunday and you have to give it a shot!!!

As kids, we used to fantasize about big dreams. Mine was to go to the university one day. As time passed, I got to realize it was no big dream after all. Everyone attended university. Instead, I was the one perceiving such as a big dream because of where I found myself— my environment. There were only a few graduates… and those few were literally adored.

Some things in life are relative. In fact, every description is relative. It depends on the perspective of the one doing the judging. Your beautiful car may not necessarily be beautiful to another. When you say you have given your best shot at something, to another person, it may be their worst.  The richest man in one village may be the poorest elsewhere.

I have juju. Yes I do. I confess. It’s a hard thing to say but I can’t help it. I just have to spill beans. I’ve to let the cat (maybe this black one for that matter) out of the bag. It’s been a hard decision to take. All the same, I don’t regret telling you the truth today.

Oftentimes when we are struck by ill events we least expected, we take ages to recover. Sometimes, it takes forever to get over a failed attempt at our business. It sometimes takes a pretty long time for us to come to terms with the fact that that relationship or marriage is no more.

Life always looks better when we view it backwards. Trust me, if we could see tomorrow from today, there are many things in our lives now we won’t stress ourselves over. With the benefit of hindsight, we look at the past and one thing we can’t stop asking is, “So why was I really holding on to this person!?” Hindsight makes us view life in a whole different perspective. And… that’s really how life is supposed to be!

I recently asked a few married men whether ‘husband snatchers’ do really exist. They confidently nodded in the affirmative. I probed further, “Can you be snatched!?” They nodded even more assuredly. Then, I punched, “Do wife snatchers exist?” Most nodded in the negative, admitting that a wife who would allow herself to be snatched was only an accomplice. I smiled and asked whether they think their wives could be snatched. A few insisted not answering while most concluded the only way to come to terms with their wives being ‘snatched’ is to walk out of the marriage. I clapped— for their bias.  

“For an angel went down AT A CERTAIN TIME into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.”— John 5:4

Times without number, some of us fret when we ponder over our lives carefully. Our finances may have taken a nosedive. Our career may not be yielding any fruit. Try much as we can, we see no improvement in our lives! It sometimes looks as though we are the most disfavored people among the entire human race.

In the Biochemistry Department of University of Ghana was once a lecturer who carved an enviable niche for himself. His teaching style was utterly unique — very creative. He will use very simple analogies to bring the meaning out of very complicated topics in Biochemistry. You could miss his class but not his name… and that name was Dr. J. P. Adjimani!

People are prone to illnesses of all sorts of which mental illness is one.

If there was any time Kobina Ansah's tagline for his play, Emergency Wedding, was relevant, then that time will be now ~ Man has his timelines but God has the clock.

I once read the story of a man who had the habit of misplacing his watches. Times without number, he could not tell his time― he had misplaced his watch. To ‘heal’ this habit, a friend advised him, “Buy a very expensive watch!”

Imagine a room filled with only one lit candle but nine hundred and ninety nine dead ones. That room will appear dim. When this lit candle lights up the dead ones, the room becomes brighter because a thousand candles will shine far brighter than a single candle will. That aside, if a lit candle’s light goes out, there will always be another lit one that can light it up. This is the whole concept of mentorship— to light up dead candles!

Five-year old Portia Ansong of Start Rite School in Dome urgently needs to pay an amount of GHC40,000 for brain surgery at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital. She was diagnosed of a brain tumor last Saturday.

Many Takoradi inhabitants assume Richard Darko is a carpenter. He molds their tables and chairs and fixes what is broken like every carpenter does.

Money makes life easy. It solves a lot of headaches. Without good money, you can’t have good education. Money prolongs our life. Indeed, someone may have been alive today if they had had enough money to take care of themselves when they fell ill. Life without money can be Hell!

Every Ghanaian should have a dream of Ghana. This country would be better only as much as we dream of it. This nation will be the destination of the world only if we want it to be.

In the early 1960s, U.S.A’s President J. F. Kennedy was on a tour at NASA’s headquarters for the first time ever. He chanced on a janitor, excitedly introduced himself and asked him what he was doing there.

Life is like an adventurous video game. Every new level has a new devil. As you progress, the tendency for you to retrogress becomes even higher. There are tougher battles to win. There are weightier puzzles to unravel. No new level ever comes with the same headaches.

Times will change. Development will happen. There will be inventions. As many great leaders as bad ones will come our way. Life will happen. Whatever happens, however, the future is only going to be a recurring past. As long as we live under the sun, anything new will only be a remake of the old!

When Adam and Eve realized they were naked, they hid when they heard God approaching. In other words, when people are naked, their instincts should naturally make them avoid public scenes. However, in the times we are in, nudity has become showmanship. It has become a tool people want to use to climb to the top. Unlike Adam and Eve who run to hide, such run to embrace!

People can be ungrateful, I know. For some consecutive times, a particular group of people can treat us so badly. It’s hard not to say, as a woman, that “all men are same,” sometimes― I know. Our bad experiences may lend credence to this; other people’s experience, too.

All through this week, one trending issue has been the takeover of two Ghanaian private banks, UT (Unique Trust) and Capital, by Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) because both were on the verge of slumping to their feet. These two Ghanaian dreams which had been built over the years had to fold up eventually because of financial stress.

Nothing ever lasts forever. Seasons change. The sun sets to pave way for the moon. The young soon become adults and adults soon retire. Like flowers, we look all blossomy in one season and in the next, we just wilt off.

Ghanaian musician, Adane Best, is not one of my favorites but he has a song that always sets me thinking anytime it’s played on air. In his hit song “Gyata Bi” (which means a cub in Ga language), the versatile singer warns of the danger of bringing home a cub and making a pet out of it. A cub will grow into a lion which will eventually make a meal out of you and your family!

One topic I always loved to teach in my days as a Biology tutor was symbiosis. It was about relationships; relationships between animals or plants and their environment. From those lessons, it was obvious no organism could survive alone. They had to depend on others or others had to depend on them. Like these plants and animals, no one can ever survive alone!

If poverty were to be sold on a market, it would have been more expensive than riches. If one had to buy poverty from a shop, they would have paid more to get it than they would have paid for wealth. The price tag on poverty is huge!

One voter, one set of cooking utensils with a candidate’s picture shamelessly embossed on it. One voter, one fat envelope containing ‘T & T’ of a whopping GH¢1, 000.

Imagine struggling with a man or woman over YOUR body. Imagine being overpowered. Imagine your pants being torn by this hungry being. Imagine the content of your pants being feasted on by this greedy being. Imagine yourself wailing while they are laughing. Now… imagine having to pick yourself up and walk back home all alone after this ordeal with blood-soiled clothes. You can’t imagine but… you have just been raped!

If you walk into a pet shop and get for yourself a pet and take home, that pet becomes your responsibility henceforth. You don’t only make sure it is healthy and fit. You also make sure it doesn’t go wreaking havoc in other people’s homes. Just as raising a responsible pet is your responsibility, so is raising responsible children.

His best friend was an Ewe. My paternal uncle, like myself, was a Fante but he had come to love this friend of his like his blood brother. To him, he was that friend he never had. He spoke so highly of him. We knew him as Uncle Edem. He had stuck closer to our uncle more than even his brothers; from their secondary school days right through to university.

Over the past few weeks, coronavirus has wreaked a lot of havoc across the globe of which Ghana is no exception. Taking advantage of the current lockdown, Scribe Productions has launched an "ALL OR NONE" campaign to encourage Ghanaians to adhere to the safety precautions laid out by the government.

Everyone loves to jump on to new opportunities or offers. Most employees, for instance, are looking out for the next job with, at least, better conditions of service than the present. We all want to make some headway in this life. In a bid to make our lives better, however, we are likely to fall into deep pits which may often come to us as big tips.

No! I am not the first gentleman to attend a girls’ school in Ghana… so stop staring at me as though I am. Haha. And yes! St. Roses is one of the finest schools in the country. No two ways about that.

“Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.”― Proverbs 9:17-18 [KJV]
Cheating seems fun. Using the backdoor can be sweet and stress-free. Bread eaten in secret can really be pleasant, especially when it was stolen. There’s nothing as relieving as getting on a silver platter what others are striving to get on a “stone platter”.

Ghana is a Christian nation— at least, so they say.  With a supposed 70% (or more) of us proclaiming to know Christ, it goes without saying that this nation qualifies to be at par with Israel and other typically Christian nations. 

At least, once in every man/woman’s lifetime, they’d be event organizers or help in organizing an event - their wedding - if they ever plan to settle down. Planning a [your] wedding can sometimes be one hell of an experience, especially when vendors’ products/services can cost an arm and leg.

Ants are genius. Little wonder the Bible asked that the lazy man consulted them on how to become wise with regards to saving for the future.

Forgetfulness is a two-edged sword. It can be a tool we can use to get over our pain. On the other hand, however, it can also be a tool that can cause us terrible pain. A memory that is short is one that will wallow in needless pain day after day. Thou shall not forget!

We entered 2020 with a lot of energy and excitement. Prior to the first day of this year, our churches were flooded with people on 31st Night; even the devil was there. “2020: A year of victories,” some of us were told by our prophets. “You will travel abroad,” others were instructed.

For millenials like us, one of the greatest footballers we can never have enough of is the thirty-four (34) year old Portugal international, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Juventus star has given the world enough evidence that he’s one of the best (if not the best) to ever grace the sports― even his recent hat-trick that ferried his team to the next stage of the UEFA Champions League drummed that well.

The debate as to whether he is better than Lionel Messi or not may rage on till God knows when but how Cristiano Ronaldo keeps outdoing himself on the field will forever make jaws drop― even jaws of his opponents. His grit and passion on the pitch always has an uncanny way of pulling the whole team along to success. Wherever there is a Cristiano Ronaldo, it is obvious there will be a goal!

Undoubtedly, the Ballon d’Or winner is not as talented as he is determined. His output on the field makes us understand how talent has been overrated over the years. It makes us understand that talent without work can’t stand work without talent. The self-made soccer genius has consistently put in efforts to be who he is today, pointing to the fact that no matter how gifted one is, they need to sweat their way to the top. Hard work is the new talent.

At thirty-four (34), C. Ronaldo still plays like a twenty (20) year old― so much agility, speed and intelligence. It is obvious he is not hanging his boots yet. It is obvious the perfectionist is still hungry to reset every available record on the field. And… it’s obvious we have a lot to learn from him. 

“The ultimate investment is self-investment!”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s former teammate, Rio Ferdinand, recounts that the football firebrand was the first he observed to have hired a nutritionist, doctor, personal physio and chef. This was a huge investment into his health― his life― and it eventually paid off.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. It’s amazing how people want to see significant growth in their careers yet are not ready to invest a dime there. If you want to be the best with what you have, you must treasure it enough to invest in it. Every field that is green out there wasn’t green on its own. Someone invested into it!

If a man polishes shoes on the streets and takes his time to invest into it, he will soon be polishing shoes in the palace. No matter what our hands find to do, we should be ready to make a treasure out of such.

Invest into that marriage. Invest in the work of your hands. Invest into your education. The ultimate investment we can ever make is not to save in the bank or make properties but to invest in ourselves. When we become the best of ourselves, everything around us transforms automatically!

“The extra mile is a preserve for the extraordinary!”

Ronaldo is always going another mile beyond the normal to be ahead of his peers. Former Real Madrid boss, Carlo Ancelotti, recalls how the star will never go home after a European game even if it was 3am. He would head for the training ground for the ice bath to help him recover from the game. His physio will sometimes be giving him a rub down when everyone else had left for home.

It’s lonely to want to go the extra mile but that’s where the extraordinary are always found. It’s hard to do the hard things but that’s how hard, extraordinary people are made. The ordinary are who they are because they won’t do what the extraordinary will do. At the end of the day, the extraordinary set the standards for the ordinary to follow.

“Until you’re unarguably the best, you’re not the best!”

Fans of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have locked horns severally with each other over who is better between the two. Both Ballon d’Or winners are geniuses in their own class but Messi is more talented. When it comes to who carries a whole team on their shoulders to victory, however, no one comes closer to Ronaldo… and it was obvious in the recent awe-inspiring second leg Champions League match between Athletico Madrid and Juventus. 

One must consistently remind others they are the best in what they do. There may be fat and lean seasons but we must work at being so good at our craft that no one can dispute the fact that we are the best!

“Winning doesn’t make us practice less. It makes us practice more!”

Carlos Queiroz, Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant, once narrated how he saw something moving in the trees far away and thought it was a spy. He drew the attention of the security officer who upon verifying came back to tell him it was Cristiano Ronaldo. He was training alone!

It takes consistent practice to climb to the top and consistent practice to stay there. The best room of every maestro is their practice room. That’s where their greatness is made. No one can ever skip the practice stage if they want to reach the stage of legends. Constant rehearsal is work… and that’s what separates dreamers from doers. Great things happen through constant practice!

Complacency will make you practice less and practicing less will make you lose. If you want to win, practice and when you have won, don’t stop practicing. If the Ronaldos have not stopped practicing, who are you to!?

“Let go of your past, especially its glories!”

Each moment Ronaldo steps on a field to play, one thing he forgets about is who he is. He may be a world champion off the pitch but on it, he perceives himself only as a young man who wants to make a name at that timely moment. He lets go of all his accolades to make the best of the moment.

The only way up is to forget about what we have done in the past. A past glory is an outdated currency that can’t buy anything in the future!

“Comfort zone is a soil that doesn’t support growth!”

Every time Ronaldo moved from one team to the other, he had already become the best there and achieved all the feats there could ever be. Everyone thought he had reached the peak of his career until he embraced a new challenge in another team.

Challenges bring out the best in us. We have no idea the magnitude of power hidden inside of us until we are confronted with new heights to climb. Comfort zone is danger zone because we may never exploit the greatness that lies in our depths.  

“To stay at the top, be insatiably hungry!”

Success is hungry and it goes without saying that C. Ronaldo is hungrier. He never gets intoxicated with his past. He never gets satisfied with his many feats. Always beating himself, he has mastered his craft so well that every opportunity to be on the pitch is an opportunity to exude his hunger to get the ball across the net.

Sometimes, we are where we are because we are just not hungry enough. How hungry are you!?

Kobina Ansah is a Ghanaian playwright and Chief Scribe of Scribe Communications (www.scribecommltd.com), an Accra-based writing firm.

The climax of the joy of having an elder brother when growing up was when you both could share almost everything you had. Though we were three (3) years apart, we could exchange our clothes and no one could notice. What I had, he could wear. What he had, I usually wore.

In life, many things require our attention. We have dreams to achieve. We have bills to pay. We have expectations. We have targets to meet at the end of a period and sometimes, we unfortunately have to trade a piece of our peace to worry about how all such can be attained.

In the Bible, the story is told of how Potiphar’s wife did everything possible to lure young Joseph into her bed. After several failed attempts, she finally got hold of his shirt as the lad fled from the clutches of her seduction. Out of shame and pain, she concocted the story that he had wanted to rape her!

Growing up, I used to get confused about sheep and goats. I usually missed out on which was a goat and which was a sheep. I wasn’t to blame after all. They looked alike. Like an eel and a snake, you could sometimes mistake one for the other. However, an eel was never a snake… and a goat could never be a sheep. They were all distinct creatures.

When a group of people are placed in a room, how they think becomes evident. The poor amongst them speak a particular language because they have been brought up as such. The wealthy, on the other hand, think far differently from the others because of their exposure. Poverty is a mindset and then it becomes a character.

When asked what may be the greatest reason behind our glorious retrogression as a people, a chunk of us may attribute it to some demons somewhere ― considering how spiritual we are. A lot more may blame it on lack of resources while others may claim that it is a headache of bad leadership.

“33 - And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth. 34 - But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 - I went after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth; and if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him and killed him. 36 - Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.””― 1 Samuel 17

A person who knows who he is can never be deceived. When a man knows who and what he is not, he doesn’t fall for anything because the confidence in his identity directs his choices and decisions.  When people don’t know who they are, they settle for anything ― oftentimes, what is below their standard!

The thing about talent is that it makes us think we are too exceptional for life to ever think of a replacement. One of the biggest lies we oftentimes believe in is that as long as we are overwhelmingly good at what we do, it is obvious that we are irreplaceable.

As a little boy, I never dared to learn how to ride a bicycle. I had heard a lot about how almost everyone got injured somewhat while learning how to balance themselves on a bike. The thought of getting hurt sent shivers down my spine. I enjoyed sitting behind friends who were skilled at riding the two-wheeled vehicle but I never made any effort to ride alone. Thanks to one thing― fear.

2016 saw a world wonder happening in the English Premier League. A football team, after 132 years of its existence, made a striking statement that contrasted predictions of even their die-hard fans.

Samsung. McDonalds. KFC. Vodafone. Dell. Microsoft. Dangote. Rovermans. UT. Perez Chapel. NDC. NPP. Groupe Nduom. Papaye. Waakye On Wheels. UB40. These are a few of the many brands that have made an indelible impact on their communities and even the world beyond. At the mention of their names, a particular thought sinks into our minds. Their products continually bring smiles to the generation they serve. 

Written By kobina Ansah - I am a Fanti. However, before I regard my tribe under any circumstance, I first of all know that I’m a Ghanaian. And… even before I regard myself as Ghanaian, I regard myself first of all as human. In other words, regardless of where we all geographically come from, nature binds us together by putting red blood in us all; whether White, Black, Blue, Ashanti, Nzema or Ewe.

I have always wondered why we (Blacks) sometimes complain of racism anyway. Well. I pretty much know some of us are as racist as whoever but in a different way. When we see our fellow citizens, all we perceive is a tribe walking in clothes. We can’t look beyond their ‘geography’ in spite of their beauty. We can’t see any beyond their mother tongue despite their competence.

His Excellency Nana Addo earlier this week designated his first crop of ministers and guess what? It was met with the usual, petty, tribal politics of who belonged where! In this era where men and women are being appointed based on their competence, others are still stuck in backwardness thinking they should have been chosen instead according to their tribes… in the name of some regional balance.

I have reiterated times without number that if our nation would ever experience change, it majorly depends on us, especially our mindsets. If you think the reason for being at the bottom is your tribe and not your skills, frankly, you need help no one can give! If you can’t see others beyond where they are coming from (tribe), it’s obvious you are confused as to where you are even going to (vision).  

Tribalism has torn us apart as a people. Some marriages never could be. Others who meant well for us were just written off. Leaders who could have brought us the development we so much needed were shoved aside. This racism called tribalism!

When we forget about the same red blood that runs through our veins and instead pettily focus on our mother tongue, we mistake good people for bad ones. We mistake good spouses for bad ones. We mistake great leaders for bad leaders and vice versa. We assume our brothers are our enemies and our enemies, brothers!

You have no moral right to condemn a white-skinned person for racism when you’re such a tribalistic bigot. Who are you to whine when discriminated against when you’ve successfully stereotyped others who don’t belong where you do!? If racism is not good for you, tribalism is not good for another either.

We were all humans until races came. We were all Ghanaians until tribes came. Where we are supposed to see competence, all we see is tribes. Where we ought to see honesty, we only see geographical location. Where we ought to see the bigger picture of Ghana, all we prefer to see is a smaller picture of the tribe we come from.

Education is not the solution to tribalism just like it hasn’t been to racism. Little wonder the tribal activists are sometimes very educated.

Tribalism, like racism, is a character. It is a character that puts others in fixed character. A pattern of thoughts it is; a parochial mindset. All we need is a change of mind. Change of character begins with a change of mind.

It’s about time we knew that not everyone falls within our oversimplified definition of a group of people. It’s about time we viewed others through the lens of what we shared in common and not our differences. To build that great nation we want to live in, we should focus our energies on competence and skills, not tribes. Competence builds a nation, not tribes. Skills make a nation great, not mother tongue.

Tribalism blinds our thoughts. It doesn’t permit you to see any beyond what you indeed want to see. Like alcohol, it clouds our thinking capacity. It gives us already-formed notions about others. If you already know me (supposedly because of my tribe) before you really get to know me, then you won’t even know me!

We all belong to tribes. Yes. We all belong somewhere. Our different tribes should, however, be the variety that will spice up our lives, not tear them apart. Our variety should merge us together as one people with one common destiny. Poverty is our enemy, not the man from a different tribe. Greed is a threat, not the woman who speaks a different language.

I am a Fanti. And so? Before you brand me in your beautifully-crafted stereotype of a typical Fanti, know that I am first of all a Ghanaian. I may or may not fall within your narrowly-defined views of my tribe. And… even if I do, it doesn’t go without saying that all Fantis will.

Hence, can you kindly ignore my tribe? All I know is that I am a Ghanaian. Treat me as such. Regard me as a Ghanaian and never as a Fanti. Give me opportunities because I am a competent Ghanaian, not a competent Fanti. Perhaps, in case you may want to deny me, let it be for the same reasons. This racism called tribalism should not get in our way.

The writer is a playwright and Chief Scribe of Scribe Communications, a writing company based in Accra. Get interactive with him on his Facebook page, Kobina Ansah.

Ghana is on a partial lockdown. Most businesses have ceased. Life has almost come to a standstill. A virus we cannot see is threatening our lives and everything around us. Who ever thought a day would come that man, despite all his sophistication, would bolt at the name of a virus!?

If you have worked all your life in private companies and you happen to run into a government-run facility, the discomfort that comes with the disparity between both will conspicuously run through your veins. Like a jungle without rules, most people do what they want in the latter. They give no hoot about customer service and don’t care if the company runs at a loss or not. After all, it belongs to the government!

It is not a world wonder to see a famous Ghanaian artist die in abject poverty. From musicians to actors and directors, it is not surprising to hear of artists who have dedicated a chunk of their active years to their craft die penniless.

Sugar attracts ants. Food attracts houseflies. Greatness attracts nonsense!

The Ghanaian theatre industry has been bursting at its seams with great plays over the last few years.

Decisions make people. The choices people make and those others make on their behalf come together to make them. A man is affected by not only his choices but those of others as well. Whatever you have been able to become today was not only based on your choices but other people’s choices and decisions that influenced you in one way or the other.

The Nkosuo Initiative (2019-2024) is a Local Economic Development project with a clear aim, “To strengthen, increase and diversify the income of rural dwellers at Trotor and surrounding communities.” The first phase of the community-based project (2019-2021) has seen the cultivation and processing of vegetables, specifically, Ginger, Pepper, Turmeric and Cucumber into products for Ghana and its neighbouring countries.

Sugar attracts ants. Food attracts houseflies. Greatness attracts nonsense! Everyone wants to be great. However, only a few really know what they are asking for. Many have little or no idea that the higher you climb, the hotter it becomes. The greater you become, the greater the nonsense you also attract.

Have you attended any wedding or party recently? Well, I have. And… I have made a lot of observations of how we think and how it influences us to do the things we do. Generally, when people are asked to help themselves, observe how they indeed help themselves at the table.

Life is a queue of death and every being is in this queue. Immediately one is born, they join this queue awaiting their turn to be served by death. Death is a delicacy everyone will taste once in their lifetime— regardless of how rich or poor they are. We are all born to die because the ultimate fate of life is death.

Sitting comfortably in the heart of the Volta region of Ghana is one fine co-ed school called Mawuli Senior High School. Indeed, the first time I nursed thoughts of drawing inspiration from mottos of Ghanaian high schools, Triple H College reared its head first!

A butterfly can’t be of the same size as a bird no matter how much it eats. A butterfly can’t look like a bird regardless of how well it is made up.
Back in Pope John Secondary School and Junior Seminary (POJOSS), we had this friend who we presumed had a rich background. Though he barely said so, his lifestyle did. He had a taste for all the good things on campus. How he could afford certain meals at the expense of our almost indispensable dining hall food was a marvel to most of us.

Much has been said and heard of how the devil recruited a host of other like-minded angels to rebel against God. He was hurled down the earth with his entourage after a fierce battle… awaiting final judgment. The multi-million dollar question on the minds of many, however, is, “If the devil went back to apologize to God, will he be accepted back?” 

Back in Pope John Secondary School, an incident happened that was etched on my mind for a very long time. Then, I was a second-year student. One final year student was teasing another― supposedly a friend. The latter expressed his utmost displeasure but all such fell on deaf ears. Before anyone could stop the teasing any further, the one being teased had gotten hold of the lid of a tin of canned fish… and dismembered the face of his supposed friend.

Over the years, rape victims have often been thought of as females. Rape of boys almost seems unheard of because society assumes it is only our daughters who are vulnerable. Well, everybody is vulnerable at a point in their lives.

Many African churches don’t live beyond their founders. Quite a chunk of companies here develop only little after the demise of those who started it.

Life is variety and variety is the spice of life. What makes life all spicy is how different each of us is. We all can’t think same just like we can’t belong to the same place.

Thailand was all over the news earlier this week. Twelve school boys (who were also footballers) and their coach stuck in the Tham Luang cave for 18 days were finally rescued in an extraordinarily daring mission.

Everyone has admirers. Our gifts are like a magnet. They attract all manner of people, especially praise singers. Many would fall in love with our personality. They will sing choruses of our feats. They may sometimes even make it look as though they have never met our kind before.

You hate racists with passion. You are passionate about racism. Your blood boils when another man mistreats you or others because of your or their skin color. You complain bitterly about unfair treatment and stereotypes others put you in because of the continent from where you come. But… you look down on your fellow neighbor just because of their tribe. You are one shameless tribalist! 

Your destiny should be your headache. If you ever want to make your dreams a reality, you must not leave it in anyone’s custody. Your life is in your hands. Whether it would be any better or worse, it is your choice to make. In this life, you’re on your own.

Finish high school by 18 and university at 23. Get a well-paying job by 24. Get married by 25. Start having babies by 26. Stop having children by 30. Live happily ever after until 100.