Once upon a recent time in the Republic of Ghana, a peculiar outbreak began sweeping across the nation. It wasn’t COVID—this virus didn’t wear masks, obey protocols, or need an e-passport to travel. It was something far more contagious: Uncommon Sense.
This virus made no distinctions. It infected the highly educated, the half-educated, and the proudly uneducated with equal fervor.
In the good old days, common sense was so abundant that even goats knew better than to chew plastic. Today, a man with two PhDs—one in Astrophysics, the other in Instagram Philosophy—is seriously debating whether floods are caused by rain or by witches frying eggs in the sky. Yes, welcome to the new intellectual pandemic.
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We now elect thieves to guard vaults, appoint wolves to protect sheep, and hire sleeping dogs to man gates. Leadership has shifted from vision to visibility—if your billboard is bigger than your brain, you’re apparently qualified.
Once, elders gathered under trees and wisdom flowed like palm wine. Now, they sit in air-conditioned offices while the only thing flowing is sweat—and power from a stressed national grid.
We used to applaud sense. Now we clap for nonsense—as long as it’s served with jollof and a fuel coupon.
Social media, our modern shrine of wisdom, hasn’t helped. A woman who barely passed Integrated Science now calls herself a “Health Coach,” while a traffic shouter is now a backseat “Relationship Expert” with tens of thousands of followers. Logic has been replaced by likes.
Our ministers have embraced this wave with holy conviction. One sanitation minister once claimed: “We’re decongesting the drains, but the rains aren’t cooperating.” Really? Perhaps it’s time to sue the clouds for sabotage.
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And the youth? The vibrant, entrepreneurial, underemployed youth? Many now carry briefcases full of CVs, dreams, and recycled cover letters that all start with “Dear Sir/Madam.” Some have found comfort in betting apps. Others in motivational memes like “Success is a journey, not a trotro stop.” The rest? They wait for destiny like a WhatsApp message stuck on one tick.
Our national discourse hasn’t been spared either. We no longer argue about ideas. Now, it’s about insults. One politician says, “You’re corrupt.” The other replies, “Your father was a criminal.” Welcome to Parliament—or is it a Form 1 dormitory?
Still, we laugh. Because in Ghana, if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry—and water is already scarce.
So, what’s the cure? Can we reintroduce common sense into the curriculum? Bottle it? Import it? Tax it?
Maybe all we can do is remember that old Ghanaian proverb:
“When the lizard falls from the tree and no one claps, it nods to remind itself that it tried.”
Well, fellow lizards… let’s keep nodding—until one day, someone finally claps.
About the Author:
Jimmy Aglah is a media executive, author, and sharp-eyed social commentator. His debut novel, “Blood and Gold: The Rebellion of Sikakrom”, now available on Amazon Kindle, explores power, rebellion, and the soul of a nation. When he’s not running broadcast operations, he’s busy challenging conventions—often with satire, always with purpose.
source: myjoyonline
