The program was supposed
to start at 09:00 but the time was changed to 11:00 the day before
and people had to hurriedly call invited guests to change
arrangements. The place wasn't too far from where I lived so I wasn't
too bothered. I left my room at 10:00 knowing I should be there in 45
minutes max. The driver started moving in an unfamiliar direction and
when I asked about it, he said it was a short cut. The journey that
was supposed to be 45 minutes ended up being an hour and 20 minutes.
Everyone had decided to take the short cut that day!
Ghanaian drivers and their "short cuts". Lol “@Amegaxi The taxi driver said this was a. "Short Cut". ... http://t.co/k87w1XElv6
— Naa ♥Q.U.E.E.N♥ (@Mzlianne) December 13, 2013▪Frustrated me tweeting inside the taxi and one of my friend's response▪
It was my sister's
induction into the Ghana Medical Association and I was peeved that I
was going to be late. These were highly educated people and I knew
they would be time conscious. I entered the auditorium at 11:25 and
the program hadn't began. I also noticed that more seats were being
brought in. Each inductee was supposed to have only two guest but
some of them came with entourages. A very typical Ghanaian trait. The
security at the gate couldn't drive them away so more chairs had to
be brought.
When the program started,
one of the executives took the stage and, “I'm sorry for the delay
it was...” and the audience went, “...due to circumstances beyond
our control”, and started laughing. It was all too familiar. All
Ghanaian programs seem to begin with this excuse.
There was a choir there
and the MC asked them to sing. The music was really good but it was
obvious they were being used as a time wasting strategy after their
fifth song. By now the audience was getting impatient. It was 12:10
and what they had come to see hadn't started yet. It turned out they
were waiting for the members of the council to arrive and finally
they did, at 12:20.
The program started and
there was this man in front of me who just refused to sit down. He
was carrying his iPad over his head like he was at a political
demonstration. I tried so many times to tell him he was blocking my
view but he didn't seem to care. I shifted slightly to my left and so
did he, to my right and he did same. I couldn't help but feel he was
doing it on purpose. He also came with a lady and two kids. All this
while the lady was struggling to keep the kids calm. Between the man
and his family, I managed to miss most of the event.
He finally sat down after
the oath and started playing the video. He couldn't wait to do this
at home? The video was making noise and everyone was turning round
looking for who could be so uncouth. The irony is, he kept scolding
his kids to keep quiet even though the video was making more noise
than they were.
To add a traditional
Ghanaian feel to the induction, each inductees name was to be played
on talking drums as they were mentioned. It was obvious the drummer
hadn't practiced for this. The MC prolonged the reading unnecessarily
by asking the drummer to beat the drums again when the sound didn't
sound like the name. Sometimes he would get it right after the third
try and there were 68 names! I was wondering if this was necessary.
More often than not, the drummer got it wrong and the MC asked him to
play again. Thankfully, we managed to reach the end of the list after
a few 1000 years.
Then the MC asked if
anyone in audience had a word of advice for the newly inducted
Doctors and one parent stood up and went to stage. It was supposed to
be a short speech but the man got stuck on stage and kept going on
and on and on! I noticed one lady among the newly inducted Doctors
hiding her face. I suspected that must be her Dad. The audience
started clapping to encourage him to end his speech but he either
didn't hear them or thought they were enjoying his speech. Either way
he went on till the MC got fed up and came for the mic.
Program over. A lady came
to give the votes of thanks. If you have ever been to a Ghanaian
program you know the general format.
Parents were hugging
their children who were now full doctors, pictures and videos were
being taken everywhere, the usual. Then I noticed one man who seems
to be jumping into everyone's picture. He would see a video being
taken and would silently walk in the path of the camera. I had no
idea who he was but anytime he tried to photobomb the pictures I was
taking I would pause and wait for him to pass. I wasn't going to
allow some creep in my Sister's pictures.
The refreshment was
outside the hall and guests were supposed to wait for the inducted to
take their share first but no one was obeying the rules. Refreshment
was just some pastries and a bottled drink. People would finish
theirs and go for more so many times obviously trying to get full on
small chops and pastries.
I didn't come with my own
car so I had to scurry home. The journey home is and the hustle of
the Ghanaian public transport system is a story for another day.
PS: Congratulations lil'
Sis, or do I have to call you Dr. lil Sis now?