Life is very strange and could be extremely unfair. It can only be understood backward; but it must be lived forwards. As I was pondering over this, a friend sent me something that I think is worth sharing. And here it goes:
Someone got married and had to wait for ten years before having a child; there is another who had a baby within one year after marriage.
Someone graduated at the age of 22, yet waited for 5 years before securing a job; there is another who graduated at the age of 27 and secured employment just after national service.
Someone became a CEO at the age 25 and died at the age of 50; while another became a CEO at the age of 50 and lived for 90 years.
The Ghanaian gospel musician, Isaiah Kwadwo Ampong captures this interesting mystery of life vividly in his song, “Akokofunu”. The lyrics of the song tell a story of a hungry madman who went about looking for food to eat.
Luck smiled on him; he saw a discarded dead fowl on a rubbish dump, and he took it home with much excitement. It was time to find a disused saucepan to cook the meat, but he roamed the whole village where he lived without a saucepan. With sadness written on his face, he went back home to sleep on an empty stomach.
Sometime later, the madman was on his usual rounds and chanced upon a clean saucepan; delighted, he ran about to scout for a dead fowl that has been disposed of, but was not lucky, he never found one.
Out of frustration, he cried, “What kind of world is this?” When you have a dead fowl you don’t get a saucepan to cook with, and just when you find a saucepan you don’t get a dead fowl.”
That is the story of some of us. One such example that forcibly comes to mind is that of Opana. For many years he searched for power purportedly to fight corruption and the ills of society with the intention of fixing the living conditions of the masses.
Years later when he got power, corruption and societal ills became rife; unemployment and hardship galloped; dumsor turned dumkoraa. And so-so people dey shout, “Oga, walahi-talahi, make na fix it now!” Chai, Oga chop hot, echop wrong meat. Those whispering akokofunu should stop. I never said that. I don’t want any trouble. What kind of world at all is this? The madman is absolutely right, the world is not an exciting place to be because you don’t always get what you want.
Kikikikikikiki, for your weekend relaxation enjoy “Akokofunu” by Isaiah K. Ampong.
Anthony Obeng Afrane
