Good day Osagyefo,

I told you I'll report back on this year's independence day. I managed to do most of the things I wanted to do. The other highlight was going to the Trade Fair Centre at LA (Labadi). They were having the 12th Ghana Trade fair and there were a lot of good deals. I bought a tourist map with info because I wanted to learn a little more about Ghana's tourism. I happened to chance upon the MKOGH store as well and couldn't resist buying something cuz the sales lady was too nice. I bought a T-shirt that had a quote of yours for half the price. It was a great deal. I bought it in the spirit of independence, whose hard-fought battle was led by you. But Kwame, I shudder to think, did you really win independence for us? Was it not the mosquito?

Hey, don't curse me. Your exploits and the efforts of our forefathers are well-documented. The Positive action of 1950 is famous. The detentions, arrests, prison time and wars are part and parcel of our history. I just feel the mosquito hasn't gotten the respect it deserves. We all know the white man is terribly afraid of the female anopheles mosquito that carries the dreaded malaria disease. Our cousins from the West could not handle the threat of this insect and were not prepared to fight it. So they kindly left us in 1957 and started following suit all over Africa. Some people believe that they stayed behind in Southern Africa because the mosquito's presence there was not so dominant.

So Osagyefo, join me in saying a tribute to the mosquito for the positive things it has done. And then join me in the rebute (hehe) as well, criticizing it for its attributes that drove our colonial masters away but continue to affect our population negatively. Malaria kills more people in Sub-Saharan Africa than HIV-AIDS and malaria is a preventable disease. It can be controlled, and treated to a large extent. Osagyefo, I don't know if you know what it means to have malaria; that thing is scary.

Dubya, the current housekeeper for Uncle Sam, was in Ogyakrom recently. Many people feel he came to ask for our favour in our upcoming oil industry and to investigate our willingness to host the African Cmmand (AFRICOM). Dubya denied the latter and called it bull, baloney on national television. I don't see much wrong with what he said but people who have the slightest interest in America know he couldn't have said that in his country. Ah, that is Ghanaian hospitality for you. One of Bush's major objectives was to announce aid to fight malaria in Ghana to the tune of 17 million dollars. Osagyefo, there are some Ghanaians worth twice that amount. We love the money but I believe we are losing sight of our worst enemy - the mosquito.

Kwame, we have grown up in the Ghanaian education system, learning about the mosquito and malaria. An SSS student may know more about this insect than a medical student in Yale. Why we haven't been able to win this fight against the mosquito? Only God will know. Is the mosquito so strong and powerful that it (not he or she) could drive the white man away? Now, we've been left to our fate and we still haven't figured it (the mosquito, its demise, its death) out.

It's not like we are not concerned. There are countless mosquito repellant adverts and campaigns going on. We always thought mosquito nets were for boarding school students but now they are being advertised on primetime television (and for sale). I understand most of Dubya's money would be spent on treated mosquito nets. Basically, the number of nets we need costs more than the 17 mill, so America is baiting us to come and buy these things from them. Yes, there is no free lunch anywhere. Do we really need mosquito nets? Are we inviting the almighty mosquito to war? Why can't we kill the mosquito so we won't have to fight it? Why can't we 'prevent' (uh huh) the mosquito from surfacing so that we don't have to deal with it?

We must spend the 17 million on getting rid of stagnant water, ensuring a clean environment, creating jobs ala Zoomlion to discourage the mosquito. We shouldn't want to even see the mosquito prancing around daring us to act. We must act to prevent the menace and not to cure or treat it. It's that simple. Osagyefo, we must put in measures to prevent whatever diseases would befall us. We need outside help but we must use it wisely. I don't understand how something as basic as this has to keep us sleepless at night and mind-boggled in the morning. I guess the contracts have to come in so that our money can be chopped and people can enrich themselves under the pretext of killing the mosquito. Even when we are trying to kill this 'devil', some of us will be enriching our bank accounts. Wow, mosquito, more respect to you too.

Zzzzzzzz,
Maximus.