ANTICIPATING THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

By Nii B. Andrews.

The last few weeks have once again been filled with trauma and existential angst as, Omicron – yet another new COVID-19 variant, sweeps through from Nantaucket to Navrongo even as the dry dust laden harmattan air from the Sahara bears down on us in our Tema lair.

The only mitigating factor was our unassailable conviction of the promise of light – the Light of the World.

It became obvious as we hurtled towards yet another crucial stage of this pandemic that a light to rule the day and another to rule the night will not suffice. 

Such tropes were already wreaking havoc in the form of binary pandemic behavior – rebellion against the rules or full compliance. 

The sad reality is the perennial irresponsible behavior of poliTRIKcians (both local and foreign) and the stark ignorance of significant segments of the population who carry on with their activities in a manner oblivious to concrete reality.

Even the obvious lessons of the last 20 months are ignored with nonchalance.

What is indeed heart wrenching is the realization that wherever you live, irrespective of your economic or social status, your individual efforts to maintain good pandemic protocols and etiquette will appear inconsequential, dwarfed by the overwhelming systemic failures of governance and the retrogressive actions of the (m)asses.

Whether it involved mask wearing, social distancing, mixing of households, holiday travel, booster shots, the prudent allocation of national resources or plain decency or reasonableness or the refusal to propagate irresponsible and patently wrong ideas; the tendency or default position has been to remain impervious to the dictates of science and best practice.

In my part of the world, and sometimes even in my immediate circle, the manifestations have included ridiculous assertions of ghanaian exceptionalism offered without an iota of evidence and or wild expressions of base parochial sentiments unworthy of sentient beings. 

The best summary of the mindsets of my roommate and I as we remain still hunkered down in Tema on account of these dire circumstances is as follows:

“We feared the heartlessness of human beings, all of whom are born blind, few of whom ever learn to see.”

Hence we remain in fervent supplication with Hope and Faith in things yet unseen; for wellsprings of Wisdom and Love to dissipate the folly and vanity that threaten to encompass and annihilate us all.

We pray for and anticipate the Light of the World; that GOD is with us – Emmanuel! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS, folks and please stay safe.