NSEMKESIE By Stanley Adom Yeboah, G'berg '88 Dawn of a new Millenium There is a saying that goes something like this" A man is an architect of his own destiny" the cliche is that if you develop a habbit of misleading people, you are bound to be misled at a certain point in time, again if you build a relationship based upon lies, deceit , and disloyalty you know you're on a hell bound express train. Forgive me if i sound like a doomsday prophet. Since we've been graced with a new year, and this being the first editorial, I have refined the editorial topic from what i would normally write and have decided to get a little serious and reflect on the years gone by.

As we enter into a new year can we really be hopeful of achieving our goals, be it academic, relationships, security and most importantly can we strive to be a better person this year, because quite frankly without understating it, we can only reap what we sow. It is quite difficult in this age and day to strive to attain self enlightenment while values are undoubtedly skewed to materialism, self appeasement and insularity. Lifestyles are becoming livid, void of true substance, politicians are becoming more insidious by the day. Amorality has become the order of the day making it difficult to trust even your next door neighbour. An insatiable yearn for dolci vita in today's world has caused societal breakups, and the demise of true community spirit where people took care of each other - a family member wouldn't think twice of stabbing you in the back if he/she can anticipates richness in doing so. We are living in a world where people have evolved to develop a third eye to see beyond the obvious and the obscure. Education and righteousness are weighed less on the statutory scale, because as the saying goes 'if it ain't dollars, it don't make sense' go to school and earn all those colourful qualifications, if you don't make enough dough at the end of the day, your wife will be attracted to 'Mr Earn a lot next door' and she will tell you what's love got to do with it, you can't change it, you'll have to adjust to it. It's less than a year before we reach the two thousand year mark after the death of Jesus - the new millenium, ask yourself the question has the life of humanity improved, or deteriorated. Does more people have peace of mind, Do we have more diseases now than ever before. Societies might be richer now than before but does riches and affluence ensure long term happiness. You can't help but to think that the world is in a state of emergency, something of a critical moral decadence, Yes, it may sound dismal but it's true.

Now to something i really care about - stability in Ghana, infact it came on top of my new year's wishes. Freddie Ofori i admire you immensely for the brilliant piece written about the present economical climate in Ghana, I just hope that there are more people like you in Ghana. Without delving too deep into the realm of Ghanaian politics, something i'll leave it up to Freddie who's political insight is worth noting, and should be well respected, however, i would like to stress, perhaps re-iterate how the new year will change the unscrupulous and unsavoury human maggots lurking in Ghanaian Politics, Are things going to change for the better in the political scene in Ghana in the next millenium or should we brace ourselves for yet another neo-revolutionary roller-coaster ride antics from 'Dr' Rawlings and co. or should i say cronnies as Freddie would put it. Never in our short history (Ghana) has intense brutalities and fatalities been executed than in His regime, all in the name of total eradication of corruption, now, doesn't that makes you laugh, Mr Rawlings giving a lesson in honesty and how to be a good citizen, not to mention mismanagement of national funds and assets. However big the crime certain past politicians commited, does Mr Rawlings had the right to take away the lives of these individuals all in the name of revolution - Mr Rawlings the saviour.

Three o'clock AM, and my uncle Dr Twumasi had to run away from the UST campus to save his life from an unjustified persecution just because he questioned the motive behind why University students had to pay fees, while the Government on the contrary were spending 5 times on national budget on arms we really didn't need than on the educational sector (email me for more details). It didn't stop there, you only had to have a substantial amount in your account to be labelled an embezzler, swindler and a fraud for him to set his wolf pack bubble head truculent army to not only seize your whole life savings and assets but also do you the honours of disfiguring your body parts. I remember vividly when my uncle S K Manu suffered this fate under Sir squeaky clean, Mr don't do wrong Rawlings. A country where Politicians allegedly sleep freely with Miss Ghana contestants, simply because they have the power to twist and bend the results. We may have forgiven Rawlings for insulting our intelligence, But, we have not forgotten Mr Rawlings for the mysteries of cloud that hang on the deaths of the prominent judges, and his so called revolution days when fear unfolded a thick blanket over Ghana.

No sir, Ghana do not belong to you and and your churlish family, so don't patronise us like a saint while you order vehicles with national funds for your political campaign, and your selfish political aspirations when it should have been better spent on Education and healthcare . I have no respect for Dr Rawlings as a politician, I am not one of those people who fall under the spell of Mr Rawlings' subtle false pretences and hollow rhetorics. As long as there are people like Harold and Nana Kankam who have harnessed the power of the internet we will continue to disseminate our views freely.

I have said certain things in the past about what i percieved to be political and economic improprieties and imprudence, only to wake up to read a barage of unsubstantiated accusations levelled against me for being arrogant, and if i didn't like the way the country was governed i should complain to Jerry. This attitude wouldn't help us in anyway, but will only exacerbate and deepens our current economic crises and only suppresses transparency in our political atmosphere. Let's hope the new year and more generally the next millenium reinstates harmony, understanding, tolerance, honesty and integrity in the agenda of our politicians. Till the next politics free editorial Happy new year folks.