MY COUNTRY IS ME

“Oh no! I have dirtied the compound.  My things have become rubbish on the streets. So annoying!” Those were the first words Mr. Citizen used on himself when he noticed that the plastic bag he was holding was torn and that some of the things he had bought earlier might have dropped on the way without him knowing. He took a quick “census” to see if those valuable items were intact and to his surprise, they were.

We all represent Mr. Citizen in our homes, communities, towns, cities and the country, as a whole. What do you think about first when you find yourself with an empty pure water sachet after enjoying the chilled water in it; what about the yoghurt container; the banana peels; the toffee cover; the plastic bag that harbored the “egg with pepper” or the pie or puff loaf you were head over heels chopping? Dropping it wherever you stand? Answer this to yourself with all sincerity.

I once asked someone: I know you know perfectly well that dropping this on the street is not right so why do it, in the first place? And the response was simple: It is someone else’s job to pick it up. Meaning, if he doesn’t dump it, the person will be paid for nothing. Is that what you also think? Who said that person will not have anything to do? If you drop it in the bin, he will have to clear that too. What happens if, by the time the person reports to clean, this rubbish has been swept by the wind into the gutter; What about if no one has been assigned to clean that particular place?

We witness floods all around us during the rainy seasons and all we do is to continue praying to God to help us. Is God a “zoom lion” (refuse manager)? Did we call him when we were dumping unto the streets; what about into the gutters? Did we invite him to measure the land when we were building in the ways of water bodies or in waterlogged areas? (We will save that story for tomorrow). We sit in our expensive cars and drop garbage on the streets through our side windows like it’s nobody’s business. Our streets have suffered enough violence already but the sad truth is that some of us are teaching our children to also do the same. We go about saying “I love my country, Ghana! I love Mama Africa!” Well, then, prove it!

 Plastic waste has become a very serious issue in the world, as a whole, now: dropping it at the wrong destination makes it, even, worse. Taking good care of our garbage should be as important as taking good care of ourselves and our families. In my renowned senior high school, one thing we were taught that is stuck with us is “Your bag is your bin until you find one”. We are not ignorant of the consequences of our actions so why don’t we care? Because we think that toffee cover is too small to be relevant; or that pure water sachet is just one and might not affect anything in any way? Well, guess what: the person standing beside you is thinking the same thing and so is the one on the other side. What, then, becomes of our environment if we all keep dumping anyhow and anywhere?

We are all guilty, in one way or the other: Either we dropped it ourselves or we saw someone else do it and didn’t say anything for the fear of the heavily loaded reply we might receive. I know this message might not sit well with most of my readers but the truth is: we are all responsible for whatever happens in our country. My country is me and so is yours.