{"id":125812,"date":"2015-06-18T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2015-06-18T06:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=125812"},"modified":"2015-06-18T06:05:50","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T06:05:50","slug":"god-will-not-save-accra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/","title":{"rendered":"God will not save Accra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today marks exactly two weeks since over 200 people were killed in floods that ravaged Accra and a disastrous\u00a0 fire outbreak \u00a0at a fuel station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Most of the people who died in the fire were seeking shelter at the fuel station during a six-hour downpour which rendered large parts of the city inaccessible. Scores were swept away in the rising flood waters. Hundreds lost everything they own on that day.<\/p>\n

In the immediate aftermath of the June 3 flooding, every Ghanaian was affected and afflicted by the awful, awful way these people died. It\u2019s all we have talked about since that horrible Wednesday night. We were concerned and angry about the mess that caused the flooding.<\/p>\n

\"Fuel<\/a><\/p>\n

There was what the writer, Nana Awere Damoah calls the \u2018official walkabouts\u2019. Those in government and opposition went on a tour of the affected areas. Officials promised \u2013 to do what they promised to do in 2014 to prevent future floods.<\/p>\n

President Mahama promised again to take \u201cdrastic measures\u201d to avoid a future occurrence.\u00a0 The government has promised to release 50 million cedis for help victims and families of the dead.<\/p>\n

Two weeks on, Accra is still dirty. The debris from the floods has not been cleared. City authorities have not apologized for the deaths. No one has offered to radically transform the city and to ensure that never again will people die when the rains come.<\/p>\n

\"odawna<\/a><\/p>\n

To make matters worse, the mayor of mayors, collected silt from the Odaw drains and dumped it on its banks, only for it to be pushed back into the drains by the slightest downpour the next day.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, June 14, 2015, Accra flooded again. There were no deaths. There were damage and inconvenience. Kasoa and its environs were cut off from the rest of the city. Kwame Nkrumah Circle parts of Osu and Kokomlemle were submerged.<\/p>\n

The sad reality is that, no one has offered a practical and comprehensive plan with timelines to end the city\u2019s perennial flooding. The Odaw River is still choked. So are all the other receptacles for rainwater in the city.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m starting to despair. As always, we complained, ranted and went back to sleep. \u00a0Perhaps it is the shock and the years of neglect, but \u00a0our anger, angst and disappointment over the deaths seems to be fizzling out. We have returned to our usual ways of dealing with our government’s neglect \u2013 our \u2018fa ma nyame\u2019 ways. We have handed the deaths to God.<\/p>\n

\"flood\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There have not been any protests over the deaths, no show of anger to say we know our compatriots died foolish deaths and we hold those in-charge accountable. We have not asked for a concrete plan to make the city safe and livable for all of us either.<\/p>\n

Although I do not know my bible so well, I know God doesn\u2019t perform foolish miracles. God will not come and demand accountability for the deaths.\u00a0 We can pray all want, \u00a0the Odaw river will not magically become dredged. No amount of prayers or kindness to the displaced will keep us safe next time.<\/p>\n

Accra has been flooding since the 60s. The topography of the area makes it flood prone. So are many cities in the world. In most places, city authorities use innovative tools to manage the water \u00a0and save lives. Not prayers.<\/p>\n

If these 200 deaths had happened anywhere else,\u00a0 the outrage would not have been on social media alone. The public rage would have compelled the government to do more than declare a three day national mourning period for the dead. The Municipal Chief Executive, Oko Vanderpuije would have resigned or sacked by his bosses.<\/p>\n

\"accra<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s evident from the government\u2019s deceit with the Conti project that our lives do not matter to them. President Mahama cut the sod for the Conti project in 2014\u00a0 knowing the money for the project was not ready. The project was \u00a0supposed to transform the sewage system, get the Odaw River, Korle Lagoon dredged and storm drains and gutters desilted and perhaps, covered to prevent dumping. For three years, we had been told the Conti project would end the perennial flooding of the city.<\/p>\n

In the USA, the government\u2019s inept response to Hurricane Katrina led to protests. The head of FEMA, their equivalent of NADMO resigned. In France, the Charle Hedbo killings led to instant protests. We complained bitterly when five African leaders travelled to join the French to protest. The question was \u201c don\u2019t African lives matter too?\u201d<\/p>\n

While its all good for the benevolent Ghanaian to donate to the victims, it is certainly not enough, except we want to act the proverbial ostrich, and just to be deemed kind to victims of preventable accidents, our kindness may be hypocritical if we don\u2019t nip the problem in the bud!<\/p>\n

When Mohammed Boazizi set himself alight Tunisia, the people in the region seized it to push for change, yes, they provided food for his family but didn\u2019t go to sleep afterwards!<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not waste this moment. \u00a0Afterall, \u00a0\u00a0\u2018injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere\u2019 \u00a0and we all know that Edmund Burke was right when he said \u2018all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men do nothing.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By: Nana Ama Agyemang Asante\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today marks exactly two weeks since over 200 people were killed in floods that ravaged Accra and a disastrous\u00a0 fire outbreak \u00a0at a fuel station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Most of the people who died in the fire were seeking shelter at the fuel station during a six-hour downpour which rendered large parts of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":124907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[8,38,2160],"yoast_head":"\nGod will not save Accra - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God will not save Accra - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today marks exactly two weeks since over 200 people were killed in floods that ravaged Accra and a disastrous\u00a0 fire outbreak \u00a0at a fuel station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Most of the people who died in the fire were seeking shelter at the fuel station during a six-hour downpour which rendered large parts of […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-18T06:00:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-18T06:05:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/accra-flooded-again.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"587\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"330\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/\",\"name\":\"God will not save Accra - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-18T06:00:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-18T06:05:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"God will not save Accra\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\",\"name\":\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"description\":\"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\",\"name\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"God will not save Accra - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"God will not save Accra - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","og_description":"Today marks exactly two weeks since over 200 people were killed in floods that ravaged Accra and a disastrous\u00a0 fire outbreak \u00a0at a fuel station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. Most of the people who died in the fire were seeking shelter at the fuel station during a six-hour downpour which rendered large parts of […]","og_url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/","og_site_name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3","article_published_time":"2015-06-18T06:00:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-06-18T06:05:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":587,"height":330,"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/accra-flooded-again.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@citi973","twitter_site":"@citi973","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/","name":"God will not save Accra - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-06-18T06:00:31+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-18T06:05:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/god-will-not-save-accra\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"God will not save Accra"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/","name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","description":"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1","name":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kojo Akoto Boateng"},"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125812"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}