Wednesday 16 December 2015

Closed to business?

I've so many things I want to write about and that's beginning to limit me as I don't know where to start...I was in Zambia recently and the whole trip can write me a book!
I think I'll start with the my most recent interesting experience right here in Ghana...

So yesterday, I was to meet some people at the Accra Mall. The plan was for me to use the ATM before we set out on our mission for the day - which was not centred around the mall.
I was surprised to encounter a plastic barrier at the Spintex road entrance. The security guard at post told me the mall opens at 9am for which reason I would not be allowed entry. I found this especially strange as I could see cars moving up and down within the mall. I mean, how did they get in?
I asked the security guard why this directive. I don't know what it was about me that made him act someways ( how else can I put this? Haha) towards me.
I suspect it had something to do with the car I was driving, the English I was speaking and my size....Who is this small girl who is feeling so cool riding ( I wasn't feeling cool o, I was just being me) her sugar daddy's car (I was driving my dad's car) and thinking she has a right to understand why she cannot be allowed to park.
Anyways, his answer to my question was that it was an order from above and he was only doing his work. All this while, I noticed he signaled any car that lined up behind me to use the motorway entrance. At a point in time, he shifted another of the barriers to allow another car inside. The whole thing was like he had something personal against me.
I asked why he was directing other cars to the other entrance and asked if it was open. He said he could not tell me whether or not it was open, but I could go check....which didn't make sense. I told him I needed a definite answer from him as that road was a one-way and encountering a closed gate might mean I'll have to take a longer route to get back to where I wanted to be. His attitude was very appalling...It was like he had meant me and wanted to teach me a lesson.
When I heard him speak Ewe to the occupants of the car he allowed in, I got down from my car, and gave him a nice lecture on humility in Ewe. On how he should not create impressions of people based on prejudice and what he sees and then go on and use that to decide how to respond to them. I told him this world is very small, and he has no idea where he'll meet me and need my help just as I have no idea where I'll meet him and need his help for which reason I'm being polite with him. I told him not to allow the English I speak cause him to feel intimidated and respond the way he did. He tried arguing that he never insulted me and I made it clear to him I never said he insulted me, but that his attitude towards me was just wrong. In the end, he apologised. I could see the pain in his eyes as he said he was sorry which to me was evidence that everything I said was true.
By this point, one of the people I was to meet, who had entered the mall through the other entrance walked down to the Spintex entrance and expressed surprise as the other gate was open to all cars.
We drove in through the other gate and one of the people I was going to meet, was parked inside the mall although I arrived at the mall about 20 minutes before her!
As we talked about this encounter, another security guard heard us and invited himself to be part of our conversation. He said the rule was to prevent people from using the mall car park as a car park....I'm tired of saying "this doesn't make sense" but it really  made no sense to me.
How would closing the Spintex road entrance and opening the motorway entrance stop people from parking their cars in the mall and going off elsewhere to carry out their business? When I said this kind of thinking was backwards, he took offence and said I'd insulted him...I explained to him that wasn't in reference to him, but to the givers of the directive.
To cut a long story short, I went into the mall building which to my surprise was open. If a mall has functioning ATMs which are accessible before 9am, why do you prevent access to the mall car park because the shops are not opening?
I remember Logical Reasoning was a topic taught as part of Core Maths in SSS....hehehe. I'm just saying.
We have a long way to go in this Ghana o. God have mercy on us!
End of story one :)


2 comments:

  1. Interesting, just discovered this blog. Are there any recent write ups ?

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  2. Thank you! Unfortunately, I've not done any writing in recent days.Your comment is enough inspiration to get me back to blogging :)

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