Lord, This Is Hypocrisy of A Shameless Town Crier! (Pt I)

Dear Father,

There is this story about an investor who had come to Charlie land to invest. He had contracted a local guy to help him make all the contacts, after which the investor finally came down. The Charlie helped the investor in the registration of the business and everything. He recruited other kinsmen to join and work assiduously to ensure that the investment got off the ground.

So, one day, while having lunch with this investor at one of the restaurants where foods sold there are  a little bit expensive than the ones on the sidewalk, the investor decided to ask this Charlie as to how much he should pay certain people as a starting salary.

So, he began with the secretary:  “I am contemplating on starting the secretary with at least US1000,” the investor said, adding, “You know she has been working very hard.”

“You mean US1000?” the Charlie asked. “Yes,” said the investor. “That is too much,” the Charlie said.  “You know if you consider even the price of food in the restaurant, I think it is nothing and besides she has been working very hard,” the investor added.

“It is still too much; I mean how many secretaries here eat in restaurants. They usually buy their lunch from the sidewalk which is very cheap.”

“So, what about… let say US600?” the investor asked. “It is still too much,” the Charlie said. “Okay, how much do you think I should pay her?” the investor quizzed.

Charlie waited for a flesh of meat which he was chewing to go down his throat and then said: “I think, 300,000 cedis (about US50 at the time) will be alright.”  So the investor asked: “What’s about you, How much do you think will be better to start you with?” He replied: “You know, I have been the main man, so if you could start me with something like US5000, it will not be bad.”

As soon as he said that one of his country man who has been listening to their conversation all this while, just stirred at him and said quo-shia! (meaning stupid fool) in the local twi dialect.

You know Father, when you here such a story, your heart grieves and you can’t stop wondering to what extent people would go to marginalize others. Everything should be good for them alone, while they laugh at the other side of their mouths as if they are the only people who all the good things should be said of.

But such people will be the first to jump on the van wagon to criticize others. Especially for the town criers who are being sponsored by Uncle Sam’s Cousins and using the money to build mansions for themselves, while hiring some young men who crave for experience as foot soldiers. But they would proudly publish their colleagues sitting at workshops with the caption: Town Criers Corrupt! Not knowing they are the most corrupt. They are quick to criticize how others are amassing wealth at the expense of others and bla bla.

But you just say how they have deprived their colleagues of gifts sent to help all of them and how it has been converted to not only their personal but also commercial use.

Just say how they housed auditors that have come to audit them in hotels and send them to plantations for site seeing, while their time run off. They go back without conducting one audit.

Yet they beat their chests as being the best and they demand transparency from others and have the worst to say about their friends to some people working for some strange people just to be accorded all the praises-vain glory, I mean.  Anyway, who watches the town criers?

It reminds me of something one shameless, corrupt and wicked old town crier published the other day. It seems like he could not resist how delighted he was when somebody heaped one sided praises on him. But how the guy will not be elated when he believes in one-sided accounts? When he disperses you, any allegation about you is never cross-checked. Trust me, I know this beastly fellow.

Father, you know, it is very funny to see how swollen headed people can become when they are showered with flowery praises ehn. And let it not be a town crier, before you know it, these unscientific, inconclusive shadowy findings and conclusions soon become a major headline all over the place. Once it is in their favor, the findings and conclusions become law and gospel trumpeted by them all over the place. Never mind when such works are done by some individuals linked to some alien institution.

But when this same method is use to criticize them and appraised their competitors, oh, they will condemn every bit of it to the point questioning the individual or group of individuals educational background just to render it insignificant. And forgive me when it is the work of a local.

Father, it is truly understood, that it is in the nature of the human kind. We want all we can, put it in a cam, and deprive others.

But we don’t see anything wrong with our selfish minds, always wanting the best for ourselves and wishing that those surrounding us remain at our footstool. Thus we are proud recipients of donors’ funding but would waste our pages to condemn and criticize if any of our colleagues got such a support.

So when I read these flowery words of deceits and contradictions being boldly published I just laughed.

The truth is Father, this is an idiot who is fully Uncle Sam’s cousin sponsored, how do you compare him with those struggling to survive? I mean the very people he has deprived and wish they were out of the market?

Had this been someone else, we would have seen a hilarious commentary or article depicting poor town criers at a workshop or meeting. The next thing this idiot would have condemned the author of such report. Trust me; one of my friends from a local town crier agency had been a victim for his candid findings to a point that this old town crier wanted donors to withdraw funding this guy’s institution.

Father, how can one be happy of accolades that he doesn’t have? No wonder the song writer says you can fool some people some time but you can’t fool all the people all the time. To be continued.