One million pounds

By: Efua Dentaa Oduro
Email: berlyndiz@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.dentaa.blogspot.com

Ghana my happy home, land of rich resources, land of mighty talents, racial tolerance, justice and freedom...

Why then do we find ourselves where we are now? How can we have so much and still be saddled with economic crisis, power crisis etc. Should Ghanaians not be living large with the abundance in resources Ghana has been blessed with?

Are our leaders really looking out for us, or do they go out there and sell us out for their personal gain? Are all the decisions our leaders take in our best interest, or do they go out there looking out only for themselves, and how much they can make off us, and try to convince us whatever decision they took is for the best?
What about our international partners? Are we getting honest help from them? Do they honestly want to see us get out of this quagmire we find ourselves in (through no fault of ours), or are they interested only in helping us so far, but not all the way?

One Million Pounds, the latest play by James Ebo Whyte, tells the story of 4 talented Ghanaians who take a shot at the maiden edition of an international competition. Much to everyone’s surprise, they make it so far. It would have been novel for an African group to win, but the system was willing to let them get only so far, but definitely not all the way. Much to the exasperation of the system, the African group appears to be going further than the system ever intended for them to go. What to do? How to deal with this situation? Well, the group is from Africa, they have a leader, and African leaders and free money, well, enough said about that.

How these 4 handle their manager selling them out, and almost clipping their wings before they even had a chance to take off, takes a lot of determination and realisation that they may be down, but they were definitely not out.

The tale is told of love, insecurity, greed, corruption, hope and foolishness, laced with the humour characteristic of every Uncle Ebo Whyte play.

Can the story of Jama, the talented 4, be likened to the story of Ghana and its leadership? Why not judge for yourselves this weekend, Easter Monday and next weekend at the National Theatre. I should add that there are a myriad of lessons to be picked up from One Million Pounds.