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Opinions of Sunday, 3 September 2017

Columnist: Ekow Paintsil Djan

My first time of smoking

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I remember when we were kids, we used to smoke plantain leaves and papers. I was addicted to this practice to the extent of going into a shop to buy a cigarette and smoke.

I was very scared entering any shop to buy a cigarette, so what I decided to do was to walk on the streets and find a "leftover" cigarette in order for me to smoke and get satisfied. I saw one on the floor but it was very dirty and so I didn't pick it.

I was still hungry and wanted to smoke in order for me to be okay. Smoking was gradually eating into my head and was about destroying me just like how CORRUPTION has eaten into our minds as Ghanaians hence destroying our dear country.

Every single institution in the country is "sick". Their sickness is simple- CORRUPTION.

Ladies and gentlemen, corruption is killing us. You enter any public office for an endorsement and the officer in charge will have that gut and "vim" to ask you to pay him before he endorses your form with his signature.

It has now become a norm. "Pay as you go service". Pastors are not left out in this cruel practice of ours, teachers, journalists, bankers, civil servants, government appointees etc will never spare us with corruption.

This is something we don't even hide any more. It is open. It is normal. Everybody does it.

Where did we go wrong? Why Ghana? What at all do we want?

Until you and I stop corruption, we will continue to suffer as a nation. Ghana will never succeed while we suffer from corruption.

Sometimes, I laugh when we scream and shout for change while we have forgotten that we are also yet to change from our deviant behaviors. While we are yet to change from our wicked ways.

Change starts from our homes. Let's change our ways.

Stop corruption!