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Opinions of Monday, 12 June 2017

Columnist: Oscar Bimpong

Life is a like passing wind; tribute to Major Mahama

The late Major Maxwell Mahama was given a State burial The late Major Maxwell Mahama was given a State burial

Life is like a passing wind. You can feel it, enjoy the breeze that comes with it and its gentle presence that makes the world a better place to live. However, within a split of a second, the same wind can be your worst enemy by destroying all that you have laboured for all these years. That makes the wind a two-edged saw. Meaning the wind has its mean side and its appealing side. Therefore the double faceted sides of the wind make it an unpredictable phenomenon in life.

In the same way, life is very unpredictable. It’s also a two-edged saw. That is life can make you happy or strike you with sorrow. Our wish was for life to smile at us on a consistent basis. However, life operates by changing our moods and emotions with the experiences it presents to us. A moment we can be very happy whilst the next moment we can be very sad. This is due to the fact that we don’t hold the future. That is why we can only talk about today and the past but we cannot predict the next second, minute or the next hour not to talk about the next day, month or the years ahead. That goes to show that life is an unpredictable adventure where we tend to believe we know where we are going but in the real sense, we don’t have a clue what will happen with our next step.

Eleanor Roosevelt puts it in a better perspective by saying that “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavour.” That means we live life by hope not by our own sentiments. It’s amazing how life can change within a split of a second. Following documentaries on Manchester and London bombings and the unfortunate situation that happened to Captain Mahama of Ghana Army who was lynched by a community in Ghana makes me appreciate life the more. I had an accident a yesterday; I was devastated and very down when it happened. However, when I got home, I switched on the TV and I realised that Cheick Tiote formerly of Newcastle United and Ivory Coast National team has collapsed and died upon reaching the hospital whilst training with Being Enterprise football team. Immediately I started cheering up because I got to realise that it could have been worse. I started thanking God for my life and that of my son who was in the car. The fact is all these unfortunate incidents and barbaric attacks can happen to anyone in life as no one is superior to it.

Life indeed is like a wind and it can make us comfortable or make it worse. We need to start appreciating life and start to enjoy it on a minute basis as it can change within a split of a second. Many at times we don’t even show gratitude to God for his protection over our lives. We tend to get used to the status quo that it is your right to wake up when you sleep or when you move the car, you will, by all means, come back home. Gratitude and appreciation should be a lifestyle for the gift of life. None of us is better than the ones we are mourning today but it’s just by the Grace of God that we are alive. It’s not by choice but by divine mandate of God that has kept us alive. Hence no one is guaranteed tomorrow. Therefore let’s love each other and support each in this cruel world that we are building for ourselves.

As for all those that were involved in this wicked and barbaric atrocity to such a promising young man, George V. Higgins says “This life’s hard, but it’s harder if you’re stupid.” Hence my prayer is that they have a change of heart and the law must deal with them accordingly.




As for Captain Mahama’s family, widow and children, I pray that God will keep them in this difficult and challenging moment of their lives. That God that divinely can wipe our tears and give us the spirit to overcome any psychological trauma like this keep the family especially the wife and children.

I will end by quoting Psalm 27:14 for the family of Captain Mahama which says; wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

May God keep all of us, protect and preserve us and make life worthwhile to live.