Commentary, News

Drowning In The Floods

The perennial floods in the country give serious indication that there is something wrong with our physical development planning. Our attitude as a people is another issue, when it comes to waste disposal. It makes one to wonder, if this is the country of our first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah dreamt of when we attained independence 68 years ago. Our situation is such that when the rains have come and flooding occurs, Ghanaians act like it’s the first flood since Noah. Streets turn to rivers; homes sink beneath brown waters and lots of property are washed away in addition to the loss of precious lives. Citizens cry and start the blame game, but rarely do we learn from our past. And the question lingers: who is responsible? Citizens again are quick at blaming the government for poor drainage, failed enforcement of the law and empty promises on how to tackle the issue going forward. But what of the citizens who build in waterways, who choke gutters with waste and wait until the water rises to remember it flows and we all do nothing until disaster comes knocking? What of the local assemblies who look the other way; the institutions that prioritize paper over people and ceremonies over infrastructure, the educators who teach compliance but not conscience? And where is faith in all of this? Even religion, which is meant to be a bridge between man and meaning seems more focused on rituals than renewal. Sanctuaries overflow yet our spirits stay low. One can talk of prophets, priests, and prayer lines, but we do not see any clear path to confront the situation. Our altars echo with hope but not with instruction. Spirituality has become a shelter from responsibility instead of a force that calls us to it. We are drowning not just in floodwaters but in neglect, ignorance, and moral inertia. Can we say our schools are really training students to be change agents? And all the while, we wait for someone else to save us. We wait for a superhero, for divine intervention, for a miracle but the FLOOD rises and still we don’t move.

“I’m drowning” is no longer just about rain. It’s about a generation lost in the storm of its own making. A person who saw the signs but turned away. A society where the spiritual is disconnected from the practical and the sacred has grown silent in the face of decay. We’ve mistaken survival for success. We’ve turned waiting into worship. We’ve forgotten that flooding doesn’t begin when the rain falls. It begins when we ignore the cracks; when we abandon wisdom and when we stop building bridges that actually hold. It’s time to stop looking for saviours and start becoming stewards of our lands, our lives and our legacies. Because the waters are rising. And this time, no one is coming to save us.

Written By: Alice Frimpong Sarkodie, Director of Noble Heights School in Accra and Executive Secretary, Women’s League Platform.