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In Ghana, life comes with three guarantees: death, taxes, and the annual surprise that the sky has once again decided to release water.
Following the latest episode of this completely predictable “unexpected” rainfall, veteran highlife legend Rex Omar swapped his microphone for a broom and joined the opening day of the National Clean-up Exercise. His message to Ghanaians was refreshingly straightforward: it’s time to stop treating Accra like one giant outdoor rubbish bin.
The Nine-Day Wonder That Never Lasts
National campaigns in Ghana sometimes have the lifespan of a trending WhatsApp status. They appear with plenty of excitement, dominate conversations for a few days, and quietly disappear before the next weekend.
Rex Omar hopes this clean-up initiative avoids that familiar fate.
“I believe this shouldn’t be a nine-day wonder,” he said, which loosely translates to, “Please don’t spend two days posing with brooms only to resume launching sachet wrappers out of trotro windows by Monday.”
For him, sanitation should become second nature. Whether communities clean every Saturday or on the last Friday of each month, the important thing is consistency. After all, rubbish has never been known to take weekends off.
If the President Can Sweep, What’s Your Excuse?
One of the biggest reasons Rex showed up with broom in hand was seeing President John Dramani Mahama leading by example.
His thinking was simple. If the President is prepared to spend part of his day sweeping streets and clearing rubbish, the average citizen has very little justification for staying home to provide expert commentary from the comfort of the sofa.
Leadership, after all, is easier to respect when it comes with rolled-up sleeves instead of neatly pressed speeches.
Floodwaters Are the Great Equalizer
Rex also offered a timely reminder that nature has no interest in social class.
For years, people have built homes on waterways and treated gutters as convenient storage facilities for plastic waste, apparently hoping the rubbish would magically disappear into another universe.
Sadly, physics has refused to cooperate.
Instead, the garbage patiently waits for the rains, blocks the drains, and transforms entire neighbourhoods into temporary waterfront properties.
Even those living in exclusive estates with elegant names like Heights, Gardens, or Hills are not immune.
“There are so many people who have built houses in very expensive areas, and yet they’ve been affected by the floods,” Rex observed.
Floodwater, it turns out, is wonderfully impartial. It does not inspect your property value, admire your imported tiles, or ask whether your sofa came from Italy. Once the drains are blocked, everyone receives the same complimentary indoor swimming experience.
Enough Appeals. Time for Enforcement
While many public figures continue to plead with citizens to “do the right thing,” Rex appears convinced that good manners alone are unlikely to rescue the nation’s drains.
“The most important thing is that there must be enforcement,” he insisted.
It is a fair point. Public education is essential, but few things sharpen environmental awareness quite like the possibility of a hefty fine or an uncomfortable afternoon before a magistrate. If traffic laws deserve enforcement, surely dumping rubbish into storm drains should attract consequences too.
One More Wake-Up Call
Rex Omar hopes the latest floods become more than another viral news cycle. He wants them to serve as a lasting reminder that sanitation is not a seasonal activity reserved for the aftermath of disasters.
Whether that lesson sticks remains to be seen.
One thing is certain, though. If Ghanaians continue treating drains like oversized rubbish bins, next rainy season’s morning commute may require less fuel and considerably stronger swimming skills.
Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but in Accra, it also happens to be one of the best flood prevention strategies money cannot buy.
