When I finally decided to settle down,
nothing was going to stand in my way”. That was what he told me a few days
after his traditional wedding.
That Saturday morning was my cousin
Kwabena’s big day: his traditional marriage to the love of his life.
When Kwabena informed our family of his
intentions to settle down, most of us had doubts and reservations but held on
to faith and a little hope that it would be. To our family, this was by no
means mere achievement. One will only understand this well when they have a
close relative who is still single at 40-something years of age and finally
decides to settle. Not to talk of the long, winding road he had to travel to
come this far amidst disappointment and heartbreaks.
As I was years ahead of him in the
department of marriage, the Christmas period afforded us some time to spend
together planning towards the day and by February, plans were far advanced and
nothing was going to change, at least, so we thought.
A Dawn Reality
As the Coronavirus pandemic attained a
tsunami level and threatened many lives and economies, Ghana was not spared its
brunt as the very first case was recorded on 12th March 2020.
Social Distancing
With Kwabena’s engagement date
approaching, it became apparent that we were in for a gloomy journey as the
nation and indeed, the entire globe had begun feeling the impact on different
scales.
The reality however sunk in well when
the President of the Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo announced the New Public
Gathering Advisories on 15th March 2020. Among the list was for Ghanaians to
practice social distancing, but a determined Kwabena was not perturbed by the
new measures and remained focused on his plans towards his big day.
His first strategy was to trim down the
guest list from an initial 300 to 25 in accordance with the social distancing
guidelines. A task that would become a daunting one as it was difficult
choosing from a list of equally important guests. This meant having to brace
himself to make enemies in the process.
His next move was to cancel or trim down
some orders and bookings to reflect the new guest list and make corresponding
calls to inform some initially invited guest that they could not make it to the
final 25 - the most difficult calls he would probably make his life.
Partial Lockdown
……“So, effective 1am on Monday, 30th
March, some forty-eight hours from now, I have imposed, pursuant to the powers
granted the President of the Republic, under the Imposition of Restrictions
Act, 2020 (Act 1012), restrictions on movement of persons in the Greater Accra
Metropolitan Area (GAMA, which includes Awutu Senya East), and the Greater
Kumasi Metropolitan Area and contiguous districts, for a period of two (2)
weeks, subject to review”. These were the very words of H.E the President on
Friday 27th March that brought businesses and lives to a standstill. A
broadcast made around 11:00pm, barely ten (10) hours to Kwabena’s big day. What
was he to do?
Against all odds
The first thing I did when I woke up the
morning of Saturday 28th March 2020, around 5am, was to call him to ask if
anything had changed. This call was necessary because President Nana
Akuffo-Addo had announced a partial lockdown of the two major cities in Ghana:
Accra and Kumasi on the night of Kwabena’s marriage to the only woman who had
managed to pin him down.
I could sense the frustration in his
voice as he told me they were making a few last-minute adjustments due to the
lockdown. These calls were to inform the privileged few invitees that the
starting time had been moved to two hours early. This was to make enough time
available after the event for guests from Kumasi and especially those from
Accra to be able to travel back home before the lockdown took effect.
All goes down in Asante Mampong
Mampong, the hometown of Kwabena’s bride
is also the hometown of renowned highlife musician, Akwasi
Ampofo Agyei (late). The town with rich Ashanti history and culture usually
buzzing and always attempts to blow away the cobwebs, but this time, residents
had only gathered to discuss and debate the impact of the lockdown.
The typical pomp and pageantry that
would greet any couple and visitors arriving in town for a marriage ceremony
was missing, but Kwabena had endured even harsher situations than that. The
solemn traditional rites were successful and duly performed without any drama
or hindrance.
After all the frustrations and
uncertainties, Mr. and Mrs. Obom have eventually begun their marriage life, and
even though in a partial lockdown, Kwabena is with the love of his life and
says, though the future is uncertain, the immediate one is not any better as he
does not know when they can step out to enjoy their new life and status.
SANDRA AFRIYIE
NARTEY
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