I have juju. Yes I do. I confess. It’s a hard thing to say but I can’t help it. I just have to spill beans. I’ve to let the cat (maybe this black one for that matter) out of the bag. It’s been a hard decision to take. All the same, I don’t regret telling you the truth today.
I have this voodoo I use to influence imaginations; both during the day and night; sometimes even dawn. I use it to my benefit; our mutual benefit. A lot of people have heard rumors of it. A few others know of it and… you are having a feel of it now. Others have it, too, yet choose to misuse it; to the disadvantage of others. I choose to use it my voodoo well.
Daily rituals I perform to sustain my juju’s potency. Mind you, my sacred power has an uncanny blue blood; possessive, imaginative and revealing. It wants me to touch it every day; unending rituals of rituals. Whew! My name it keeps on screaming at night!
I don’t regret having this voodoo in my cupboard; its eerie place of abode. I am not ashamed of it. I celebrate it. After all, I hear Achebe had it, too. Oh! Ama Ata Aidoo still has hers! A lot more others have it, too. I, unlike a few others, prefer to boast about this sacred power in public, instead of in secret. I enjoy its midnight calls, dawn screams and how it possesses me. Yes, how it possesses me!
I have been using mine for ages. I revere it because you kowtow to it. I kowtow to it because you are very afraid of it. Very! I preferably use mine for good and not evil; so after all it’s good juju. I use it to change thoughts. I use to inspire. I use it to whet your desire.
I thank whoever initiated me into this wherever they may be. It’s definitely one I couldn’t have done without. Thanks to my shrine. Thanks to my voodoo. The masses who have benefitted from my juju are uncountable; even you.
I prefer to build my society with it. I prefer to build Ghana with my voodoo! I know you’ve yours, too. In my juju is my strength. Call me the juju man because in it is my divine calling. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel because of the illumination it tends to exude. GH has a present and future!
Let me tell you what my juju is. Though it can speak, it does so in silence but with a resounding voice. Yes it does! Though it can see, it does so better when in the dark. Gotten it? OK. Let me tease you more. My voodoo speaks the little things of life; yet very deep. Its voice is heard on the streets each morning; striving to compare the perfect picture of the society and what it has chosen to be in reality.
Tell you what, I can’t imagine our society without it. I have juju and I don’t know why I shouldn’t have had it. Our world can’t do without it. My world would have sublimed into extinction without it. I worship the power of my sacred voodoo and I’m glad I do; every day.
My voodoo is my ink; the power of a writer!
I know you’ve juju, too; that ability to sing, think, dance or do whatever. You have power inside of you; a great deal of power. Don’t disregard it. Don’t take your juju lightly! It can do more than just sitting inside of you. You can make fortunes with it, use it to our benefit and above all, you can make a world of impact on Ghana with yours. Don’t let your juju go waste!
Identify yours. Groom it. Polish it. Your juju might seem powerless to you until you’ve put it to the kind of use it was made for. It all depends on whether you would take advantage of its potency or not.
Don’t think that you can just sing, or just dance or just rap. Whichever creativity buried inside of you should be exhumed and explored before you die. You shouldn’t die with it. Don’t die with your juju! The world thirsts for it. The world begs for its influence. The world hungers for your voodoo! You can do more with your juju. Choose to live it; not sleep it. Choose to use it.
Don’t be a celebrant of other’s juju when yours snore untapped. Don’t celebrate me when you haven’t celebrated yourself well enough. Everyone has juju; that talent that makes our society a better place to live in.
A more potent juju of yours; a better Ghana we’ll all have. I dare you to embark on your spiritual journey of juju exploration, if you haven’t. You can do more than celebrating others only. You can (and should) celebrate yourself, too. After all, I have juju… and you do, too. Off to my shrine; ritual time!
By Kobina Ansah
The writer is a playwright and the Chief Scribe of Scribe Communications (www.scribecommltd.com), an Accra-based writing company.