Ugly Noises!

Ever thought deeply about the words 'noise' and 'sound'? The two words are taken to be synonymous, but there are important differences in meaning between the two, albeit subtly.

If you are singing, you may like the sound of your voice even if you have a discordant voice or sing out of tune. To you, the discordant tune could pass for the most harmonious tune in the world. You bask in that delusion until you attend a musical talent show like 'Mentor', where the judges point to you that the sound of your voice could not be any better than the croaking of a frog. Only there and then will you realize that you have all along been deluding yourself.

On the other hand, if someone sings a melodious tune which is far better than yours, you may complain bitterly about the noise the person is making because you do not like the tune. You will swear by the high Heavens that the melodious tune is nothing but pure noise to your ears. You are only compelled to change the erroneous impression when the Mentor judges, who likened your voice to that of the frog, say the person's voice sounds tuneful to the ear.

Noise is mostly used to mean unwelcome or unpleasant sounds. Noise is very relative. What sounds as noise to one, may sound very pleasant to another. But one thing is clear; the deaf cannot distinguish between the two. Whether pleasant sound or otherwise, the value is the same to the deaf.

It is therefore a great wonder when a deaf person comes telling his compatriots he could hear others making ugly noises. It is indeed a feat very fit for the Guinness Book of Records.

It is no secret that our President hears no evil. The call by his compatriots that most of his appointees are milking the country dry has fallen on deaf ears. The amateurish leadership style of his appointees, which has attracted criticisms from all sections of the society, has also gone unheeded.

It was therefore a big surprise when we heard him complain about 'ugly noises' at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters because we all know he has serious hearing impairment. Perhaps, he has now been cured by the powerful 'Joshua Water' from the bearded Nigerian Pastor.

I'm sure you heard what the President said when he met Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in New York recently. In case you did not hear, this is what he said: 'I will not allow Asomdwekrom to burn under my watch and want the UN to support me. I know that you are hearing some ugly noises, but those noises will not be allowed to see the light of day.'

What he meant by 'ugly noises' is still a mystery to me and most of my compatriots. But it is very clear that what he told Mr. Ban Ki-Moon could not be any better than the so-called ugly noises he referred to.

Abusuapanin, please read the following quote from the President's speech and tell me if it is not ugly noise: 'God forbid that Asomdwekrom will be destroyed under my watch! I can assure that in as much as we are confident that we will gain the confidence of Asomdwekromanians to have another term, we will also make sure that all those who want to destroy our peace and stability are dealt with decisively.'

Maybe my ears were deceiving me or my thick skull could not understand simple grammar. What did the President mean by 'in as much as we are confident that we will gain the confidence of Asomdwekromanians to have another term'? Is he saying he will do otherwise if he realizes that he and his party have lost the confidence of Asomdwekromanians to have another term?

As mentioned earlier, noise is relative. What sounds like ugly noise to his ears might sound very melodious to another. Nana Addo's 'all die be die' theory might sound very unpleasant to the President and his cohort, but it is certainly a very pleasant and inspirational call to many others.

Indeed, when Ivorians called on Gbagbo to clean the Ivorian electoral register, he thought they were making ugly noise. When he lost the elections and was impressed upon by his compatriots and the world at large to hand over power peacefully, it sounded like ugly noise to his ears. Now that he has been compelled to surrender power and is being tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Hague, it is more than obvious that the pleasantness of those tunes have finally dawned on him.

Time and again, I've heard my compatriots say Asomdwekromanians are a peace-loving people. That is true to an extent. If we weren't, we wouldn't have tolerated despots like Dr. Boom.

But I'm of the conviction that we are overplaying that card. Are my compatriots saying the Kenyans, the Ivorians and the others are not a peace-loving people? I don't think so. Their countries were once as peaceful as ours. It only took the foolhardiness of some of their leaders to plunge their countries into the abyss. That is our caution to Agya Ofuntuo!

The President can continue deluding himself into believing that the call on the security forces to be neutral in all their dealings is an unpleasant noise. He can continue to fool himself that he has the power to quash the anger of the masses. But if he is wise, he will realize that those who gave him power are the very people who can take it away from him. But hey, what I'm saying is ugly noise, isn't it?

Just as Yesu Kristo prayed on the cross for those who persecuted him, so I urge my compatriots to pray for Agya Ofuntuo because he has serious hearing impairment and cannot differentiate between pleasant noise and ugly noise. They should forgive him for he does not know what he is doing!