THE STATE OF NIMA AND THE ZONGO INSPIRATION TEAM

I am a Nima boy, and a proud one for that matter. I started my schooling in Nima. Tafsiliyya School for Training and Education is where I started my Islamic schooling. My secular education took off in St. Cecilia's Preparatory School where I completed as the head prefect. All through my education, I have never left Nima for more than a week save the Academic year 1996/ 1997 where I schooled at Golden Child School  in Nii Boi Town. Even with that, I still passed through Nima most times.

Since JHS, I have had a bone to pick with my grandfather. The bone of contention was about my nocturnal life. I always stay late into the night, seated at the various bases (what the English call "Stamping Grounds") in Nima. We still have that bone of contention although it has waned a bit now because I have lived to suffer for it.
I have sat at countless bases in Nima-Maamobi. Anyone who knows Nima should know the strange names of places within it as one of its peculiarities.
Notable among these are; Michigan, Since Morning, Callos Bridge, Kosovo, Nuriya, Mobo base, Salt Lake, Los Angeles, World Peace, Buza 11, West Side in Maamobi, Baakin Gutter, Bumper Side and  the various Majmaus spread across the length and breadth of Nima-Maamobi. There are numerous others that are nameless.

In my community work life, I have worked for some organizations, worked with some, partaken in programmes organized by some and formed and joined some to help build capacity in our seemingly-accursed community.  Worth mentioning are Hajj Yaro Memorial Clinic, Avert Youth Foundation, Elements of Change, Genuine Entity of True Opportunity, Zongo for Mahama, Since Morning, Ghana Muslim Academy, Forum for African Youth Alliance, Tafsas, Hopeline Institute, East Ayawaso Tertiary Students and Associates, Success Book Club, Initiative for Youth Development, One Ghana Production, Ghana Muslim Students Association etc.

I have organized guys for clean-ups, taught at various community-organized vacation classes, initiated and rolled out various community development programmes, joined my colleagues in cheering our football stars and debated immensely on various topics. I have also sat at places of iniquity in Nima. Places where the herb Cannabis sativa, locally known as “wee”, is smoked with impunity.   I have Joined boys at places where the street is blocked for gambling purposes just because someone has given birth through illicit sex. I have been to sanctimonious places with the Muslim clerics, scholarly places with the schooled in our community and ungodly places with our hoodlums.  I have also sat with our ladies, both those who know what they are about and those who are part of the flotsam and jetsam of the society. I narrate all this to show how deeply connected I am to issues in Nima.

In all these, I have observed one thing with my scientific eyes. There is no place on earth where the life of a young child is more threatened by his environment than Nima. It is baffling, yet serious to note, that the first thing a child may see  after waking up in Nima is someone smoking in the open, or solid waste  thrown behind his house, or a man in random motion overcoming his state of drunkenness. A child sees the streets blocked with the youth gambling and smoking simultaneously, and this is done nonchalantly with loud music goading them on, and sporadic fights with machetes and cutlasses, the order of the day.
 I have witnessed a young man’s throat slit on the Prince Al Waleed Highway; seen youth matching to an enemy camp wielding hunting sticks and guns. As for friends who suffered from cutlass wounds, I have many. I am a living testimony to how a group that rose up to ensure sanity in the community was heckled, hooted at and frustrated, with their chairman beaten beyond repairs with stones,  clubs etc.  Thank Allah they re-launched their activities yesterday, May 28^th, 2015 after a long silence.

This is just a scratch on the surface. There is a looming collapse of the community ahead if something is not done about it. Boys as young as below the age of 10 could be found along the street in the wee hours of the night, dancing to music and with girls of same age who are beginning to develop tomato-breasts on their chests. It is baffling to see a Nima boy going to school on a Monday morning. The lack lustre dressing alone is not enough. You will see him wearing football boots and holding a ball, dressed like a Soldier on a guerilla war path.

In recent times, i have followed our upcoming youth who want to cut their teeth in the music industry. I am a fan of Rudebwoy Ranking, D-Sheriff, Alkaboss, Multi Ross, Shiny Bwoy and X Blankson. I am even the PRO of Captan GH, who is a rising sensation. However, that does not mean we should turn our community into a Gangster’s paradise. Graffiti of various artistes’ names can be seen on virtually all the streets in Nima-Maamobi. These artistes have their well-entrenched followers who usually clash with rival camps in the full glare of the public. And when they organize their shows, weed begs for mercy from the wanton smoking of it in broad daylight. Their lyrics are inter-laced with obscenities and insults.

The problem is further compounded with the titular leaders we have (leaders only by title). There is a total disconnect between the various leaders and the community.  Our chiefs only remember their status during marriage ceremonies, funerals or during festival, when they come out parading the streets like the biblical triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. The Members of Parliament appear when there are programmes that will be used as a launch pad to further augment their chances of winning the next election.

It is in this vein that I support efforts by our schooled ones to change the tides and turn the tables. I fall head over heels in love with efforts to uplift humanity, efforts to make people live lives rather than merely living to death.

I don’t know the organizers. I don’t know the initiator. I only know two or three people who are propagating its message and a few more who wear its paraphernalia, yet I am for it. I am for it squarely with the strength of a lion.

It is the Zongo Inspiration Team that seeks to inspire our next generation to rise above the inefficiencies of their time to lofty heights of their desire. The maiden edition of their wonderful effort begun on the November 29 2014,  where they brought on board individuals who have distinguished themselves profoundly in their various fields of endeavours to inspire the youth in the community. It took place at the Deyoungsters International School.  The next one comes off on May 30, 2015 at the Nima- Maamobi Community Library.  

Let us all help change our community for the better. Let’s inspire the next generation. Let’s uplift our lost and battered image. Let’s transform our successors. Let’s join the organizers of this programme to champion the cause of humanity.

Our wise elders say, “If the frog in front falls in the pit, the others take caution." Our leaders have failed us, we speak about it. Let us not let our upcoming ones be victims of our criticisms. Let’s help make Ghana work again!

Mother Theresa drove home the point well. ““If every one of us would sweep their own doorstep, the whole world would be clean.” 

Inusah Mohammed

AN INTERLOCUTION WITH MAHMOUD JAJAH

Maazi Okoro: Salaam Alaykum

Mahmoud Jajah: Wa Alaykum Salaam

Maazi Okoro: I must confess that your website serves as a treasure of knowledge and ideas for me every day, massive write-up there. We need more!   

Mahmoud Jajah : Insha Allah this time I want to write more. At least every week. We need to lift our youth. We have a lot of work to do.  So in our own small ways, we've got to fire the youth up.

Maazi Okoro: Onerous task indeed.  I have never had the opportunity to ask   you this. What inspires you?

Mahmoud Jajah : Wow! Can I really answer that question?

Maazi Okoro : Yh

Mahmoud Jajah: I guess I was born to make some significant impact in my society. And to make the statement that no matter where u come from u can still achieve greatness! I have some huge dreams I want to achieve. I've not even started yet.

Maazi Okoro : Not started yet?

Mahmoud Jajah:  May be I'm just about starting out but I’m not sure I've started. I want every young boy or girl from the ghettoes and the slums to look at me and say “if this guy has done it, then I can also do it”! That’s all!

Maazi Okoro:  Massive! What inspires you to read and what inspires you to read more?

Mahmoud Jajah:  It's simple; ignorance can never defeat knowledge.  And u gain knowledge by reading. So the more u read, the more confident you become in your abilities. You become fearless. Because whenever u see fear, then it means someone didn't do his homework well. And long ago, I made a promise to become one of the most well informed people in the world. So I make sure that I read things that about 90% of the people will not read.  It makes me stay ahead always. And people respect u for your opinions on issues. So basically that is it.

Maazi Okoro: Massive! Have u ever had any fear?

Mahmoud Jajah:  I used to have fears until I started reading wide. I still have some fears, but not serious ones. But when it comes to big things, I'm fearless. I'm ready to make mistakes and to learn from my mistakes. I've studied how people have overcome their fears, and learned from that

Maazi Okoro:  Which particular fear have you ever had that it turned out not have materialized?

Mahmoud Jajah: I've to think about this. I'm sorry for now I can't think of one. May be later when I remember I will let u know. And that is one lesson I've learnt in life: if you don't know something or cannot remember something, please own up!

Maazi Okoro: How will you describe yourself in terms of profession?

Mahmoud Jajah:  In terms of profession I will say I'm an administrator because
of what I'm currently doing in Riyadh.
But my ambition in life is to become a BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN

Maazi Okoro: Any failures in life?

Mahmoud Jajah: I call them lessons...and I've made a lot. The biggest regret, unfortunately, is a personal one. I would like to keep it classified, for some reasons. I've not had any huge public failure in life...yet. But I know it's coming soon because of the size of what I'm planning to do next. But for now it's a personal failure. Perhaps another failure which I think it's ok to say is the fact that I couldn't go far with my Islamic education. I should have gone far but for some reasons I dropped out. But I'm coming back strongly, insha Allah.

Maazi Okoro: I love that! You formed how many organizations?

Mahmoud Jajah: I formed six organizations. Four non-profit. Two profit. Two are currently defunct. Three are currently active. One inactive. And In sha Allah I hope to establish more profit making organizations
Maazi Okoro: What are the names of the various organizations, the defunct, active and inactive one?

Mahmoud Jajah:  Active: Fortune Investment Club, Amanah Energy Limited. Inactive: AVERT Youth Foundation, Initiative for Youth Development
Defunct: Success Book Club, Mahlid Communications.

Maazi Okoro:  What do you see as the problem with the youth of Nima/Maamobi And for that matter Ghana as a whole?

Mahmoud Jajah: We have many problems and challenges. For the youth of Nima & Maamobi, our main problem is the fact that our community leaders over the years have failed to develop for us a comprehensive development program where young people will receive some form of mentoring and counselling about our career choices. Most of the youth who have gone wayward in Nima should not be entirely blamed. The light you see is the light you appreciate. If young people are raised in the kind of environment we have in Nima, then we will continue to get what we've been getting out of Nima.
Maazi Okoro:  That is an interesting perspective.
Mahmoud Jajah: Very few young people in Nima do have some form of direction because of a relative who has seen some bright light. Majority do not have that privilege. So the youth will do anything and everything to live. That is my view.
Maazi Okoro: By community leaders, who do you mean?
Mahmoud Jajah: All our duty bearers, but especially our Imams, Chiefs, and politicians (the MPs and the Assembly members). You can add youth leaders and parents as well.
Maazi Okoro: You wrote an article" If we are not careful, Nima and Maamobi will collapse" long before the current 'insanity' of youth making graffiti on our streets, fighting between well-entrenched groups with deep-seated enmity all clamouring for their various Dancehall artistes with specific reference to Ruddest Movement  and Platinum Minds  in Maamobi. Do you think Nima- Maamobi is beyond redemption now?
Mahmoud Jajah: I wrote in that piece "the inability of our leaders and duty bearers to address these issues facing the youth of these communities is troubling. Our leaders are yet to come together in any forum whatsoever to discuss how to address and tackle these challenges of our future leaders. The best that has been done is to talk about it, and nothing more. One would have expected that our chiefs and religious leaders especially, will take on these issues and begin to address them. For now, those of us concerned can only draw the attention of our duty bearers to act and act quickly before things get out of hands." Basically what it means is that unless you have an action plan and programme, things will continue to get worse. No civilized society anywhere in the world has been able to develop by accident. Development is a conscious process through planning. Currently we don’t have any plan in place. So I'm sorry things will only continue to get worse. http://mahmoudjajah.com/2014/05/24/if-we-are-not-careful-nima-maamobi-will-collapse/

Maazi Okoro: Are the educated ones also to be blamed?
Mahmoud Jajah: To a large extent, yes! To all intents and purposes, our society is yet to feel the impact and the benefits of our education. We've not transformed anything yet.
Maazi Okoro: Which personalities have influenced your life massively?
Mahmoud Jajah: I have a tall list because I pick lessons from quite a number of personalities. But first things first, there was a guy in Maamobi called Labaran Toure (who is now a PhD student in the UK). He opened my eyes. I got my first copy of  The Magic of Thinking Big from him when I was sweeping his room for him as far back as the year 2003.
Maazi Okoro: I will love to meet him.
Mahmoud Jajah: It was him who introduced me to that book that made me to review my life goals.  He owns Imlabs Communications Centre at Maamobi opposite Bama photocopies. He is like a blood brother to me. It was the book that made me develop confidence. So he has influenced my life. Another personality is Lawyer Buabeng Asamoah of the NPP. He is my boss. When i told him i wanted to become a lawyer one day, he told me to go out and read EVERYTHING that i come across! I will never forget that ever. I started developing the habit of reading since that time, in 2003/2004
Maazi Okoro: Okay! Anymore?
Mahmoud Jajah: I think the rest are most individuals that i have read about, or meet in my life.  So for now I will mention just the two. They where my springboard!
Maazi Okoro: Which books will you always mention?
Mahmoud Jajah: Aside the Noble Quran, I will mention the following books;

1.The Magic of Thinking Big
2. All books written by Robin Sharma
3. All books written by John C. Maxwell
4. All books written by Donald Trump
5. Bloomberg by Bloomberg written by the former billionaire mayor of NYC
6. The Snowball; biography of Warren Buffett:
The books are many but these ones will do for now.

Maazi Okoro : How do you feel when you put down a book after reading it?
Mahmoud Jajah:  It depends on the book. There are books that I read at least twice every year. Those books, I feel renewed each time i read them. Some make me feel disappointed because I have not practicalized the ideas from those books.
Maazi Okoro: Any example of such books?
Mahmoud Jajah:
1. The Magic of Thinking Big
2. Greatness Guide 1 & 2
3. Leadership Wisdom from the Monk who sold his Ferrari
4. The monk who sold his Ferrari
5. Rich Dad Poor Dad
6. Trump 101 by Donald Trump

You know the other authors that i didn’t mentioned above

Maazi Okoro:  What is your view on level of education among our students? Considering the Award winning article you wrote in 2009?                                                        
Mahmoud Jajah: I believe our youth are poorly educated, whether they've been to school or not. Even those with University qualifications are nothing to write home about. Education must make sense. In other words, it must transform you and your environment. If you are highly educated, and by that I mean if you have a university degree, and you still cannot find your way into the world, then it means there is a problem with your education. Most of our so-called educated youth cannot even fill a common passport form or a company registration form. I am not surprised that Ghana has been ranked lowest in the just released global educational index. Wait for my piece on that. What we receive in our schools which we call education is pathetic. I learn more outside the classroom than inside the classroom. Most of our youth only learn for exams. And you cannot be highly educated if your goal is to just pass an exams. So, all in all, we still have a long way to go. We need radical transformation and disruption of the status quo! From top to bottom!
Maazi Okoro: Thank you boss!

NB: Mahmoud Jajah is the Founder and the Executive Director of Initiative for Youth Development (IYD), an NGO that works with youth from deprived and marginalized communities in Ghana, the Founder & CEO of Amanah Energy Limited, a renewable energy start-up in Ghana, and currently working at the Ghana Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Born in Tema and raised in Maamobi (all in Accra), Mahmoud obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Management Studies from the Central University in Accra, and recently completed a Master of Science degree program in International Oil and Gas Management at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPLMP) at the University of Dundee, Scotland United Kingdom.

Mahmoud Jajah is the Founder and Co-Founder of at least five active youth groups including the AVERT Youth Foundation and Fortune Investment Club. In 2005, the British Council in Accra selected him as one of only two (the other being a female) young participants who represented Ghana at the Pan-African Youth Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. And in 2007, whilst at the university pursuing his first degree, he co-founded and became the publisher and editor of a student newspaper called “The Student Observer.”

In 2009, Mahmoud Jajah entered and won the first place prize, under the Entrepreneurship & Employment category of an international youth essay competition organized by the United States based Think Tank, the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).

Mahmoud Jajah is married to a very beautiful & intelligent lady called Maimuna Alhassan Dkeny. He likes reading, swimming, traveling and watching football.

Inusah Mohammed

The interviewer is a National Service Person with the Graphic Communications Group Limited.