I spent a lot of time the other night thinking about the things that divide us as a people.  For Ghanaians, it's not race, it's not gender, it's not religion or complexion or age or sexual orientation. It's politics.

We are all living in a country where people die for no other reason than a lack of hospital beds, but we fight each other over it because of politics. The cedi is losing equal value in all our pockets every day, but we manage to disagree over it because of politics.

The rain comes and washes away our loved ones regardless of which party they supported, but, instead of seeking solutions  together, we are still arguing about it, because of politics. When the Cancer-spiked galamsey water is piped into our homes, we drink it in NDC houses as well as NPP houses, yet, here we are, yelling at each other and losing our voices over it, all because of Politics. 

This is against the natural order of things, because if anything should bring us together, it is our challenges. If there are any positive by-products to be gained from hardship, they are experience, creativity and unity.

One day, a flock of doves were flying around in search of food. One of them spotted some crumbs on the ground and eagerly flew down to peck at them. All the other doves followed suit and settled down to enjoy the unexpected free lunch. Suddenly, the hunter popped out from behind a bush and threw a net over the unsuspecting birds. 

Stunned by the ambush, the birds froze for a moment. Then they noticed the hunter had picked up a great big menacing-looking stick to club them to death with. Immediately, they started to panic, hopping around, chirping in a frenzy, each one moving in a different direction, all the while, getting themselves more and more tangled in the net. 

Suddenly, the smallest bird in the middle of the flock screamed at the top of his voice, "STOP!"

All the birds froze. The little bird continued. "Friends, who are we?"

They all chirped in unison, "We are doves".

"And what do we do best?"

"We fly", the bevy chorused.

At this point, the hunter and his club were metres away, and an ugly death was imminent for them all. With steel in his voice, the little bird declared: "On the count of three, let's each of us do what we do best. One. Two. Three. Fly!" 

And with one accord, the little birds flapped their wings and moved in one direction: upwards. The hunter could do nothing but stare in bewilderment as the birds and his net flew off over the mountains, never to be seen again.

My people, there are so many lessons to be learnt from this story:

1. There's no such thing as a free lunch

2. Even when you're having fun, always keep your wits about you

3. Panic must not be your first reaction. In fact, panic is NEVER the correct reaction under any circumstances

4. Unique problems require unique solutions, so think outside the box

5. Sometimes the best ideas can come from the youngest of us

6. Nothing unites a group better than shared hardships

My fellow Ghanaians, our national problems affect us all, but as long as we keep moving in different directions, we will only get ourselves more and more entangled, and the only thing we will achieve is chaos. Let's each of us put in our strength, our talent, our experience and our creativity into solving the many problems that threaten to trap us in terminal crises. But for the love of God, let's put aside the politics, and let's point our best efforts in one direction: upwards. 

My name is Kojo Yankson, and we're all in this net together. So on the count of three, let's do what we do best, and fly.

GOOD MORNING, GHANAFO!