When we were in school, girls especially who wore glasses, were assumed to be science-biased and were very intelligent, but I had one classmate at the Primary School. Lord God have mercy! Mansa Kalami? Chai! She wore glasses and looked very serious, but academically, puin! Were we surprised? She came to primary one and her first day happened to be on Friday. She was asked in English: “what is your name”. She responded: “Friday”. P1 Teacher repeated the question. Her answer was still ‘Friday’. I still wonder which hospital prescribed those glasses for her at that early age! Thank God it is Fridayyyyyyyyyy and we are not here to play but to play….hahahahahahaaaa! Take it easy. Even the longest serving Pharaoh Ramses II, after ruling for 66 years, took life seriously but he still ‘went’!

Have you ever been deceived that alcohol is an aphrodisiac? It’s a lie o. yoooo! The first and the last time I tried it, I could not even locate the entrance to the ‘palace of the queen’; I slept off and she vexed me!

Please hold on let me pick this call. ‘Hello, yes, can you please hold on let me finish this call?’ Hello, please speak up because there is background in the noise. Are you by a blue kiosk? Hahaaaaaaaaa! Loosen your shirt buttons let’s take it easy wae.

While distilleries and breweries are spending fortunes on advertising and marketing their beer and other soft drinks, have you ever seen akpeteshie being advertised anywhere? I stand to be corrected but I haven’t seen any yet. Is it because it is the undisputable chairman of all alcoholic drinks which is very quiet but dangerous in the bottle? I heard good chairmen don’t talk much so I am not surprised at apio. It is very transparent and corruption-free but let it enter your body and see what happens within seconds.

Having visited Alfred Store in Kisseman, and later having sold akpeteshie myself as a means of survival while growing up, I saw how boozemen used to warn akpeteshie anytime it was about to be gulped down: “remember there are other indigenes in there [stomach] before your visit. When you go, behave yourself’”. It is always very transparent and colourless in nature be it or adoka or sugar cane brand. Akpeteshie is naturally non-compliant and would do otherwise and make one go almost bonkers in seconds.

Did you know that until 1962, distillation and open drinking of akpeteshie was illegal in Ghana? It was banned in 1930.

I ever mentioned here that my first real experience was when I drunk some and was super excited but noticed serious changes in my body – instantly. When I move the right leg, the left one appears to be non-existent. Even the right leg became heavier than normal.

I was so happy saying things that made no meaning. Confessing sins that no one was interested in. Eish! Sodabi is a baaad boy! I learnt how to booze apio when my uncle, the famous Ganyaglo used to send me to buy him ‘quarter’. He would ask me to sip small and then he sipped the majority volume. After that he would ask that we should go and create chaos by provoking people who have not offended us. Surprisingly, those who we were hitherto not in good terms with, were the people we embraced and hugged in joy! What a double-edged liquid! When he staggers to the right while walking, I staggered to the left in similar fashion. Until recently I had not seen Ganyaglo for some years.

I got to know recently that he has gone back to the village and has moved on. Moved on to where ah, they say he has advanced from drinking akpeteshie. Now he is into full scale distillation of akpeteshie. When I got to know, I started looking for a place where I could faint safely because I know the effect is going to have on his liver and other related organs like the kidneys. This man is going to be in trouble now that he owns the production hub and the warehouse of the West African vodca.

But there is a problem. It is killing people.

A recent survey is making me more scared for the youth especially. From the surveyGhana is said to be facing a severe burden from non-communicable diseases which now account for nearly 45% of all deaths nationwide. Let my people in the village hear this o. hmmm!

Data from the country’s 2023 STEPS Survey, conducted with WHO support, indicates that 22.6% of Ghanaian adults are current drinkers, with the figure rising to 30.6% among men. Furthermore, the Mental Health Authority recorded 3,765 alcohol-related mental health disorders in 2023 alone.

VAST Ghana argues that aggressive marketing, digital sponsorships, and corporate normalisation by the alcohol industry continue to drive these numbers upward, leaving individual families and the national healthcare infrastructure to bear the economic and medical consequences. (source: myjoyonline.com July 13, 2026).

Even drinking alcohol is moderation is no longer safe as it had really not been medically proven that moderate consumption is good for one’s health. It is not true o, Peter. If you do not drink alcohol, there is no good reason to start it, not even in moderation.

With this development, is it time to handcuff apio? Asking for uncle Ganyaglo.

I heard in the whole Ghana with a population of about 33 million people, there are only two hepatobiliary (i.e. liver) specialists in liver surgery and transplants! If you don’t take care of your liver, whose liver should they transplant to you? Go ahead and be drinking the akpeteshie ‘by hat’ and add jot and other unprescribed medications! When diagnosed, that is when you would realize that every single second of good health is a lot of money and every single second of ill health could be alcohol-related! Go on drinking ‘bitters’ ‘by hat’ la! The studies that suggests we should ban adverts on alcoholic beverages is a good one but does that include akpeteshie because as far as I know, when it comes to adverts, akpeteshie is innocent!

Have a great weekend and remember alcohol may be killing you slowly than you can imagine. The annoying part is those who add jot! Don’t you like your body, ei Bra Tetteh?