Our lives in their hands

I apologise to those readers who might have been in the audience when I gave a talk to the Ghana Institute of Engineers at the institute’s offices at Roman Ridge in Accra some years ago. I don’t recall if I had a written speech but I do remember clearly what I told them; I took them through my day until I got to their function and it is the same story I am telling today.

My day starts when my radio comes on at about 5a.m. It means I wake up needing to say thank you to an engineer. The journalists and programme makers might be the best there are, but for the engineering feat of the radio and how the words and sounds are transmitted, I would not get that obligatory early morning radio wake-up fix.

When I stir and go to the bathroom, it is to the WC and another engineering feat. Then I approach the washbasin and turn on the tap to brush my teeth and wash my mouth, after which I move to the shower cubicle and have a shower, warm or cold depending on the weather. Every st