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Originally written on June 8, 2005 
Big dreams - Sometimes I try to make them true ...Sounds on da ground and seens on the see-ins
I have always had great ambition, big dreams and difficult goals I set for myself. Maybe it stems from the heights people around me have reached or the joy that comes with accomplishment. These traits could have been embedded in my personality because of the environment I grew up in and other situations I found myself in. So when I heard the 'lyrics' of Wutah's 'Big dreams' the other day, I wondered if other people who may not have been academically, socially and financially fortunate like me also had 'big dreams'. If they did, how did they realise them?
Wutah is a Ghanaian music group whose genre of music is classified as hiplife but could very much be R&B. They were discovered through NESCAFE's African revelations contest where upcoming pop artistes battled against each other to fame. They ended up being second in the Ghana competition to Praye and have been as successful as their counterparts. Most of the songs have an R&B feel with rap verses but 'Big dreams' is a reggae song that also scopped Ghana's best reggae song for 2005 after Wutah garnered an unprecedented 11 nominations in the Ghana Music Awards. 'Big dreams' even made it all the way to the Jamaican airwaves, the home of Reggae music.
Wutah is a Hausa word for fire. In Wutah's 'Big dreams', they have humble beginnings and we get this vibe that they are poor and pretty much are living from hand to mouth. They do what most Ghanaians would do these days; pray to God and look for manna to fall from heaven. Yes, because Jah Jah won't let them down. At least, they have good conscience not to commit crimes in order to make a living like many young armed robbers are doing these days.
So I wonder, are our youth dreaming big dreams today? Are they hoping and working to leave their situations of poverty and mediocrity into those of excellence and comfort? Judging from what I have seen in Ghana over the past couple of years, a good section of young Ghanaians are, but we don't have enough of it to make a visible difference in our communities and societies. Very few people have the ambitions that would propel them to be better than 'smart students with little to offer their neighbourhoods' or the right mindset to join up with others who are equipped to fulfill big dreams.
I believe that the big dreams we have for our people should be more than poverty alleviation and providing food on the table, but wealth creation and equipping them to provide food for their stomachs on a sustainable and long-term basis. It seems the big dreams many young Ghanaians have these days is to leave their homeland for 'greener' pastures in North America, Europe and wherever else they seem plausible. The problem is fulfilling these big dreams and getting to their destinations do not serve to help anybody due to the miniscule ambition they have - to find some work, make some money, live well, send money back home, etc. If their big dreams were to get a good education, a great job, skillsets that would allow them to be better community members and individuals, then we would be making these big dreams 'true' and 'visible'.
Wutah has had big dreams of being successful musicians in Ghana and with some consistency, they would achieve it. They have said they wrote this song about 7 years ago and I wonder what their situations were then. Like many youth, they are discouraged with the lack of job opportunities, corruption and lack of support for youthful ambition. We cannot lose our ambition and our visions, we must press on and work hard to achieve these goals. The best way to predict the future is to create it and the best way to realise dreams is to live them out till we see them come true. The GhanaThink Foundation and the youth of Ghana have their big dreams as well and we should use the resources we have within and around us to see them into fruition. Apparently, with the success of their debut 'Anamontuo' album, they are living a little better but they must not be content with their present levels. They could break into the international limelight and their big dreams would yield big dividends.