Respecting time is not a Western culture—it is a sign of discipline, responsibility and respect for others.
By Apostle Michael Asabere (The Only Living Saint)
Moment of Wisdom GH TV
For generations, lateness to social gatherings, meetings and public programmes has been jokingly described as “African Time.” We laugh about it, plan around it and sometimes deliberately announce an event several hours earlier than the actual intended starting time.
But perhaps the time has come to stop laughing and ask a serious question:
What is this culture of lateness costing us?
Imagine organising a wedding ceremony to begin at 1:00 p.m., but printing 10:00 a.m. on the invitation simply because you believe guests will arrive late.
At first, it may sound like a clever solution.
In reality, however, we may be teaching people not to believe us when we give them a time.
When 10:00 AM Doesn’t Really Mean 10:00 AM
When people repeatedly attend programmes that begin two or three hours after the advertised time, they eventually adjust their behaviour.
An invitation may say 10:00 a.m., but experienced guests know that nothing serious will happen at ten.
So they arrive at noon.
Organisers, anticipating this behaviour, announce an even earlier starting time.
Guests then arrive even later because they know the organisers have deliberately changed the time.
And the cycle continues.
Eventually, nobody trusts the clock anymore.
This is how a culture of lateness becomes self-perpetuating.
Why Punish People Who Respect Time?
There is something fundamentally unfair about asking punctual people to wait for those who choose to arrive late.
Suppose a programme is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and only 20 people are present at that time.
Why shouldn’t the programme begin with those 20?
Those people respected the invitation.
They planned their activities.
They arranged transportation.
They sacrificed something else to be there on time.
Starting the programme on time tells them:
“We value your time.”
Waiting another two hours for latecomers sends exactly the opposite message.
Perhaps if programmes consistently started at the advertised time, people would gradually learn that arriving late means missing part of the programme.
That is how behaviour changes.
The “Important Guest” Problem
Another habit we must reconsider is delaying entire programmes because an important personality has not arrived.
Sometimes hundreds of people are seated and ready, yet everything is placed on hold because a politician, chief, pastor, CEO, celebrity or other special guest is still on the way.
But who decided that the time of one important person is more valuable than the combined time of hundreds of ordinary people?
Leadership should come with greater respect for time, not greater permission to waste it.
An important person who arrives punctually sends a powerful message about discipline.
Status should never become an excuse for lateness.
This Is Bigger Than Weddings
The problem does not end with weddings.
It happens at funerals.
It happens in churches.
It happens at political programmes.
It happens at conferences and seminars.
It happens at association meetings.
It happens at school functions.
It happens in business.
When a meeting scheduled for 9:00 a.m. routinely starts at 10:30 or 11:00, we may think we have lost only an hour or two.
Multiply those wasted hours by hundreds of people, thousands of events and millions of citizens, and the economic and social cost becomes enormous.
A country cannot seriously talk about productivity, efficiency and development while treating time casually.
Time Is One Resource Nobody Can Replace
Money can be lost and earned again.
A damaged car can be repaired.
A house can be rebuilt.
A lost possession can sometimes be replaced.
But nobody can recover yesterday’s time.
Every person receives 24 hours in a day.
Whether you are a president or a cleaner, a billionaire or an unemployed graduate, the clock gives you the same 24 hours.
Therefore, when you unnecessarily waste another person’s time, you are taking something from that person that you can never return.
That is why punctuality should be understood as more than good manners.
Punctuality is respect.
There Is Nothing African About Lateness
We should also challenge the expression “African Time.”
Why should indiscipline be attached to our identity?
Africans are capable of punctuality when circumstances demand it.
We arrive at airports before international flights.
We report for important examinations on time.
We watch football matches at the scheduled kickoff.
We attend embassy appointments according to strict schedules.
So clearly, Africans are capable of respecting time.
The problem is not our DNA.
It is a habit—and habits can change.
Africa deserves a culture where 10:00 a.m. means 10:00 a.m.
Let the Change Start Somewhere
Changing this culture does not require a government policy.
It can begin with our next wedding.
Our next funeral.
Our next church programme.
Our next business meeting.
Our next family gathering.
If an event starts at 1:00 p.m., advertise 1:00 p.m.
Prepare before 1:00 p.m.
Arrive before 1:00 p.m.
And at 1:00 p.m., start.
If only 20 people are present, respect those 20 and begin.
The latecomers will eventually learn.
We should stop adjusting the clock to accommodate lateness and start adjusting our behaviour to respect the clock.
Africa’s development will require many things—better infrastructure, stronger institutions, education, investment and technology.
But development also requires something that costs absolutely nothing:
DISCIPLINE.
And one of the simplest demonstrations of discipline is keeping time.
Let us gradually retire the excuse called “African Time.”
Let us replace it with African punctuality, African discipline and African excellence.
Because when we respect time, we respect one another.
And ultimately:
⏰ RESPECT FOR TIME IS RESPECT FOR LIFE.
Moment of Wisdom GH TV
Moment of Wisdom; Time for Wisdom.
By Apostle Michael Asabere (The Only Living Saint)
#MomentOfWisdom #AfricanTime #TimeManagement #Punctuality #AfricanExcellence #Discipline #Ghana #Africa #TheOnlyLivingSaint
