An observer's commentary: A postscript to my poem

What did he - Nana - go to do, again? What is it that all Ghanaians know without saying? And who is this they know without having to call by name? Aside from being known for our hospitality, we are also known to be that distant judge of character - fairly or unfairly, on the part of the judged. And for us to see what we all see, it has to have been emblazoned on the forehead. Ghanaians will tell you it is not everything we say. One may attempt to insult or provoke us, but we remain even-keeled, knowing we have bigger fish to fry. There is no miscommunication. So what is this particular word, that we are SO NICE to say out LOUD? With all due respect, I cannot tell you. What does one call another who appears to be so clueless or so out of touch? No ... to some of our brothers next door, it is not cowardice. No. We seek to preserve the integrity of even that one amongst us who may, at some moment in time, have some human failing. In such a situation, one's dignity might just be saved. But we do know such a person has some work to do. And you might ask, but at what cost? Don't worry, we are not all the same. We have our, excuse me, our 'Mensahs', too. They are not too hard to find if one looks closely. Look across our subcontinent. And if time and luxury allow, look back in time at our collective history. Our 'Mensah' leaders have failed us time and again. Talking about those leaders, we know their history. They failed us, time and again, sorely. But looking back, we have also had those who did their part - the Kwame Nkrumahs, the Patrice Lumumbas, the Nelson Mandelas, the Yaa Asantewaas, the Léopold Senghors, and the list goes on. The illustrious sons and oft-uncelebrated mothers of Africa. And today, we have some who may not be perfect as their predecessors but are lifting up their nations and their people. Where are they? Let them stand and be counted. For those of us in Ghana, can we afford our protagonist? We thought he had the discernment and the fortitude, having promised to be better than the previous administration. Yeah ... yeah; they all tell us that, you might say. But after all, he had that international legal standing and that pedigree of educational excellence, we told ourselves. His immediate party predecessor undoubtedly took us in the right direction. So, why expect any less of him, being an aide-de-camp of the broadly successful predecessor. During his administration, we have seen continued growth of the private sector, albeit at a slower pace compared to the average during the preceding decade. Amidst all that are the sparse inroads made concerning the extension of infrastructure, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic brought under control, aided by a little stroke of luck shining down from above on us. So, what did he do? He started off with this overly bloated government, with no justification for its size. We all were surprised and did wonder. But he was offered the benefit of the doubt, thinking there might be something he knew that we did not know. What did he do with that? He introduced a litany of inept policies and programs that had adversely impacted the social and economic well-being of the country in various ways. The knock-on effects of his sub-optimal stewardship, among others, include rapidly deteriorating fiscal balances, worsening external financial balance, and consequent depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi. In the midst of all that is a struggling healthcare system, a widening of the social and economic gap among the citizenry, entrenching of the culture of corruption as well as the heavy human and property losses from poor or non-existent sanitation and drainage systems, the wanton destruction of the environment and pollution of our rivers. And, shall we add the rising cost of living, which, he says, is primarily attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war? The Ghanaian economy is presently going through difficult times marked by, among others, woefully inadequate public funding for social services, health, and education - the latter, in particular, with students in the boarding school system surviving on poor-quality meals. The current state of the economy notwithstanding, it is inhumane to subject students in government-assisted boarding high schools to such treatment in the 21st century. Can there be any reasonable grounds for our noble leader to spend our limited fiscal revenues on a trip to receive his personal Docteur Honoris Causa award? A bulk of the citizenry disagrees, given the rapidly deteriorating public finances that had necessitated the government's rush to the IMF for financial bailout to address the burgeoning imbalances in the country's fiscal and external finances. A 6-day working visit in the guise of just what. We will second-guess, and that is not just a matter of optics. Shall I ask again, of what value is this personal award to the average Ghanaian whose tax payments funded your travel to receive this Docteur Honoris Causa award? Did you need another degree from our European colonizers when our sons and daughters have limited or no prospects of receiving theirs? Can anyone tell us what we are celebrating? Aah ... you have made the dumb speak, as is said at home. That reference, however, does not indicate a literal sense of any degree of weakness but the anticipation of the full use of a form of language as well as the readiness that comes with being equipped with facts. But that is still far from enough to celebrate anything. Now is the moment for collective introspection, dear Ghana. Why and how did we get to this situation of apparent stagnation, if not retrogression? A quick disclaimer: this in no way absolves the so-called 'opposition' of their past failings, either. We are, once again, required to fill in the blanks through candid and apolitical introspection for our future survival as a country, and for our relevance in the comity of nations.