Enough of the trash - Ghana deserves better!

I am writing this article out of frustration with ongoing events in Ghana - a country that boastfully counts itself as the first country south of the Sahara to attain independence. Current events show that our generation is not aware of the enormous responsibility we owe to the next. Hence our stock-in-trade now is insults, political intolerance, pursuit of trivialities and attempts at re-writing history.
Two events this week have led me to this conclusion: the apparent re-naming of the Jubilee House and the claim by Bernard Mornah that Mr William Ofori Attah did nothing towards Ghana’s independence. I know this is mischief making. Anyone who has read historical accounts of Ghana’s struggle for independence would disagree with him. There were several unsung heroes and heroines. Listening to Mr Mornah’s interview on Peace FM lunch time news today (07/10/10) caused me to utter under my breath: ‘you ungrateful generation’. Why should our preoccupation be what somebody did or did not do in the past generation rather than what we ought to bequeath to the next generation? What benefits would rewriting history do for our future if not only perpetuating old battles that have not served us well as a nation?
Perhaps some of Mr Mornah’s ilk sees nation building as some child play where tricks have to be employed to gain one over the opponent. Surely historical events ought to be analysed to guide us in our future conduct but denigrating the dead, who cannot speak for themselves, is un-Ghanaian whatever your political leaning. If anyone wants my candid opinion, our generation’s contribution to Ghana pales into insignificance compared to the Nkrumahs, the Danquahs, the Ako Adjeis, the Paa Grants and others of that generation. We therefore have not earned the right to criticise them. They fought their battles alright and these battles were not always amongst themselves. They saw the evil in colonialism, and at some point when they wanted the national good, they were together and they achieved a lot that way. Ghana started going off the rails when Ghanaians of that generation decided to fight amongst themselves after independence. If we are to learn anything from history, it is not by revising it, but it should be from the lessons it offer.
Our country is stagnating. There is massive youth unemployment, the quality of education has declined drastically, poverty abounds everywhere, electricity outages are a feature of daily live, the political classes don’t seem able to cooperate and people in the corridors of power are not showing any empathy with the governed. Are we dealing with this myriad of problems? No, it seems all the stakeholders have conspired to ignore the problems staring us in the face and rather have devised their own ways of deepening them.
Now political action groups (even though they prefer to call themselves civil society groups) are springing up everywhere and everyday. Their aims are not to demand delivery by those in authority. No. No. They are rather being formed to play a part in the ongoing political gamesmanship that is polarising the population and not achieving anything for the ordinary man.
The radio stations and press houses have specialised in dishing out trivialities to its millions of listeners and readers. Many lamented the days dubbed the ‘culture of silence’ that afflicted Ghana some years past. Therefore many were those who rejoiced when the Kufuor administration repealed the criminal libel laws. The hope of all then was that a responsible, honest and knowledgeable media will develop to play a vital role in Ghana’s development. This has been but a forlorn dream. Here too the political gamesmanship is being played out with newspapers trying to outdo each other in the bid to heap dirt on anyone they consider to be political opponents. In the end their claim to be the 4th estate sounds as hollow as an empty barrel. Even ‘serious’ radio stations are not offering quality product and gradually listening to them is becoming a health hazard. The quality of people interviewed and their acerbic comments are enough to spoil a good day. The immense problems the nation faces appear to be relegated to the background to give way to the gladiatorial politics that seem to have replaced the military dictatorship of the 80s and 90s.
The government and its appointees nowadays also appear to engage in trivialities and pettiness. The re-naming of the Ohene Djan stadium and the Jubilee House all point to pettiness and lack of maturity. Their bid to resurrect the battles between the Nkrumah and the Danquah traditions is doing no one any good. If you accept that it takes willing subjects and the cooperation of all to build a successful country, then alienating almost 50% of the subjects is sure to slow any leader down. The lack of a common direction is having a telling effect and I do not think history would be kind to our current crop of leaders. They should concentrate more on building their own legacies rather than dismantling or riding on the coattails of others. At the end of the day, history does not reward leaders who imitate others or denigrate others who came before them – it rather rewards those who achieve for their people given the problems of their times.
There are two other developments in the country that are also alarming. There is the emergence of an ignorant political underclass that is prepared to give uncritical support to their political masters. These have been dubbed ‘foot soldiers’ and ‘serial callers’ and they exist on both sides. They are not politically aware and are content to feed on crumbs from the politician’s table. The other development is the retreat of the intellectual and professional classes from national discourse. They have all taken the back seat ceding the space to a few vocal journalists, who may not have the needed expertise on the problems that abound. There is not a single day that either Kweku Baako or Kwesi Pratt is not being quoted in some Ghanaian media, being print or broadcast. Are these two and Ben Ephson the best we can offer by way of discussing our problems and finding solutions? My answer is no. They may be good at exposing some of the problems, but respectfully, the wherewithal to begin to address Ghana’s problems does not reside in these men or others of their kind.
The Constitution has vested the Executive with disproportionate powers and it is this that has cowed the professional classes from taking part in political discussions. A lot of them, in their day to day employment, serve directly or indirectly at the pleasure of the executive and they do not want to ruffle any feathers. Certainly this has to change; otherwise we are doomed as a nation. The rest of the world is moving at a very fast rate. The Asians who were once with us, at the bottom of the world’s economic league, are fast climbing up the table. Will Ghana join them or are we going to continue with our fingers firmly pressing the self-destruct button? I hope not. That is why all should say enough of the ongoing trash - Ghana deserves better!

Dr Yaw Ohemeng

Manchester, UK