Of obesity and flatulence, civil society and our progress as a nation

Of obesity and flatulence:

Consider a remote, isolated village that has only three affluent families among its inhabitants. These families, unlike others, have abundant food supplies and can delegate manual labor to other villagers, resulting in their morbid obesity. Their sedentary lifestyle and excessive food consumption have led to the constant emission of unpleasant flatulence. Constantly living in the ambiance of their flatulence has additionally made them accustomed to its foul odor, and they are now seemingly incapable of detecting it themselves.

To the villagers, these three families are their representation of wealth, and thus, a good number of them associate obesity, flatulence, and the inability to perceive its odor as essential attributes of affluence while they view their own lean, muscular, fit, and non-flatulence-emitting physique as undesirable vestiges of poverty.

Villagers in awe of the three families and having privileged access to them might have a lot to teach other villagers about how they can also get rich like the three families. However, they could, despite good intentions, inadvertently also be teaching the villagers how to get obese and flatulent. Those in the village who are able to see obesity and flatulence for what they are and endeavor to enlighten the villagers about the fact that obesity and flatulence are manifestations of excess rather than prerequisites and companions for wealth will likely be viewed as impractical, naive, or even radical if they persist in
emphasizing this truth.

In the broader context of our global village, the dominance of the West mirrors the opulence of these families. Over time, they have grown bloated and oblivious to the stench of their own excess. Similarly, we, the inhabitants of this global village, struggle to discern which of the characteristics of the West are
necessary attributes of progress, which are simply manifestations of excess and hence nothing but obesity, flatulence, and its accompanying foul odor.

Adding to this complexity is the hubris of the West, which seems unwilling to acknowledge that, despite their achievements, they can falter as a society. Instead, they often use their considerable influence to rebrand their societal shortcomings as newfound rights or freedoms that are themselves indicators of
the progress of society and must be accepted and seen by all as such. Those failures too obvious to rebrand are brushed aside as inevitable consequences of advancement.

Alarmingly, some of these repackaged failures—which could in reality be nothing but obesity, flatulence, and its accompanying foul odor—are then used by the West to justify interventions under the guise of civilizing missions, to perpetuate a cycle of exploitation and dominance.

Of civil society:

Turning our gaze to civil society, A preliminary observation reveals a dynamic and fearless collective playing a pivotal role in our nation's development. Ghanaian civil society groups, along with their media allies, have illuminated questionable government actions and prevented the nation from falling victim to
ill-conceived, reckless, and often corrupt governance more effectively than any other entity in Ghana.

They fearlessly confront issues of concern, speaking truth to power with thorough research and clear presentations that often render even the most articulate officials clumsy in their responses. In contrast, political parties and their affiliated media outlets struggle to maintain credibility beyond
their own supporters, while religious and traditional institutions typically refrain from delivering harsh criticisms of political power. Civil society, therefore, wields disproportionate influence in setting agendas and shaping public opinion.

However, a closer examination of civil society in Ghana, especially in light of recent events, reveals an overwhelming presence of individuals or groups who seem enamored with particular ideologies and institutions of the West. Their influence appears to partly stem from privileged access to Western corridors of power, raising questions about the extent to which their survival depends on the favor of these external entities.

Whether this dominance is intentional or coincidental warrants further exploration. Nonetheless, the current state of civil society prompts important inquiries: Are these groups, while offering guidance akin to that of the West, inadvertently steering us toward the excesses and shortcomings of those societies? Does their apparent fearlessness in challenging power extend only to our governments and our norms? And could civil society, as it exists today, serve as a Trojan horse for advancing the civilizing missions of the West from within?

Of our progress:

Achieving wealth without succumbing to obesity and flatulence might seem like a radical notion to our villagers. Simply following the guidance of those close to wealthy families could lead them down a path where wealth is accompanied by the burdens of obesity and flatulence, or worse, where they suffer from these ailments without the means to support themselves.

Conversely, solely adhering to the teachings of those villagers who are able to see obesity and flatulence for what they are may shield our villagers from these dangers of excess, but it could also keep them from embracing the mindsets and behaviors conducive to prosperity. A more effective approach for our villagers to become wealthy while maintaining their lean, muscular, and non-flatulent physique would be to not only heed the seemingly invaluable advice from the affluent families and those close to them but also to listen to those who may appear impractical or radical yet possess the insight to recognize the true nature of obesity and flatulence.

We, as a nation, undoubtedly have a lot to learn, adopt, and adapt from the West. We, however, must be able to chart an independent path that gleans from the ideologies and experiences of societies in the global north and south and is also informed by our own unique beliefs, cultures, history, societal composition, developmental stage, and regional and global realities.

The key to our ability to chart this independent path is for us to not just see and study the successes of these other societies, but also, of equal importance, to see and study their failures as well. Successes in societies in the global south, especially in areas such as culture, tradition, morality, and family
Bonds, respect for elders, etc. are muted and mostly dismissed as vestiges of primitiveness.

Their failures are, however, usually glaringly obvious, with no shortage of widely publicized and non-stigmatized intellectuals and organizations pointing them out. Seeing the failures of the West for what they are, on the other hand, seems like a daunting challenge.

Underneath the veneer of glitz, glamour, propaganda, and coercion, it is challenging to tell which of their many attributes are nothing but disguised obesity and flatulence. In addition to this, intellectuals and organizations that dare to point out some of these attributes for what they are—obesity and flatulence—are branded with stigmatizing tags of impracticality, naivety, ignorance, and intolerance, and if they dare to persist, are labeled radicals.

An effective mechanism that can help guide our progress and development would be a vibrant fearless civil society that must amongst other things be reflective of our societal composition of beliefs, values, and aspirations, and borrows from but without being overly dominated or dictated to by any particular foreign interest, ideology, groupings or individuals.

Such a civil society space by its very composition cannot deliberately or inadvertently be used as a trojan horse and it would be able to speak truth to power whether that power happens to be our interests, our government, or our norms on the one side; or foreign interests, foreign governments, and foreign norms on the other side.

Such a civil society would empower us to discern between genuine progress and the disguised trappings of excess, guiding our journey toward prosperity without succumbing to obesity and flatulence.