Advice For Prospective Presidential Candidates

...From Abroad

I have visited Ghana continuously each of the last four years. The reality on the ground is that one cannot out of patroitism or frustration decide to leave for home permanently without being prepared. Being prepared simply means that one must have his own place of abode, a car, some means of making a living, that is, a means to generate cash,etc, etc,. If one is not ready, one is likely not to last for even three years in the system. Be ready for the shock. One cannot fully trust anybody in the system. One doesn't want to be a lone wolf but at the same time one cannot totally rely on the home boys/girls to share and embrace one's ideas and concerns. In truth, most of one's friends, family, classmates,etc, have their own agenda. They cannot be counted on as reliable allies until they have proved otherwise. At best, most can be perceived as suspected parasites who see you as a cash cow ready to be milked for their own selfish benefit. Many surely would take advantage of your naivete. One's willingness to help solve every problem one comes across would cause one to go broke sooner if not careful. Don't shell out cash without asking questions. Having too much sympathy, being overly magnanimous, and charitable to people you perceive as poor and destitute would cause one to go broke faster. Have a good heart but just don't throw money at every problem. You cannot solve all the problems in Ghana in one day. It would take some more time. It is better to pay people to go to school and get a good education than to give them everything in life for free. In the long run, they may thank you for your deeds but they may not know or appreciate the trouble you went through to come out with the resources to make them comfortable. Tread carefully.

My casual observation is that people in Ghana are much more smarter than some of us living outside Ghana give them credit for. Many Ghanaians can live and survive on very little money in terms of daily living but when we entrust them with our affairs, we are often taken advantage of by these same people. We get duped becaue we refuse to do our home work in the form of due diligence. We seem not to fully appreicate and or understand the Ghanaian's psychology behind the concept of money management in the system. My understaning of the system in Ghana is this: Ghana is akin to the Amrican state of California of the 1840's, the time of the gold rush in the Golden state. There are strictly no enforceable rules or regulations. It is more a survival of the fittest for the most nimble, and the most agile. Those with wit, a plan, and strength in terms of discipline, suffiicient capital (money) and above all the willingness to be bold, become a risk taker, and adventurous, are most likely to succeeed. One pre-condition for success in the system in Ghana is to avoid becoming a follower. Differentiate yourself from the other contenders within and outside the system. After all, there are different paths to success in life. Please don't follow the crowd. They are likely to lead you astray. More importantly, learn to cut your losses and reward people for good ideas and work well done. This would put you in good stead with your colleagues and associates. The onus is on you to prove that you are a leader who can deliver on your promises. Lead by example and learn by listening without becoming all knowing, conceited, and contemptous in the process. Keep your own counsel and let people seek your opinion on matters important to them and the nation before giving any advice for free. From experience, any advice which is not sought is often ignored. You can preach but you are not likely to convince or convert anybody to your cause unless you are perceived to be trustworthy,reliable, knowledgeable and credible.

One should never think that one has lived abroad over many years and as a result one knows better than the home boys/girls in the system. Never underestimate the intelligence of the Ghanaian. A good friend, Alhaji Moro, once stated that his father told him there was an imaginery line in Ghana in terms of economics and politics. This meant that anybody coming from outside Ghana who failed to understand that one needs to come and be willing to stand at the end of the imaginery line, and learn the ropes before making a move is likely to fail. The likely result of this experience is perhaps the feeling of rejection, failure, ultimate in humiliation, frustration, resentment,etc, etc, and eventual departure to one's base overseas. One's ambition and goals would not be achieved without knowing where the imaginery line is heading towards, or what is ahead once one reaches the head of the line. It is the classic tale of looking before leaping into the torrid and treacherous waves of politics and business in Ghana. This is just a warning to the uninitiated. In essence, be warned and don't rush to declare your candidacy for the presidency, the highest political office on the land right away without knowing what it is going to take to get to the prize. I would strongly suggest that one begins a political career from the ground before mistakenly thinking that one should run for the presidency. We should all learn to start possibly from the district assembly level. It is a fine opportunity one can use to build alliances, and know who can be relied upon and trusted at the grassroots. In this way, one can quickly know for himself who the major and minor players are in the local constituency and at the national level. According to the late House Speaker of the US, Tip (William) O'Neill, all politics is local. One must learn to build a solid foundation on the ground before putting up the mighty building. One enters politics from the highest level at one's own peril. The party functionaries, the party executives, and many others within the hierarchy would eat the over ambitious presidential or any candidate not willing to study or learn from the system alive. These people would deceive you to think that you can win the nomination but in reality, it is only a ploy and a charade. These hungry wolves simply want to get to your pocket book to suck you dry. The party cadres and many others are only interested in your money but not in your candidacy. The question to ask yourself is this: where were you when the cadres and foot soldiers of your chosen political party were in the trenches fighting, protesting, and calling for political change and democracy. Many of them feel that the party belongs to them and that any outsider (interloper) must not be readily acccepted into their fold unless the interloper has been vetted and made to pay a big price to the party coffers. This is one of the main reasons why those who pretend to be party activists and in the know would convince anybody from abroad with tons of money that the presidential contender has a chance at a party's nomination when reality it is a false hope to inflate one's ego. They are telling the person with money what he/she wants to hear. It is a way of making one feel that he/she is special. In other words, the smart Ghanaian is inflating your ego with the hope of taking more of your money. Wake up, and wise up before you go broke. The nomination process is a difficult passage. Please don't be ensnared. You don't want to go broke before the battle begins.

I don't think that Ghanaians are ready or willing to entrust the affairs of state to any untested, unknown,and unproven political entity from abroad at this stage of our political development. Ghana does not need any carpetbaggers in leadership positions especially when it comes to the presidency. My suggestion to those from abroad who dream of becoming president is to go back home and build a political organization from the ground up. In essence, show the people of Ghana what you are made of, what you stand for in terms of policies, programs, vision, etc. Having a well written biography full accomplishments and a solid education is simply not enough when it comes to the presidency. The position of the chief executive of the Republic is too important a job to be entrusted to the care of any unproven rookies from abroad. The year 2008 is not the same as the Gold Coast of the 1940's and 50's when Nkrumah, Paa Grant, Dankwa, Busia,etc, etc, etc, gained instant political acceptance and leadership immediately they landed from Europe and America. At the time, there were very few educated Ghanaians with university education. Today, things are entirely different. There are many, many people in Ghana with an equally impressive education and work experience as well as a better understanding of the political, economic and social system who can match the so called expertise of the "Abrokyire" (overseas) crowd who want to compete for the presidency.

In the end, my prediction is that none of the candidates for president who have not lived in Ghana for any length of time would get the nomination of any major political party in Ghana. This simply means that none of the Abrokyire candidates would become the president of Ghana in 2009. Unless these "Abrokyire" candidates are running for something else besides ego, they are simply wasting their resources and time. They should go to Ghana today and stand in the imaginery line suggested by Alhaji Moro's father to study and learn from the system. Nobody or institution has monopoly on knowledge. Ghana's problems are obvious and numerous for all to see. I would choose to trust the 'devil" I know than the so called "angel" I don't know from overseas to solve the problems at home.

A word to the wise is enough!!

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.