59th Independence, a sad parade of imports – Nunoo-Mensah

Except for the human beings, who paraded their skills at the Independence Square to mark Ghana's 59th anniversary of nationhood, everything else that was put on display at the celebration was imported, former National Security Advisor Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (rtd) has said, adding he was greatly saddened by that reality.

"Yesterday I was at the Independence Square witnessing the celebration of 59 years of independence …and when I looked at the parade, for example, all the equipment on parade – apart from the human beings, who were there – everything else…, was imported. Everything: the guns, the cars, everything, even the uniforms that the men [security services] were wearing were imported, except the human beings and that saddened me a great deal," General Nunoo-Mensah complained in an interview with Class91.3fm's Executive Breakfast Show host Ekow Mensah-Shalders on Monday March 7.

In his view, it was sad that Ghana, after almost 60 years of nationhood, was unable to produce many things locally, a situation he said was regrettable.

General Nunoo-Mensah wondered why a largely agricultural country like Ghana was still not self-sufficient with food. "If you go to Makola, if you go to the market, everything that is there is imported. It's just sad," the retired military man lamented.

"Was it last year or last two years, when our parliament imported furniture from China, I nearly committed suicide. If you can't produce furniture here in Ghana after almost 60 years of independence, then what's the meaning of independence?

"And when you come to education, I'm not an educationist, I’m just a mere ordinary infantry soldier, but I've got enough brains. …Our people go to university to study and they can't put anything together, not even a bicycle…and, so, we have to question the substance of our education. I am a soldier, but there's nothing I can't do. I can build a house, I can fix my car, I can do so many things, so, education has to be for a purpose, not just for a degree, and be on radio and insult people with your education. So, we have to look at the content of our education," he said.