Has Ghana become parochial and mediocre?

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• Kontopiaat 10 years ago

  Young man, why do you worry? Perhaps it should get bad before it gets better. If all the young people were to think like you, then our future would be secure. No condition is permanent, so relax.

  Young man, why do you worry? Perhaps it should get bad before it gets better. If all the young people were to think like you, then our future would be secure. No condition is permanent, so relax.

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• Kobia Oti Akenten 10 years ago

  Young man, we should celebrate small mercies the Lord gives us because in some countries, transitions lead to war. However, it is true we have become of talkatives because we have nothing serious to do, and there is too much ...
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  Young man, we should celebrate small mercies the Lord gives us because in some countries, transitions lead to war. However, it is true we have become of talkatives because we have nothing serious to do, and there is too much negative vibe instead of being constructive in our criticisms. We have become doomsayers and artificial in our manners and pedestrian in our goals. We need to set ourselves superordinate goals to achieve. Even you you are too talkative, hence this long epistle which only one person has responded to using two pseudonyms. Our country must perhaps get it wrong first before we get it right later. We need quality leaders with vision in all spheres of our country. We should try Nana next time and see whether we can see some light at the end of the tunnel vision.

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• Paul Amuna 10 years ago

  I have similar concerns and worries like you about how little attention is paid to PATRIOTISM and putting the nation first before any other consideration by Ghanaians today.
  
  Some have argued even on this forum that the re ...
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  I have similar concerns and worries like you about how little attention is paid to PATRIOTISM and putting the nation first before any other consideration by Ghanaians today.
  
  Some have argued even on this forum that the reasons are partly because people have become fed up with yes, the very mediocre nonentities taking advantage of their positions and privileges at the expense of the rest of us and the nation at large.
  
  I was reminded by one passionate writer and Ghanaian patriot Kofi Ata recently, when i made reference to patriotism and our national pledge which Kutu Acheampong's government instituted as a means of getting us to rethink the way you argue in this piece. Kofi reminded me that some students at the time in the 1970s when it was clear that sense of nationalism and patriotism which characterised the Osagyefo Dr Nkrumah's era was fast disappearing and something had to be done to get us back on track.
  
  Some students and young people had become cynical and even 'refused' to recite the pledge in school because the ruling classes at the time had 'formalised' and more or less 'legalised' corruption to the extent that complete 'nobodys' had become rich, arrogant and rising above the law. If you would recall, the 1970s especially after the first half were so bad that Jerry Rawlings' first attempt to overthrow the government was naturally very popular among the youth of the country and students in particular. In fact, it was the second attempt ochesrated by Major Boakye Gyan on June 4 1979 which ushered in a new breed of the "political elite" you refer to, and following the 31st December come back of Rawlings, the likes of Kumbuor who were young, first year students at the time found their way into politics.
  
  He started out as one of the so-called "Concerned Students" on Legon campus at a time when the majority of the Student body was becoming unhappy with Rawlings' government. He worked for the government and worked his way into the government. The least said therefore the better.
  
  Why am I saying this? You should not, and must not give any credit to Dr Kumbuour with respect to what you are arguing here as a legitimate concern of many a serious Ghanaian like you and I. I have argued, and will argue again that Kumbuour is part of the problem, not the solution.
  
  He has been in politics for over 30 years and in government for the most part of that period. Where has his consistency been in all these years? Is it now that he has suddenly realised that this is the problem in Ghana? Don't you think he is doing it also for personal, parochial reasons and for his own political ambitions? Don't be fooled by Dr Kumbuour whom I had hoped would have changed for the better.
  
  This Kumbuor is the same person who refuses to help a team of charity workers who over the last 10 years have done a lot to transform health care delivery in his own district and constituency.
  
  This is a non-partisan UK based Ghanaian charity of health workers and he blatantly refused to help them overcome some of the bureaucracy around medical items shipped for the primary and sole purpose of refurbishing the Nandom hospital and to help patients who otherwise would not receive help. This charity has even installed renal dialysis machines at the hospital over the past few years. His argument was that those driving this process for the people "belonged to the NPP".
  
  What a lame, pathetic and silly argument!!! Even if the individuals concerned were NPP leaning (which I doubt they are), does health and the development of our nation have to be based on NPP and NDC considerations?
  
  And somehow you want to give credit to someone with such deeply entrenched partisan views who suddenly sees the scales 'fall off his eyes' and suddenly can see clearly about what is wrong with our discourse, politics and how these affect our development?
  
  I don't much care who is in government and who is running the country as long as they put We the People first, and are prepared to work across the aisle to advance the needs of the country. The fact is, many of our politicians do not think or act that way.
  
  Furthermore, even in our schools where there is a need to educate students on nationalism and patriotism through - Civics Studies, nothing of the sort is happening and today's students i suspect are also cynical, having seen what the politicians and their supposed 'role models' get up to. I will not even mention personal and moral failings on the part of these individuals.
  
  My final comment: If you wish to bring up issues such as this one for discussion and education, please leave the politicians out of it and certainly try not to give credit to any of them because they simply do not deseve it. Kumbour in my view does not deserve the credit you seem to give him here.

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• Opanin 10 years ago

  Selorm, well talk! The genesis of the problems you have enumerated eloquently lies with the 19 years rule of your your kinsman Jerry Rawlings. Talk about discipline, talk about the over-riding desire to rule and power, talk a ...
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  Selorm, well talk! The genesis of the problems you have enumerated eloquently lies with the 19 years rule of your your kinsman Jerry Rawlings. Talk about discipline, talk about the over-riding desire to rule and power, talk about political insults, talk about indiscipline, talk about lack of direction for the nation, talk about the destruction of education in Ghana, talk about lack of respect for the elderly and people of authority - lay all these on the feet of JJ Rawlings and his pseudo-revolutionalists in the 1980s and 90s. It will take us centuries to undo that harm to our nation.

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• Poor No Friend!! 10 years ago

  But Ghana is in a ditch. no values, greed, corrupton, hypocricy, the order of the day

  But Ghana is in a ditch. no values, greed, corrupton, hypocricy, the order of the day

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