Obuor weeps

One of Ghana’s finest all-time best musical acts, Bice Osei-Kuffour has expressed his heart-felt pain for the youth of Ghana, saying they have been alienated for far too long.

He lamented that the talents of the youth, which represented the true energy and future prospects of the nation, needed to be tapped positively for national development.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in an exclusive interview when he paid a working visit to the paper’s offices in Accra on Wednesday, the prolific musician expressed worry over the plight of Ghanaian youth, who he said had been reduced to tools for violence by political parties and some powerful elements in society who only saw the importance of young people when it was election time or there was a dirty job to be done.

Obour, who generated a lot of controversy with his recent call for an amendment to the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution by reducing the age pegged for contesting the presidency of Ghana, described the plight of Ghanaian youth as very sad.

“If you have even university students swallowing cocaine, for an amount of two thousand dollars, then you know the kind of stress young Ghanaians are going through and what influence can be brought to bear on them. Indeed, my heart bleeds for my fellow youth in this country,” he lamented.

He indicated that anytime there was civil unrest or conflict, it was the youth that were engaged to perpetrate crime and violence.

The 29-year old hiplife star opined that Ghana had failed as a state when it came to engaging the energies of its youth for national development.

“Is this the kind of youth-base we want to build as a people with a common destiny? All I am calling for is that politicians for once should take the concerns of young people more seriously,” he noted and stressed that the lip-service paid by politicians on issues bordering on youth development must stop.

Obour, who ignited a ‘Youth for President’ campaign, indicated that the campaign was not for him to become President but to fight the cause of the less privileged and vulnerable youth, who were in the masses. He observed that the youth of Ghana contribute so much to the development of the country and yet the system seriously discriminates against them.

He indicated also that the campaign was to provoke public discussions and to help erase the negative and erroneous perception people hold about the youth and success or ability to deliver.

According to him, people must learn to deal with the youth by the content of their character and not by their age. He contended that the era where young people were seen as unwise must cease.

“Wisdom has nothing to do with age and the earlier we got that as a nation the better.”

He said it is that mentality that makes it difficult for people to accept and celebrate the achievement of young people in the country.

Obuor recalled how in the last Africa Nations Cup held in Ghana (Ghana 2008), many Ghanaians were against the fielding of Andre Dede Ayew, a young Ghanaian soccer talent simply because he was young and wondered how these same critics talk about Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and Argentina fame with so much passion.

“That is the kind of thing my campaign is fighting against. “When it is a Ghanaian youth, we are labeled as incompetent, but we hail and celebrate people of the same youth bracket from Europe. Until we learn to express confidence in our youth, it will be hypocritical to talk of any bright future for the nation.”

The hiplife don said he was aware of the grounds he was treading on and said he very much appreciated the possibility that conscious efforts might be made to frustrate his campaign but he was determined to fight to the end. He said change was not caused by the masses; it was always ignited by an individual and people who shared in their vision.

“Today we have Senator Barrack Obama, a young black person leading the Democratic race for the presidency of America and we are all praying and hoping that he wins, but we have forgotten that this was dreamt and propelled by great minds like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey and the like.

It’s been decades now since they fought for the emancipation of the black race for equal opportunity and for respect; today the benefit is here for all to see.”

Obour indicated that his Youth for President Campaign was not in any way opposed to the good efforts of the older generation but a direct call on leaders of the country to give critical attention to issues bordering on the youth.

He indicated that he was fortunate enough to have discovered his musical talent, saying he believed that there were millions of young people out there who were not as fortunate.

Stressing that fellow-feeling was the motivation driving his campaign, Obour said even if it takes a thousand years to get his message of believing in, respecting and dealing with the youth based on the continent across, he was determined to do it to its logical conclusion.

He said he was seriously looking at instituting a national youth day to celebrate the achievements of young people as a way of encouraging others.

“It is unfortunate that people who led campaigns of this sort were always vilified and frustrated by the system. I am optimistic that one day I will be vindicated. I shall be loved when I am lacked,” he concluded.