On the 7th of December, 2008, we are going to be called upon to make a choice: a choice that will determine the direction of the country, our future, the future of our children, and the future of our children’s children. This election, for my money, should not be one of the previous elections in which we allowed emotions, partisan politics, eloquence, ideology, etc to transcend the significance and importance of elections: governance that has as its epicenter, the wellbeing and the improvements in the lot of the people. We should use this upcoming election to shape our destiny and redefine our position on the world map. Our beloved country, a country rich in mineral and natural resources should not be allowed to freely fall into economic darkness. We as a people should never be content and satisfied with the snail pace of our development. As we look back into history, you would agree with me that our governments have not done much in enhancing our economic and educational outlook as juxtapose with the vast resources at our disposal. They have not been concerned with the plight of the ordinary folks on the street. Their major preoccupation has been about how to enrich themselves, their families, cronies, bootlickers, etc at the expense of the majority of the folks who have been paralysed and crippled by abject poverty and untold and unimaginable economic hardships. No wonder the people in money on the African continent (Ghana included) are mainly politicians, especially those in government.

My motivation for doing this article stems from my conviction that in order for as to move forward, both as a people and as a nation, with regard to our economic, educational, and socio-political development, we have to change course and do the right things. By changing course, I mean we ought to put the country first in all our endeavours and deliberations. We should fathom that we either fall together or soar together; and that we succeed when the nation succeeds and not when a few selfish, unpatriotic, and egocentric politicians find themselves in money.

As we are being called upon to make a choice of our destiny, we need to ferret out answers to these fundamental questions: Are we satisfied with the pace of progress in the country? Is it alright to have life expectancy at 59 years, an increase of 17 years since 1950? Is it cool to have about 47% of the population being unlettered over the past several years? Is it okay with our standard- of education and living? Our answers to these questions should inform us about how we have to cast our ballots. At the beginning of the 20th century, life expectancy in the United States of America was about 49 years, but after the second half of the century, it has improved drastically to about 78 years. If we are dreaming of a country that stands out on a continent that has been written off by many a people in the world, then this is a glorious opportunity on our hands to make a choice that will eventually turn our economy around bigtime. This election should not be about NPP, NDC, CPP, etc, but rather about the people. It should be about who among the various presidential aspirants has the seat-of-the-pants and the programs and policies that address the numerous challenges (poverty, poor educational standard, low standard of living, corruption, etc) confronting the nation.

Throughout history, especially in democratic countries, elections have always provided the opportunity for the electorates to exercise good judgment in electing visionary leaders who were able to change the course and direction of their countries. These leaders, who had their nation at heart made sure that they governed in the best interest of the people. They knew that government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. They realized that posterity was going to pass a verdict on them not because of the wealth they amassed for themselves, their families, cronies, inter alia, but rather the difference they made in advancing the course of the citizenry. These are the genre of leaders we need in our country and on the African continent if we ever want to move forward in our developmental efforts. We need leaders like Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), who in the midst of economic meltdown are able to say that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. I am talking about leaders like John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK), Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, etc who made things happen and not those who just follow the status quo.

As we are heading to the polls next week, we should look for the person who is willing to work assiduously to up the lot of the citizenry. The person who is interested in investing in education, science and technology, and has the majority poor at heart instead of the one who is only interested in investing in his pockets and the pockets of those who are at his beck and call. When we begin to understand that the development and prosperity of the country supersede our political ideologies and our parochial and petty interests, then we are not far from arriving at the “promised land”-economic emancipation. I would like to take this opportunity to beg of you fellow citizens, that before you cast your ballot, to just use your sixth sense to take a look into the future; the person we choose as our president will make or unmake the future of peace, prosperity, good health, quality education, etc we seek for ourselves, our children, and generations unborn.

In wrapping up, we need not allow the unfortunate events that happened in Kenya and Zimbabwe to repeat in Ghana. We have come too far to fall into the entrapment of politicians who are bent on attaining power at the expense of the precious blood of their fellow citizens. These power drunk politicians forget that their actions and inactions which might result in instability and mayhem will ultimately draw us back to the anachronistic era. When they begin to beat the war drums, we should let them and they alone do the “dancing”: Ghana is bigger than them. God bless you, God bless Ghana!!!

Kingsley Nyarko, PhD, Educational Psychologist (IAF, Munich)