Putting Intellectualism In Our Politics (I)

At the risk of sounding pompous and being labelled snobbish I would like to make a case for putting intellectualism in the national politics of our country. My apprehension for undertaking this exercise is further heightened considered against the background that a large proportion of the population are unable to read and/or write. The problem is further compounded when measured against our having no indigenous national language. Perhaps a minority of the people can understand and/or speak English; the language which passes for our national language. This makes talk about intellectualism in our body politic the more difficult. However considering the present political landscape it is becoming more and more needful to put greater emphasis on intellectualism to give a focus to our democratic journey and national development aspirations. Politics is about the decision making process within groups. It is a serious business which affects the destinies of millions and must therefore not be toyed with or left in the hands of the uninitiated.

Intellectualism is employed here loosely to reflect the derivation of knowledge from reason alone. This is a rational philosophy that asserts that the truth can best be discovered by reason and factual analysis, rather than faith, dogma or religious teaching. Rational thinking is in many ways the opposite of blind faith. While rationalism is not generally about religion, it can be applied to religion with varied results. It however encompasses a lot more than the rationalist stance on religion. It must also be set out that the purpose of this write up is not to challenge the essence of faith, dogma and religious teaching. The purpose is to challenge our thinking and actions towards using scientific reasoning and analysis as a basis for political discourse and policy formulation and evaluation.

THINK-TANKS

Think tanks are usually research institutions which provide advice and ideas on any aspect of future planning and strategy on policy, commerce, economics, military and other issues of national and international importance. These bodies usually support multi-disciplinary theorists and intellectuals who endeavour to produce analysis or policy recommendations. There are many internationally renowned think tanks and the Fabian Society of Britain, founded in 1884 to promote gradual social change, is a prime example. Another important institution is the Brookings Institution, founded in the US in 1916. It is dedicated to public service through research and education in the social sciences, particularly in economics, government and foreign policy. Ghana as a country seems to be at a crossroad where the need for rational decision-making has assumed a higher significant level of urgency. The process must be based on sound reasoning devoid of parochialism and self-centredness. Political ideologies are only important insofar as they can add to the quality of life of the people. Ghana as a country is blessed by many genuine intellectuals of international repute. Our universities, civil and public institutions boast of a great bank of intellectuals who can stand on their own in any forum on the world stage. There are also many Ghanaians working for international bodies and foreign countries in various spheres of life. These individuals are experts in their field and are greatly sought after all over the world. In addition to the institutions of governance such as the presidency, parliament and the judiciary, the fourth republican constitution also guarantees bodies such as the Electoral Commission (EC), Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE). The constitution further guarantees the right to association and this has contributed to the creation of think-tanks and bodies such as the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA), Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) and many other such organisations. The CDD for example states on its website that it ‘is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organisation … … dedicated to the promotion of society and government based on the rule of law, appropriate checks on the power of the state, and integrity in public administration’. The CEPA also states that it ‘was established … as an independent, non-governmental think-tank, which provides rigorous analysis and perspectives on economic policy issues of Ghana and the developing world’. Without a doubt, not everyone can be totally satisfied with the activities of think-tanks. Recently, when the Afrobarometer report on Ghana was published by the CDD some political organisations disagreed with sections of the project. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) did not accept certain portions of the report. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) however rejected the report and issued a statement of not cooperating with the Center in its future programmes. While accepting the right of the parties to disagree with the CDD as an institution and its report in particular, it is hoped that such institutions would be supported and nurtured as part of deepening the democratic experiment of the country. Comments and acts deliberately set out to undermine the acceptance of these think-tanks do not augur well for the democratic health of the country. It may be stated here that these bodies are not the only national bodies that have suffered under the hands of, mostly, the politicians. The judiciary has been vilified and abused whenever a decision has gone against the interest of one group or another. The Electoral Commission has perhaps suffered the most compared to all other institutions. Neither the CHRAJ nor the NCCE has been spared the accusation of bias for taking one decision or another. Arguably, these state institutions and public think-tanks are made of individuals whose views may be deemed subjective under certain conditions. However, on whole, they bring greater level of objectivity to bear on the national decision making process. It is noteworthy that national development is not all about partisan politics. It must be said also that think-tanks have contributed immensely to the political discourse, which has become overly partisan, by way of bringing intellectualism to bear on national political and economic activities.

DANGERS TO DEMOCRACY

Perhaps the dangers to democratic governance are no more different from the dangers to nationhood. There are several dangers to democratic system of governance. However for the purpose of this piece ignorance and inappropriate appreciation of national issues, poverty, disunity and repressive governance would be discussed.

Ignorance and Lack of Appreciation of National Issues

Ignorance constitutes a grave danger to every society. The uneducated, half-educated or the mis-educated that believes or pretends to be knowledgeable should be regarded as dangerous to the society. Perhaps the worse form is the one who preys on the ignorance and fears of others to achieve selfish aims. A key feature of intellectualism is specialisation. Therefore an intellectual in one field would not pretend to be specialist in a different area. Ignorance does not seem to be the preserve of people without formal education. Sad to note that some very well educated in the society have continuously displayed high levels of ignorance by consistently dabbling in areas they obviously do not have any knowledge or expertise. Without knowledgeable people at the helm of affairs the democratic principles so cherished could be lost through the influence of a few pretenders. Unfortunately, much ignorance is displayed in many political discourses. Further some individuals who get access to media display extreme lack of appreciation of national issues. Many of our ‘serial callers’ portray an extremely low appreciation of issues that one wonders why they bother to call into the television and radio programmes. Sad to note also that even some of our top politicians are the worst culprits. A recent statement by Mr. Kwamina Bartels, Minister for Information and National Orientation claiming the presidential jet was acquired ostensibly as part of a resettlement package for former President Rawlings amounts to title-tattle unbecoming of a minister of state. However, let us consider this against the obvious untruth told by no less a person than President Rawlings. He claimed in a BBC interview that the BBC and CNN, and other western media have been authorised by President George W. Bush of USA and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain not to publish anything negative about Ghana and President Kufuor. Comparatively therefore Mr. Bartels’ statement, sad as it may be, pales into insignificance. No wonder the likes of ‘Appiah Stadiums’ of this world are elevated unto the top of our national discourse as our top most politicians can engage in irresponsible infantile loose talk and blatant false hood. These are but a few examples of the extremely low standard politics experienced each day in the media. The loser, in all these, is Ghana and her poor citizens.

Poverty

Political instability is rife where a majority of the population live under poverty. Poor settlements tend to serve as the breeding grounds for criminal activities. This is not to say that all criminals are poor and vice-versa. Ghana without doubt is a poor country. It is estimated that over 35 percent of the population live in poverty or extreme poverty. Poverty levels in the country are demonstrated amply by the number of households chronically hungry, unable to access health care, lacking the amenities of safe drinking water and sanitation, cannot afford education for the children and may even lack rudimentary shelter and clothing. Such households usually survive on less than one US dollar a day. Poverty as a phenomenon must be considerably reduced for the enhancement of democracy in any society. Poverty reduction programmes should therefore be planned and executed efficiently and effectively in a fair and equitable manner.

Disunity and Ethnocentrism

The threat disunity pose to democracy, particularly in our region of the world, is perhaps the most potent of all other threats. Disunity results mostly from ethnocentricity, social class grouping and political affiliations. Most Ghanaians identifies with one ethnic group or another. This by itself may not be bad because of our socio-cultural make-up. However, some individuals and groups have consistently played the ethnic/tribal card to divide the country in any sphere of life they find themselves. Our ethnic differences can be a means for celebrating the cultural diversity of the nation. It is a sad reflection on the country that almost half a century of independence we have still not found the formulae for living cohesively as a people with common destiny. Political parties, social groups, state and even educational institutions are sometimes hijacked by believers in ethnocentrism and divisionism who do everything they can to push away people from other ethnic origins. It is common to go to certain government institutions to find it staffed almost exclusively by one ethnic group. Even our political leaders, except perhaps Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, seem to have fallen foul to ethnocentrism in their appointments and national development programmes. Exactly forty years after the 1966 coup that toppled our first President, no single government can be said to have passed the litmus test in forging greater national cohesion. The situation is worse with the privately owned business entities. A friend visited a very popular traditional restaurant in Tema. He confirmed the food was good but has refused to ever go back because he found that all the workers in place came from or spoke the language of a particular part of the country. For someone who lives in the United Kingdom where “Equal Opportunities” is not only a legal requirement but also a corporate social responsibility, he found it strange that this could be happening in an establishment whose patronage is national. The time has come for the parliament to pass a law to be in sync with the constitution to ensure diversity in employment, appointment and group membership. The government must set the lead in ensuring that diversity in opportunities exists in state establishment and compel private entrepreneurs to do same.

In the next instalment I would consider the effects of repressive governance on the democratic growth of the country. I would make an attempt at analysing the various governments and how they contributed to or held back on rights of the individual to basic human rights.

God bless Ghana.

Kofi Nyame
Thornton Heath Surrey

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