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Opinions of Thursday, 17 September 2009

Columnist: The Royal Enoch

Why Ghana Needs To Wake Up

Honestly, I love my country with the same passion that the moon loves the night. I equally adore her just like how the sun adores the day. There is nothing that I wouldn't do to see her shine and prosper. I'm the definitive product of her true essence-her gift to the world. I'm the reason why she is still alive-perhaps the reason why she came to be known as Ghana. The land of the Black stars of Africa. Her past, present and future is what I carry in me. Her fears, sorrow and uncertainty is also evident in me. I could travel to the uttermost parts of the world as many times as I want. Yet, there would be no place like her lap, which I'd always refer to as my home. My soul sanctuary. I came from this womb called Ghana, and one day when my work is done, I shall return to be buried in this tomb called Ghana.

It's quite amazing what you see when you're in Ghana. You see the people's beautiful dark skin, which the sun has specially tattooed with its rays for its glory. You see the people's kinky hair which they proudly wear like a royal crown. Then again, Ghana's people are people of royal descent. You feel the rich earth which they have been blessed with. And then you have this special scent in the air, which kind of reminds you of the garden of Eden. The breeze blowing in Ghana seems to whisper. It's cool, calm and collective. The marketplace is filled with various sounds which one could easily dance to. That's if one could dance. Because these are the sounds of life's music itself. Now wonder that the people of Ghana seem to have so much rhythm-so much soul.

On the down side, travelling across the country reveals a less pretty reality.The country seems to be over-saturated with Western made consumer's products. In fact, the country seems to be suffocating under them. Ghana manufactured products are less attended to. And all because, most Ghanaians feel that Western made products are superior than Ghana made products. Everything from the West is considered the best. Unfortunately, the government doesn't help make this matter better-no. The government of Ghana keeps making this matter worse by importing more, and more from the West. Of course, this helps the Western countries and their economy, but not necessarily the country of Ghana and its economy. Apart from the country's raw materials which are being sold to the West, the country doesn't seems to have any finished products which represent the country on the global market. And even if they're there, Ghanaians are not buying them themselves. Therefore, how could they convince the rest of the world to show any interest?

The world is changing and with it everything. Ghana and her people must come to the realization that they're running out of time. They have to come to the realization that this is the age of making things, and not buying things. The new age mantra is; You don't have to invent, just copy. The Chinese closed their market, copied from the West and took over their market. As a result, the Chinese have become so rich, that even the United States government is out there asking them for money. Now, if the Chinese can do it, then so could we. But the question is, do we want to and how bad do we want to? Please do take a minute and think about it.