The development and progress of every nation inevitably depend on well- designed aims and objectives to be achieved within a specific period of time and how unforeseen circumstances are handled when they crop up as the nation works towards realizing these aims and objectives. The prerequisites for attaining these aims and objectives are dedicated and selfless leadership and prioritization of these set goals and challenges. Many countries with scarce resources such as Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and India have had unprecedented levels of economic and technological advancements for the past two decades owing to the use of this technique as a tool for development.
However, the same cannot be said of Nkrumah’s Ghana that is blessed with abundant resources with political stability for a little over two decades and attained independence either before some of the above named nations or almost the same time as them. One may ask, what at all is the problem of Ghana that is drawing it backwards after fifty-six (56) years of independence? For this one, I can confidently say your guess is not as good as mine. The answer to this thousand dollar question is simple. Selfish leadership and misplaced priority is the problem.
Every fair-minded Ghanaian will agree with me that this problem is not restricted to only a specific government or political party but has infected all political parties and overwhelming majority of the people of Ghana. To buttress the point, if we can spend lavishly on our 50th birthday party (under the watch of NPP government), if we have the shameful courage to dole out a whopping amount of GHC 52 million that can eliminate hundreds of schools under trees and built many ultra modern health facilities to one person for no work done, if we have the courage to ignore the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian in the mist of numerous labour unrests and discharge 3.1 billion and 2.7 billion Ghana old cedis at a goal as ex-gratia to each of the 230 ex-MPs who have lost and retain their seats respectively for which no obligation is attached(look for the meaning of ex-gratia) and say there is no money to pay agitated workers (all under the watch of NDC government) then it suffices to say so. My worry is that the gravity of this problem seems to aggravate from government to government.
Any whistle-blower who unearths any shady deal under any government is not only seen as a disgusting opponent but also an enemy of progress who wants to run-down the administration of that regime. No sooner are constructive criticisms received than they are thrown into the garbage bin of politics. The opposition, on the hand, will never commend government for any good work done but will always go extra mile to unfairly criticize policies worth pursuing to score political points. Politicians have taken advantage of this blame game to enrich themselves by looting the coffers of Ghana and cover this shady deal by pushing this blame game to the centre stage. What is more worrisome is the fact that power in Ghana now swings to and fro between the two major political parties( NDC and NPP) and these parties are corrupt to the core and have taken entrenched positions in whatever they do.
This culture of poor prioritization of national issues coupled with self-centredness of the politicians is creeping into the moral fibre of the society. It is no longer wonder to see students unprepared and having exam to write the next day go to watch a football much instead. It is no longer wonder for the president of all people to prefer the enjoyment of parliamentarians and ministers to the plight and well-being of the sick and students. It is also not uncommon to see the homeless collecting car loans instead of housing loans. The list is endless. Only positive attitudinal change of the people of Ghana and God-fearing minds entrusted with power will save us.