“Mummy; it’s not just Tramadol o; I even saw on guy crush and sniff Paracetamol!” one youth exclaimed, as a few of them engaged me in an emotional discussion about social vices, economic hardship, despair, and change.
In my early years of the Generation X, we witnessed coup d’etats and the overthrow of governments, reform after reform, and an era of diverse types of governance, all in the name of Change. And after decades of holding our breath, ‘Change’ began to wane like mist in the vestige of our imagination, or sound much like the riddle of the Sphinx almost impossible to decode. Or is it perhaps a state of nirvana beyond the grasp of this beautiful homeland? Lately, my thoughts tend to wander back to the central theme of my Sixth Form English literature novel: Ayi Kwei Armah’s ‘The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born.’ Are Ghana’s beautiful ones yet unborn; or have they simply exchanged their beauty for ashes?
So I ask you; what does Change mean to you? For me it means progress, improvement, and development. What kind of change do you desire? If it is a better quality of life, are you experiencing it? If not, why has it eluded us for so long, and the maintenance of basic amenities so untenable? Why have many of the once proud monuments of development mounted after independence lost their value? Why have our esteemed standards of education dropped so low? What happened to the once prided skilled labor?
Why are we still fighting mosquitoes with treated nets instead of proper sanitation? Why is energy so expensive, and industry still unable to grow? Why is rubbish dumped along almost every street, nook and cranny, and wild weeds growing everywhere? Why are we losing our children to drugs, and misadventures en route to foreign lands on hostile seas? Why have the riches of the land consistently failed to reflect in the pockets and lifestyles of ordinary citizens?
Why do we fell so many trees, and destroy local streets for real estate projects without any significant restorative efforts in view? Why do our monetary policies seem to favor foreigners over Ghanaians? Why is so much cruelty reported about hospital staff? Why do those who abuse office and plunder state coffers seem to be treated with kid gloves? Why are those who are perceived to have integrity often sidelined? Why are men still flipping out their ‘manhood’ in public places and urinating everywhere? Why do some leaders foist employment on institutions rather than create real jobs?
At a time when Ghanaians desperately need jobs, and some public service institutions prefer to contract foreign companies than equally qualified Ghanaian practitioners, who is responsible? And if a Government boasts of having undertaken major infrastructural projects, but contracted major aspects of the project to foreign engineers at the expense of qualified Ghanaian engineers who need jobs; who is responsible? And when people are appointed and maintained in positions and roles at which they demonstrate high levels of ineffectiveness, who is responsible?
People say, “Blame Leadership! It’s the fault of our leaders.” And I say our leaders emerge from our culture. Others say it is because we keep putting square pegs in round holes, and I ask why are the square pegs still in round holes then? Still some insist that it’s the lack of law enforcement.
In the last decade or so, countless capacity building programs, including Leadership, Management, Organizations and Skills Development have been conducted across the nation in various sectors of the economy which claim to have the keys to Change. So why do so many of our youth wish to leave? And Ghana’s ranking in the 2017 World Happiness Index so low? And why does money seem so elusive to citizens while migrants continue to do brisk, profitable, and sustainable business here? Why do employers still grumble about unacceptably low levels of knowledge and skills as well as nonchalant attitudes of workers? It seems the center of the economy is barely holding, and unless we soon take pains to strengthen our wobbling center, things will soon fall apart. Why shouldn’t we all, not government alone, but all Ghanaians, as a matter of urgency, take initiative to do right because we are all responsible for the development of Ghana. But what is right? If I many list a few:
Identity
Who are you? And who is the Ghanaian? Knowing who we are means we know our past, what we stand for today, and where we are headed. This gives us a strong foundation of knowledge on which to build self-esteem and confidence, without which our perspective is curtailed, and we would feel too small in our minds to soar to the heights to which we belong. Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do they say I am… And who do you say I am?” We need to know who we are.
Knowledge & Skills
What we know for a fact. This includes the approach, direction, and extent to which we acquire, process, understand, and use information for our own good, the benefit of society, and the development of the country. For example, how the percentage of GDP is allocated to quality education, research, development and discovery; and the expertise with which Ghanaians identify, plan and implement business and developmental projects. We should also take an interest in personally committing time and resources to honing our knowledge and skills to optimize our competitiveness.
Values
Values are genotype; they run through our veins and define our character as a people. They are the universal inner tenets that guide our perceptions and decisions, and measure our integrity and worth. Examples of values are truth, honesty, efficiency, and unity. They are not static; they are lived. What are our universally upheld values? Can we name and truly boast about them because we esteem and demonstrate them consistently? How well are citizens aware of these values? Have we endorsed and re-enacted them in our constitution, laws, traditions, character, and lifestyles? To what extent have our values shaped our culture and vice-versa? And what are the results we are experiencing today? How far will we go to preserve them; or change them? How will we ensure that they are engrained and enshrined in the thinking and actions of every child, youth, citizen, and leader? For example, to the extent that we tenaciously pursue the “Ghana First” slogan until it gains root in our conscience, underpins our actions and interactions, it will evolve into a value, and ultimately our culture.
Mindsets
‘Mindset’ has almost become a cliché in modern social parlance. In a nutshell it refers to the patterns molded and crystalized over time in our brains by our nurturing, beliefs, and customs, and how they influence our assumptions, perceptions, attitudes and behaviors. For example, do we believe in our own ability to get things done right? How well do we support each other to succeed in contrast to how we tend to support foreigners or our once colonial masters? Or, how broadly or far-reaching does the average Ghanaian businessman’s big picture or vision extend; and how are they supported by localities to materialize and grow?
Love
How we relate to each other, and visitors. A house divided will fall to ruins. When Ghanaians learn to appreciate and respect our common strengths, weaknesses, and diversity; seek to admire, support, celebrate, and promote each other’s unique gifts, talents and efforts; build and harness honest, transparent, forward-thinking relationships based on esteemed values and standards, then we will collectively enjoy the best of our produce, and invite others to share in a better quality of life.
Action & Discipline
How well we subject ourselves to a code of conduct in our daily activities. Desiring change is easy. There is, however, a chasm between desire and actual change called the Transition Phase, and it is within this space that the real work is done, and change happens. This phase requires adequate supply and well integrated flows of dialogue and communication, fairness and integrity, buy-in and ownership, resolve and hard work, direction and teamwork, sacrifice and resilience. For example, our political appointees should be truthful, public service officials and civil servants should also work, and not pretend to be working as the saying goes; and be paid ‘real’ fair wages. If citizens will engage the systems of accountability to ensure that everyone is working in the best interest of Ghana we will make good progress. The question is: How ready is the Ghanaian to subject himself or herself to the rigors of the transition period in order to attain the better quality of life so much desired? The mantra here should be All for one, One for all.
Engagement
The middle class should take the lead to study, utilize, train and encourage pressure groups to effectively exploit the available systems for citizens’ engagement to assure change.
Creativity
Creativity is the production of novel and useful ideas, and necessary for achieving innovation. It requires that we think in new ways from different perspectives. The characteristics of a person and the environment influence the creative process and lead to a creative outcome. Everyone can be creative therefore we need to create for ourselves a congenial environment for creative thinking to thrive. This includes creating an atmosphere that fosters imagination and allows pupils, students and workers room to think differently, review assumptions, and engage established schemas and scripts with new perspectives in order to promote creativity and actualize innovation and change.
Results
Change is about delivering results. Results are the actual outcomes of our actions. Reaching desired destinations or outcomes brings change, satisfaction, gratification, and peace. We are all leaders and followers of sorts, and each of us is responsible for brightening our corners. When light overcomes darkness, illumination blossoms; but when darkness overshadows light the result is gloom. As light connects with light we become one great luminous light: An enlightened nation of happy workers. When we deliver desired results the rewards are boundless and timeless. We learn to celebrate each other; we are celebrated by the younger generation and posterity. Delivering and attaining desired results together also boosts confidence and gives voice to the voiceless. It increases self-appreciation, a desire to do more and better, and improved ways of doing things. It also commands the respect of other peoples and nations.
Reinforcements
Structures, systems and processes should continually be assessed and improved to sustain the momentum of development, as well as to bolster the economy against the vagaries of the global climate of change.
In conclusion, we are all responsible. It is not the responsibility of our elected leaders alone. Indeed, in a recent survey it was reported that Ghanaians in the USA were the hardest working immigrants; so imagine if we got our acts together as a nation. We, who vote leaders into office, have even more of a responsibility to ensure that institutional heads and political leaders meet the standards for which they have been appointed. We are responsible for ensuring that goals and standards are high, relevant, achievable, and achieved.
We are responsible for defining and preserving our identity and values, improving our laws, mindsets, knowledge, skills, attitudes, discipline and actions; we are responsible for each other, to promote creativity and support innovation for optimal results. We are responsible for the enforcement and maintenance of every good thing we have. We are responsible not to trade our beauty for ashes. We are responsible to our children and posterity for their security, elevation, progress, and pride. We are responsible for the multitude of youth on drugs, for their humiliation and demise in hostile countries as they pursue hope in foreign lands. We are all responsible for the wellbeing of the Ghanaian because every Ghanaian counts. We are all responsible for change.