The coming and passage of times, seasons and eras are an integral part of human development and advancement; And so it is right that nations and continents go through generational cycles.
Each generation has its own peculiarities, system, specific mindset and conduct, framework embodying its happenings, peculiar trend sequences, and winning game.
20th century Ghana could be likened to the Israelis who were led out of Egypt by Moses to build a new nation.
Their dispensation, mindset, dependency on God for direct provision without using the already blessed dynamic human capabilities He God had given to them to make a paradise of their lives for themselves and generations after them.
A mummering, fault-finding, problem-focusing, blame-gaming, and future-sacrificing-for present mediocre comforts generation evident in their conduct towards Moses their leader, whom they consistently grumbled against, criticized, threatened, rebelled against, even insulted without offering any constructive prescriptions for the way forward, was not the kind that God could cooperate within the serious business of implementing an ambitious vision of creating anew more progressive self-determined nation.
Indeed this was a generation that kept referring to and was cut in the mould of the oppressive colonial master, preferring to be under its rule for a morsel of food than pay the sacrificial price to take hold of its great dignified destiny.
It resulted in God having to wait for their children, another generation, who were wired, trained, relevantly skilled, prepared and positioned differently for a more ambitious dream and tough but highly rewarding journey, obviously premised on a winner’s mindset and not a defeat is tone.
Over half a century and ten additional years after the 20th century birth of the then New Ghana, that was characterized by a people with heightened aspirations, and pledges at independence to construct a great and globally competitive and influential nation premised on the trinity of justice, peace, and opportunity for all, the nation has found itself in a ditch “short-changed” by the older generation.
Even more frightening is the woeful failure of the previous generation to lay a solid foundation of stability for revolutionary growth and adequately and relevantly train, raise up, mould, prepare, strategically position and facilitate opportunities for the new generation to drive a 21stcentury agenda with its high energy levels.
Sadly, Ghana’s emerging middle class of the new generation stock has largely been fashioned to a detrimental extent, in the mould of the old and find themselves operating in the belly of the older generation.
This enlightened, new relevant-knowledge-infused middle-class which should be preoccupied with the collaborative, sharply-focused fight for our economic liberation as a basis for other necessary freedoms and also energize the youth front, have pitched camp in the self-centred domain of their little individualistic non-futuristic kingdoms, mediocre investments, pubs and wine bars, shopping malls, weekends it-outs, energized funerals of the dead, global travels that have brought nothing back to significantly revolutionise the cause of our “Great Nation” building project that is the only guarantee for the long term security of their lovely children they treasure so much and are investing heavily in.
After missing our way in the wilderness and engaging ourselves in full accelerated gear down the garden path of self-destruction, 20th century Ghana was has eventually been reduced to a daily struggle for survival heavily out weighing the urge to aspire to the heights of other freedoms, leaving majority of us adjusting the accurate interpretation of our true situation to later wisdom and experience.
Ghana’s closure of the 20th century including its primitive cave-minded politics is long overdue. How can we still be putting old wine in new wine skins? How can we be operating with 20th century tools in a 21st century world? What is the essence of the new, if the failed old is still around and operating in even newer forms? Why do we invest the bulk of our energy litigating the failed past, rather than forge forcefully towards a progressive future? How can we still be functioning as a 20th century nation in a fast changing 21st century inter-twined global-spirited world? How can we be engaged in 20th century parenting, political, traditional and business leadership, business practices, irrelevant education, pastoral leadership and style, industry, agrarian agriculture, planning and infrastructure development, all premised on a dead century’s thinking, and expect to deliver competitiveness and revolutionary exponential growth?
Thankfully, history is not frozen. It lives on, and there is hope because there is a new constituency of highly-energised, innovative and daring youthful Ghanaians out there, fighting forcefully and relentlessly for identity change, a new direction and a new globally-competitive path. This is a clear indication that the dry bones shall live again!!.
The greatest asset Ghana has in this fast, complex, innovative, scientific, technologically-driven, and highly-competitive global-spirited world, is young people brimming with energy, creativity, enthusiasm, an aspirational DNA, and determination to rapidly transform the nation.
Worthy of note that even though some of us of the progressive new generation stock are using the bottom-top approach, energizing young minds, attitudes, influencing their dispositions, and stimulating them into strategic action, especially to occupy positions of responsibility and influence, it is imperative that young people be brought up in an atmosphere of intellectualism, high ethical standards and values, and constructive freedom, as such leadership at all levels must live the example to create this conducive environment.
A nation that seeks an established market niche with respectability, in today’s 21st century world, should deliberately strengthen its future. A tall levels of society and across segments of society that constitute a nation and even at continental level, the older generation, led by political leadership, should urgently promote a youth-driven agenda, make room for evolving citizens, put in place corrective measures to deal with dysfunctional families, the out-moded, non-rounded, irrelevant educational system, the way we engage young people, the way we bring them up, their marginalization from opportunities, and work diligently to avoid the grave danger of our youth being bonded together by poverty, crime and violence, and channeling their high energies in to reigns of terror.
It is crucial that Ghana’s growing middle class with new knowledge, connect and constructively engage the youth, in a new success formation, energizing them with confidence and their resourcefulness. A new national alliance.
China, after engaging in a crucial exercise of thorough complimentary global research to determine her precise core-competency both regionally and globally, recognized that (1) The law of nature goes against the older generation (naturally slower in thinking and action) (2) The enthusiasm and momentum of the older generation to change the status quo lacks energy (3) A more youthful generation is likely to take the kinds of risk necessary for big, volume-based transformation (4) It takes one of a younger generation to promote and drive revolutionary change; thus, the nation took major, urgent strategic steps to bring they out h up to speed to enhance global competitiveness. The game is not just about being youthful, but youthfulness with quality, relevant, rounded education and the power to create dramatic change.
Our game must change urgently. It is time for a generational change not just in Ghana, but across the African continent and to see tangible economic improvements in the lives of a critical mass of our youth.
The future is YESTERDAY and we are already late. WAKE UP TO THE NEW
DAY REALITY, OLD GENERATION AFRICA!!. RISE UP TO RESPONSIBILITY,
NEW GENERATION AFRICA!! YES WE CAN!!
#TheNewGhanaNation #TheNewGhanaRevolution
#BuildingTheNewGhana #TheBestIsYetToCome
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By: Nanayaw Berima
Founder: Governance In School-Network.
Accra-Ghana.
Tel/Whatsapp: +233242922260
Email: thechapterzgh.org.gmail.com
Facebook: Nanayaw Berima