So far, so good but...
All peoples and races have the fundamental and inalienable right to rule themselves, even if, in the process, they make mistakes.
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There is indeed no nation on earth, including so-called superpowers, which has not made mistakes in its local and international politics.
And so independent Ghana in its first 59 years has had its own chequered history, a history of ups and downs. There have been moments when many have doubted whether or not it was right to throw off the colonial yoke.
Every nation’s present and future is ultimately determined by its past; and what a past we have had as a people and a nation!
We have travelled the tortuous path of ideological adventurism, militarism and democratic governance and emerged a better democracy. For all our problems and challenges, Ghana still remains the shining star in our continent. We have become a beacon of hope to a continent full of despair and despondency.
But for Ghana’s success in marching off the colonial master 59 years ago, and the unyielding and bold commitment by the leadership of the day to commit to the total liberation of Africa, the political map of Africa would not have been what it is today. This is the continent that has produced a Nelson Mandela that the West loves to celebrate.
Independence unleashed the potential of a people who had, for decades, been regarded as backward and incapable. We proved, and continue to prove that we are not a mistake; that we are legitimate sons and daughters of God, created in his own image.
We highlight these benefits of self-rule because many in today’s generation who did not live through the despicable and degrading years of colonial rule and apartheid may be quick to dismiss the significance of the struggle for independence.
Having stressed this, it is pertinent to point out that from all that we inherited as God’s gift to Ghana, any observer would be right to note that his country could have fared better in 59 years.
It has become almost a cliché, indeed a mantra, to state that Ghana lacks nothing. We have everything any group of people need to achieve prosperity. Without allowing ourselves to be bitten by the bug of pessimism, we make bold to state that what seems to be missing is the factor of leadership, both at the family and national levels.
The mothers and fathers are failing the children. Buying leaked examination questions for a child is the lowest we can go. The CEOs of various institutions of state, the civil servant and the engineer who supervise contracts and negotiate on behalf of the state have failed in their duty to the people.
At the top is the political leadership. The fact that bills are rushed through Parliament, resulting in the lack of due diligence and loss of revenue to the state, is a failure in leadership. Judges and magistrates too willing to pervert justice in return for personal comforts have failed every Ghanaian who has put his or her hope in the rule of law.
Let all those who seek our mandate know and accept that for all the immense and abundant resources that God gave us, we have not fully exploited these benefits to the full advantage of our people.
It does not make sense that we have this contrasting picture of abundance of resources co-existing with large portions of poverty.
Only fools can be thirsty in the abundance of water.
if for nothing at all, let us use today and the immediate tomorrow to reflect on how we can make life better for our people.
God Bless Ghana.