Radix malorum est cupiditas — Geoffrey Chaucer
During the week, I observed that a particular word was used frequently on radio/TV.
As I reflected on activities during the week for my article this week, it occurred to me that the same word featured prominently in discourses I was involved in.
Much as I would have wished this trend was positive word, recurring word, rather disappointingly turned out be greed!
Female ‘preponderance’
At our first meeting of the Family Health University (FHU) in 2026, the Dean of the Medical School (FHMS) observed an interesting trend in our Medical School intake over the years.
At its inception, there were not only more male than female students, but also a significant difference.
After a while, the gap reduced gradually to a point where the numbers were about equal in a 50-50 situation.
In recent times, however, females not only constitute the majority, having overtaken males, but also the gap between females and males is steadily increasing, with females dominating graduations.
Interestingly, the KNUST representative on the Council made a similar observation about KNUST Medical School.
The professor described it as a growing “preponderance” of females over male numbers in their medical school as well.
While I have not conducted a detailed scientific research with findings on this subject from the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), Legon and others, the number of females inducted by the Medical/Dental Council yearly, as I have seen, seems to support our observation.
While our meeting saw nothing wrong with more females studying Medicine, the observed trend of fewer males wanting to study Medicine was thought to be a matter of concern, not only at FHU and KNUST Medical schools, but as a national issue.
The question is, why are fewer males showing less interest in Medicine? What makes the boy-child not interested in Medicine?
Opinion
It was generally opined that the apparent shift away from arguably the world’s most prestigious profession, Medicine, appears to be a change in mindset rooted in economics/power, which starts in the universities with student politics, with making quick money as the objective.
Looking at the political scene, male students appear to be in a hurry to get a degree quickly and go into politics with the guarantee of instant wealth/ fame as they see happening before their own eyes.
The question they ask is, why should they spend six years going to medical school, and an additional two years of housemanship before practice, with no commensurate compensation at the end, when with less effort, politics can reward them profusely after half the time in the university?
Again, why should young doctors who have not paid their dues to Ghana deem it wise to abandon medicine for politics?
Indeed, in Ghanaian politics, as observed, MPs are not content with representing the people they claim to represent.
They want to “catch the President’s eye” to be made ministers/deputies, as an MP said.
As a veteran journalist asked on TV and many others have asked during the week, but for a greed, why should a person representing the country elsewhere in a high-profile job, take “leave of absence” to come home to compete a vacant seat in a bye-election?
As his colleague politician put it succinctly in pidgin on TV after mentioning greed as the motive without name-mentioning, “one man no chop,” echoing the words years ago of an old politician who said in Ga, “moko aya, ni moko aba,” to wit literally, “someone must go/leave, so another can come!” The question is, “come” to do what? Plunder and pillage?
My discussion on greed reminded me of my August 2020 article titled, “Animals are not greedy.” Part is quoted below:
Nairobi 2009
While serving in Uganda as former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano’s Senior UN Military Adviser for the Lord’s Resistance Army-Affected Areas of Uganda, South Sudan, DR Congo and Central African Republic from 2008-2009, my “Manager” (Mrs Frimpong) and I were invited by a Kenyan General, my counterpart at the UN, New York in the early 2000s, to Nairobi for Easter 2009.
Our one-week stay in Kenya was not only exciting, it was educative.
We visited the Nairobi National Park.
Unlike a zoo where animals are caged, the Park is a huge fenced game reserve where animals live in their natural environment and move about freely as they would in the wild.
My friend wanted us to enter the park immediately it opened at 6 am.
The objective was for us to see as many animals as possible before they withdrew into the bush with the rising of the sun.
As intended, we were the first to enter the park.
After a few minutes’ drive, a spectacle I had never beheld burst on my sight! I saw the frightening spectacle of two lions, the male and his wife/fiancée/girlfriend.
As my host drove closer to them, my protests increased!
My protests notwithstanding, he drove to within six feet of the lions and asked me to take pictures of them.
Still protesting, I took some quick shots and ordered him to move away!
It was at this stage that my amused friend said something which has lived with me.
He said, “Dan, unlike us humans, animals are not greedy!”
Animals!
Recalling why he made us enter the park at 6 am, he explained that carnivorous animals like lions spend the night hunting.
By dawn, they would have eaten to their fill.
Thereafter, all they want is a shady place to rest once day breaks.
Until the food digests and is excreted some days later, the satiated lion harms no one except in self-defence.
He added that a lion would hunt an antelope because it knows that would be enough for it.
However, a pride of lions would go after a bigger animal, e.g., a zebra, so the family can feast on it.
He concluded that since hunger is the instinct which makes carnivores like lions hunt, once that need is satisfied, they are harmless.
For us humans, however, once a need is satisfied, we graduate to wants, which we don’t need.
So humans will kill just to satisfy our greed.
We want to own six cars when all we need is one.
Animals are not greedy!
My Kenyan friend’s education reminded me of a play I watched in school in the mid-1960s.
The Pardoner’s Tale in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales was titled “Radix malorum est cupiditas (“greed/the love of money is the root of all evil”)
Greed
In the play, three friends chanced on a vault of gold in the countryside.
After the initial excitement, they decided to guard the gold until nightfall when they would carry their booty home without any interference.
While two guarded the gold, the third was sent to go to the nearest village to buy food.
As soon as the food buyer left, the two guards plotted to kill him on arrival so they would share the gold.
As he went, he thought of having all the gold to himself.
He decided to kill his two friends.
Having bought the food, he ate his and laced the rest with poison.
Although I watched this play about 50 years ago, I still have a vivid mental picture of all three friends dead on the stage. Greed!
******
Is it not sad that a prestigious profession like Medicine should be abandoned by young males for politics for wealth/fame, fueled by greed?
What can I add?
Leadership, lead by example/integrity/humility! Fellow Ghanaians, wake up!
Former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association
Nairobi, Kenya/ Council Chairman, Family Health University, Accra.
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