https://www.myjoyonline.com/benjamin-akakpo-fixing-without-fixers-cry-the-beloved-country/-------https://www.myjoyonline.com/benjamin-akakpo-fixing-without-fixers-cry-the-beloved-country/

My light continues to fluctuate wildly and that gives me shivers every time because if it goes off, that could mean a long night of depressing heat! I see people queueing with gallons - just to get something as basic [it sadly is a luxury for many here] as water! Fuel prices are hiking again! Teenage pregnancy is running amok! Youth unemployment is sickeningly rampant! The hydra-headed serpent of corruption has its tentacles everywhere! The economy still totters as though it were in the grip of a drunken stupor.

Galamsey continues to loom large and its ravages are there for all to see: our land has been despoiled and our water bodies are no more than massive puddles! Our roads are deathtraps! Our hospitals barely are able to save lives! Our education is shockingly shallow! Our religion is hopelessly hollow! The blazing sun and the accompanying scalding heat, nowadays, is an apt reminder of the climate change that has been spoken of time and again. But what exactly can we say we've done about all these? What? Do we need any more of the talk shop? The big talk and empty walk?

Fixing this country is for all of us to do. The question is: who's ready to do the fixing, make the needed sacrifices and leave a legacy for the next generation? Unfortunately, the Presidents, Veeps, Ministers, Legislators, Heads of Agencies, DCEs, Chiefs and what have you that we've had, especially in more recent times, have, by and large, delivered far below expectation! I wholly agree!

But here's another stark reality: we can talk all we want about fixing this and fixing that, but the fixing starts with - all of us! The carnage on our roads isn't all about bad roads, is it? How about piss-poor driving? All those tens of thousands of teens who got impregnated last year - was that solely owing to Covid-19-related issues or poor social systems? Until we accept that we all are an intricate part of this web of problems we grapple with, we won't get anywhere! Trust me!

And perhaps our greatest share in "the problem" is that we, the masses, continue, almost fatalistically, to elect into office people who mislead rather than lead! As P.L.O. Lumumba aptly puts it, "We select hyenas as leaders, and then turn around to wonder what happened to the sheep!" Need I remind you all? Hyenas don't frolic with sheep! They eat them!

You know what? I fear for the coming generation! But even more, I fear for us, today, who live through all these and fail to speak up! To say our destiny - and that of posterity - is in our hands is an understatement! We are at the developmental crossroads; if we fail to do what we ought to now, it could be game over sooner rather than later! No! I'm not a pessimist! But the writing is on the wall for all who have the eyes to see!

Speaking up and acting are just the first steps, really! To build the sort of country we'd be proud to bequeath, we need to set good examples wherever we find ourselves. The change starts with us!

Our leaders have been terrible! No doubt about that! But have we, the followers, been any better? We need to seriously ponder that! Let's stop passing the buck! Our leaders are to blame - they, most of all! But so are we - in ways big and small! We all need that renewed mindset - call it a paradigm shift - lest we are, to put it mildly, doomed!

May God aid us all, leaders and followers alike, to become much better, much more honest, and willing to do much more for our Motherland, Ghana! Together, we can #FixGH!

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.