For some time now, I have observed with keen interest, and I keep asking this question, what kind of people do we need to be, to make Ghana a better place? I have come to the realization that, we need more than we have now if we want to save Ghana. Borrowing the words of one of America’s famous writers Ellen G White, she states The greatest want of the world is the want of men and women, who will not be bought or sold; men and women who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men and women who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men and women whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men and women who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.

Ghana is perhaps the 3^rd of 4^th country in Africa with an average and pretty very high intellectual population. What I mean is, Ghana stands the chance of being one of the top five African countries that have produced PhDs and other highly skilled intellectuals. Unfortunately, all these years of studies, have not reflected in the human resource needs of the nation. Some world-class scientists, mathematicians, engineers, lawyers, teachers etc. are products of mother Ghana, yet we still import common toothpick, we still have hundreds dying of cholera each year, our economy is very unpredictable, our educational system is compromised, our transportation system is in disarray, health care is facing numerous challenges, and as for energy, I rest my case! This makes me think and wonder if truly the key to Ghana’s development is “formal education”.

Because in my few years of existence, I have noticed that in Ghana, the more intellectuals we have, the more problems the country faces. This brings me to the quote I cited earlier. In my humble opinion, what Ghana needs is men and women of value, men of women of honour, men and women of dignity, men and women who cannot be bought or sold, men and women who understand what it means to be honest, truthful, diligent, responsible and humane; men and women who wouldn’t hide behind the pen, coats and ties and steal, rob, confuse or create confusion in the society.

In a recent visit to the motherland, I had the privilege of visiting several offices because of a research project I was working on, and I must say it got to a point I nearly stepped out and wept. The rate at which the love for money had taken over the brains and thinking of people was unimaginable. Most young men you met and interacted with wanted to buy cars, build houses and own many expensive things within very few months of employment. No wonder one is asked to pay money at every chair or table visited in public offices. Even men who are notably well to do and well placed in the society with bigger salaries also collected monies from the poor who rather needed their help.

Recently, news and revelations on the massive embezzlements at the National Service Secretariat (NSS), World cup committee and many more, made me realize that the problem we face as a nation is not the lack of education or illiteracy as proposed by many people, but rather the influx of unfaithful, greedy and selfish individuals who use their knowledge to control, manipulate and enrich themselves. The hearts and minds of most Ghanaians today have no ears to hear the cry of the poor and the needy. We use politicians as an excuse and hide behind current hardships in the country to rob, steal and do wrong, forgetting that posterity will judge us individually.  It is important to note that, the hardship is currently everywhere.

Ghana needs men and women who will walk the talk, men and women who will not just hold the Bible or Quran and rob people, men and women who will be bold to resist the temptation that corruption and bribery brings, men and women who are satisfied with the little they have and not those that amass wealth at the expense of the ordinary Ghanaian; men and women who will live by the call as good citizens and religious people; men and women who put the nation first before their individual selfish admissions.

What does Ghana need? Ghana needs a media outlet that will objectively make reportage without fear or favour while at the same time being sensitive to those aspects of our life that have potential to destabilize our nation. Ghana needs a police force of committed individuals who will put the security of the ordinary people on the forefront of their work. Ghana needs a free and independent judiciary that is bold and fearless in executing justice. Ghana needs men and women who will live within their means, men and women who will not create fake paradises in their minds. Ghana needs a work force of its populace who see the good of all as paramount to the good of individuals.

The recent outbreak of the Ebola virus has several lessons for Ghana and Africa as a whole and I will share a few with you. First, I have come to the realization that if we do not help ourselves, the help that we are accustomed to will always come late. Secondly, if we don’t sit up and own our part of the world, we will always be dependent on others.

My prayer and hope is that one day Ghana will see men and women who will relentlessly defend and put its development first.

 

Isaac Nortey Darko

The writer, a researcher and environmental education consultant with ike-boat Research Consult, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, Canada