On Independence and Patriotism

We've been told Ghana has achieved the status of a medium income country, and as it demands we need to do what those in this group of nations do. It was news recently that donor agencies are withdrawing aid that funds our vaccination program. I for one didn't even know this particular program, with all the importance it has for our country, was financed by donors. I guess there are more of such programs in our country that a sponsored by donor funds. I must say, I welcome the idea of withdrawal of foreign aid to Ghana.

Nkrumah et al declared independence for Ghana on the 5th of March, 1957 as we all know. What did they intend to do with the independence they fought for? And of what use is political independence without economic independence? Is it not money, they say, that speaks? Hence he who gives out his money is the one who gets to decide. More than fifty decades after “independence” and we keep asking for help to solve our very basic needs. It is true that no man is an island and we need to cooperate with others, if the need arises, in order to help each other solve certain problems. I think we overstep those boundaries of help-seeking, and have mad ourselves so lazy we don't want to do anything, just sit down and say “oh, I beg …”

It is said “even in Freetown, nothing is for free”. This is not to say that friendly nations cannot genuinely support us in a particular endeavour. But if one friendly nation, or agency keeps giving us money for so many years to solve the same basic problems. How would you feel if you gave to a mature, healthy and competent adult, food to eat every day of his life, when it's obvious he can work and defend himself? You start to think the dude is abnormal and then you start to manipulate him for your personal interests. That's exactly what happens with aid dependent nations like us, in the eyes of our donors.

I think that, theoretically, most African nations have more than necessary resources and should be capable of solving their issues and even give out her excess to those who don't have. But it doesn't happen this way. Sitting on pure gold and virtually with a sea of crude on our coasts, we go about cup in hand looking for cheap money. So our “development partners” have figured out and say, “Let us go Africa and play tricks on them. They don't know how to mine their gold or drill their oil. Let us strike a deal with them in extracting these material, 10% for them and 90% for us.” Surprisingly, those we elect/appoint to represent us agree to such terms. Why? I don't know. So at the end of the day, our riches are exploited by our friends, and we get peanuts. Later, we go and borrow money or ask for tips, increase our foreign debt hence jeopardizing the liberties of those who will come after us. Our minerals will run out one day, and what will we have to show of it? A huge debt, abject poverty of the masses, treatable diseases, etc.? When all these can be solved had we managed our resources with our God-giving brains!

All these problems we have, others (those who are helping us currently) have had, and they solved them alone. What then are we waiting for? Do we see ourselves as incompetent? Our fore-bearers said that “the black man was capable of managing his own affairs.” Were they wrong? Shouldn't we be asking what we can do to make our home a better place instead of asking what the first world can do to help us? After all, there wasn't a higher order world that helped these folks to reach where they are now. They tackled the bull by its horns. That's what we should do. There's no short cut to success.

In this 21st century, infectious disease is still a serious problem on our continent. Poverty is so very easily associated to us, so is war, hunger or any other unwanted phenomena. We could have solved them a long time ago had we intended with all seriousness. We can still solve them. All these will not be finished in the 100 days, nor will it be finished in 1000 days. … Nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. The final success or failure of our cause depends on all of us, from he holding the highest office of the land, to those of us on the street, especially us. If we need skilled labour to build our country, we need to take steps to get skilled labour. You just do your part, and let others do theirs. If you don't agree with others, you ought to allow them to prove their point. Let them try and fail at least. But don't rubbish their ideas. When we elect a true leader one day as president, then we''ll be on track. Mr. Mahama show us what you can do.

If we decide right now to wean ourselves of all foreign aid, would we be in danger? Yes but a nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master and deserves one. The earlier we stand up to our problems, the better for the future of our nations. The Ghana we dream of building we will not live to see, but we need to play our role. Find out how much goes into say acquiring and maintaining a fleet of vehicles for government officials. One minister of state, for example, has several 4-wheel drive vehicles. What I call a luxury. One vehicle could have been bought and the rest of the money used to build a school in some village. I can say for a fact that some of in some of those countries who help us, their leaders don't even live in such luxury, and even if they do, they do so because there's no citizen of theirs that doesn't have portable water, schools or hospitals. We as a country spend too much money on very little and unnecessary things. It means we have more than excess and hence we don't need to borrow money or any other financial aid. Where are our managers? Economists, etc.? What did they learn in school, if they did go to one?

If you go to work every day, and do the very same things all the time, then you probably don't deserve the job. If each of us in our own small ways tried to take a voyage into unchartered waters every now and them, we'll make serious progress as a country in no time. Correct me if I'm wrong: There's a story in the Holy Bible where a rich man was going to travel and he gave some money to each of his servants. He returned to find out the used the money in different ways: some spent it, some buried it, and some invested it. Take your duty as this money. What will you do with it? If you held the post of a typist, teacher, doctor, DCE or a minister, how important are you if you can do the same thing as everybody else? Why must you be the one holding that job? Why must you be the one to build the road or classroom just so that in 5 years, we start looking for money to build the very same thing again?

The ordinary worker has to negotiate for eternity for better conditions of service just to be ignored. When he takes to the streets, society and the State start looking at him as being troublesome. Yet the Executive and the Legislature will vote unanimously to increase their salaries of the each other and pay arrears from several years. Isn't it evident we're all fighting for our stomachs, hence the survival of the fittest? How then do we intend to eliminate this thing we call corruption? Because it's almost certain that if the one who took to the streets joins the Executive today, he'll do the very same things his predecessor does. How can we break this vicious cycle of corruption? Why can't each of us do something for our country thinking only of the benefits to other people instead of ourselves? Would it hurt anyone if the new Executive pools, say 10% of their salaries monthly to build 200 community day schools all over the country? I'd say the cash being spent on government appointees like Ablakwa, Gbevlo of National Security and Tony Aidoo could have being used better to build a hospital for some community somewhere, because evidently such gentlemen are not productive to the cause of our nation! They don't deserve to be paid with the tax payers' money!

When dealing with other nations, let us never negotiate out of fear, but never fear to negotiate. Civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. We must put our interests first, and bargain if we have to. But if at the end we don't gain anything significant from a deal, its better we keep our resources to ourselves until we consider ourselves capable of managing them.

I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, we shall prove ourselves able to defend our home, to ride out the storm of disease, and to outlive the menace of poverty. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do.

Yawa K. Dogwood.
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PS: This piece contains (modified) fragments of speeches by personalities like Kwame Nkrumah, John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, and Alexander Hamilton.

Any other names left out were not done on purpose.