The Ghana Youth Series #1: These Are Different Times For Ghana's Youth

I was lucky to have spent a lot of time with my grandfather, then my father. I was even luckier that they had conversations with me about their youthful days. My days as a youth are entirely different from those of my father and grandfather (may he rest in peace) and so too are those of today’s youth.

Times have changed fast – domestically and internationally. Things are continuing to change and will do so into the future and I feel it means a change in the manner in which the youth of Ghana ought to view and interact with their country and world. A few things that come to mind:

GLOBALISATION AS A THREAT:
Not a threat to life – but particularly on partly to your employability. The world is getting closer together. It is now possible for an employer to jump on the internet and use job platforms to get ¾ of their work done by cheaply priced graduates and self-taught workers all the way in India, Sri Lanka etc – yes it means your unemployment will not only be a Ghana issue. Take note especially jobs that don’t require physical presence or heavy hand use.

GLOBALISATION AS AN OPPORTUNITY
In the same manner above, globalisation paradoxically also means you should start looking at opportunities NOT only in a Ghanaian context but globally – if it requires you to travel a little to experience other cultures, do it – it adds to you and enriches you. The world is now yours and you are closer to it than you thought. It will also force you to be sharper with your ideas and output because it doesn’t have to only appeal to the local Ghanaian market – you have to appeal to the global high standard. High standards will mean your access to greater platforms.

SOME EXTINCT PROFESSIONS:
Be careful. Don’t leave school and jump on a masters programme or professional course because everybody is doing it. Some of these professions have drastically evolved and some are on the brink of extinction. Research very thoroughly. For example traditional Auditing is drastically evolving into Systems and Value Auditing. Check before you dive else, you might be initiating your future into a profession that gets extinct just when you start having kids. Look out for new frontiers that because of Ghana or Africa’s evolution, could become the next big frontier. Always try to think into the future.

THE NEW EDUCATION FRONTIER:
At the pace that research and innovation findings are becoming available and freely available, classroom education is not going to be enough for your complete education. If you are not careful, the use of PASCOs etc will kill your career rather than create it. The internet, in the near future will be ahead of most classrooms in terms of material and content. So use it to get ahead of the pack. Instead of asking relatives abroad to send you mobile phones, rather ask them to use the money on their Debit Cards to pay for online short courses for you. And let’s not be fooled that you will get jobs in Ghana no matter what – foreign companies can now fly in employees from all over the world as long as they have the quality. Don’t be fooled at all.

THE INTERNET, ENTREPRENEURS & MARKETS:
The internet has become the globe’s market place. On it you can buy from rats to whole islands. Yes you heard me right. The internet is going to become the place where every global transaction starts. Or it is going to form an integral part of every global transaction. So what does it mean for you? It means the internet is going to be a huge part of your future – its beyond Facebook and WhatsApp – you need to lean basic uses like Web-researching, Social media use in business, Data-analysis or mining etc. it will add value to your own life and in your jobs. If you are entrepreneurial, it means now you can offer things that are peculiar only to Ghana to a global market now just be having and managing an internet shopfront.

RELATIONSHIPS:
Relationships have become very fast paced and “microwave” in nature and everything relationship is now being done by phone etc– but it also means simple things like writing someone a handwritten letter, or meeting them face to face has now got very high value. Use it to your advantage. With all of our smartphones and internet and other gadgets its easier to stay in touch with people and thus maintain good links. These links will always serve you well in the future. Connections are everything, so nurture them– but don’t leave them dormant until you need something and start calling people – it makes people feel used.

OF POLITICS IN GHANA:
If you get the chance – get into politics: it will not only boost your confidence, it also allows you to take responsibility for your own future and those of your posterity. Politics is not for a “Certain Set of Called People” – get into it at whatever level. The truth is the Old order of politicians got it all wrong and suddenly, it is the youth who must necessarily become fathers of our land.

CHRISTIANITY – PURGING WITH HYSSOP:
Don’t leave your brains at the door when you enter the church – take your brain with you. Question the gospel for yourself and still be spiritual. Don’t only depend on prayer – Jesus was the sone of God but He still paid His taxes. Don’t just take things like a boiled egg simply because a “Man-of-God” said it. The Word of God is not a manual for confusion so it must stand up and defend itself against all scrutiny. At the end of the day, the same God that gave us the Bible, first implanted in us a brain and His Spirit. He gave us a brain and spirit first.

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