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06.03.2016 Opinion

59 Years Of Independence; How Far We Have Come And The Way Forward

By Gabla Godwin
59 Years Of Independence; How Far We Have Come And The Way Forward
06.03.2016 LISTEN

The struggle for political independence which was led by Dr.Kwame Nkrumah and his fellows came to a successful end exactly 59 years today. The then Gold coast was the first country within the scope of the African continent to attain independence.

Under the visionary leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana saw a massive rate of development with projects ranging from the building of Tema township, the Accra-Tema Motorway, Komfo Anokye Hospital in Kumasi, University of Science and Technology which was later named after him as Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, polytechnics and second cycle institutions across the country.

History has it that as of the time Ghana had attained independence; the economic conditions in the country were almost as healthy as Spain and obviously as good as South Korea. This was attributed to the fact that the British had left the nation with quite a reasonable sum of money and cocoa (of which Ghana was the leading producer) was very expensive on the international market.

However, 59 years down the line, Ghana is nowhere near Spain or South Korea who are now among some of the first class economies in the world. The question that remains on the lips of most individuals now is “what went wrong?”.

Majority of our problems as a nation depend on our inability to focus on the future. The Kwame Nkrumah led administration had focussed on creating opportunities for future generations. That is why some of the industries left behind by the Kwame Nkrumah administration still remains our most substantial infrastructure in such areas of the national economy.

If we as a people have the focus of developing the nation for the benefit of posterity, we would cultivate the virtues that give yield to national development. Prominent among such virtues are: Nationalism, patriotism, humility and faithfulness. One who has the focus of developing the nation for the benefit of generations yet unborn would not compromise such virtues for anything.

We as a people are now more concerned about ourselves than the nation when driven into leadership positions. The saying: “Good name is better than riches” doesn’t sound well to the current crop of leaders we have in our nation. If all you think about is your pocket and not the welfare of the people you “lead” then you cease to be a leader. I wouldn’t want to delve more into the system of leadership because we may never get to an end.

Back to the main issue, our nation needs a lot of reforms to make things work for us again. So the question is: What do we do?

THE WAY FORWARD
There is an old adage which says “you cannot teach old dog new tricks”. It is on this ground that I advise that we focus on the upcoming leaders and cope with the current trend of things. Going forward, we need creative and selfless leaders who can spend from their own pockets to help Ghana work again. These are leaders who can sleep deep in the night and wake up at dawn without complaining just to see the county rise on its feet again. The leaders I am talking about here are the leaders who are creative and innovative. They are leaders who can take decisions in the interest of the nation with no fear of victimisation or personality grudges. Somebody may ask: Do these people exist? The answer to that question remains a Yes!. It depends on the type of orientation and training you have. If you have parents who can tell you to get to leadership positions and gather money to help them build a company, how can you be a good leader? If you have parents who take bribe in your presence or talk to you about the unofficial dealings they have, how do you become a good leader?

To make Ghana work again, it is the duty of everyone. The church, the school, the family, the motivational speaker, the leadership mentor and so on.

THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH AND OTHER RELIGIOUS BODIES IN THE RISE OF GHANA

The church is noted for helping inculcate moral values into the individuals. But in this case, my focus is on the young ones so the individuals here refer to the young ones. In most churches today, all being preached is either about marriage or riches. The moral aspect of the church seems to be going down the drain. If Ghana must work again, then the church and other religious bodies must learn to preach good moral practices and inculcate these values in the young ones (The future leaders).

THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY IN THE RISE OF GHANA
“Charity begins from home” is an adage we keep hearing every day. This adage explains the reason why the family (the home) is important in the rise of Ghana with the young ones as the point of focus. The home being the beginning of charity gives us the clear view of the fact that the training a child receives from home greatly affects the way he/she behaves outside. If we want to raise vibrant leaders, the family should be lively and up to the task of bringing up children with the right frame of mind which promotes national development. Thus; the spirit of nationalism, patriotism, honesty and humility among others.

THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL IN THE RISE OF GHANA
Aside the family (home), the school is one great agent in the socialisation process. As such, the school is vital in changing Ghana with the future leaders as the pivot. The school and its curriculum should be made more practice oriented and geared toward developing creativity and the imagination of the children. This would help raise leaders who are visionaries. The school should also be made a more discipline society to inculcate self-discipline in the children (future leaders).

THE ROLE OF THE MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS AND CO-OPERATES

The work of the motivational speaker, the leadership trainer and others in the rise of Ghana is nothing strange. These are people who render the service of talking to people on particular topics and training them at a fee. Their major goal is to touch lives. If the major reason of this group of people is to touch lives, then I charge them to look out for the young ones.

They should scout for children who have the ability of leading this country in the future and impact in them skills and qualities that would make Ghana stand again. Taking money from people who are already corrupt to render them services to help them change from their bad ways is a virtually invaluable thing to do. Let’s invest in the young ones and groom them to become the leaders we want to see in our country.

If the measures above are considered and dully implemented, Ghana would rise back on her feet and shine again as the black star! The star of Africa! The first country to gain political independence in Africa. Ghana must work again. We must gain back our lost dignity.

Happy birthday to Ghana! May the vision with which Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led us to attain political independence come to limelight through the future leaders. God bless Ghana and make her great and strong!

I am not of any political affiliation but of affiliation to the progress of my beloved country. Let’s arise for our country and make our nation great and strong. The time is now but not tomorrow.

Long live Ghana!
Long live Africa!

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