Ghana: Where Is Our ‘Donald Trump’ When We Need One?

From Voice Of Reason:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will…men may not get all they pay for in this world, but they must certainly pay for all they get”—Frederick Douglas.

I want my country back!

Why are we forced to choose between the lesser of the two evils, every four years? The choices are always so pathetic, aren’t they?

What if a carpenter, factory worker, nurse, shopkeeper, student, clerk, or anyone with a vision backed by a desire to make a huge difference in the life of an average Ghanaian; had the same chance as the professional politicians to get to the parliament or become a president of Ghana?

What if a trade deals couldn’t be passed unless workers, farmers, environmentalists, community leaders, and all others directly affected by the deal were sitting at the table negotiating as full partners with the corporate and government enlists pushing the deal? You might say,”kwaku what if pigs can fly?”

This is why we need someone with Donald Trump’s chromosomes (with authenticity and business acumen) to shake and change things around.

Europeans can’t stand him and he has promised to deport 11 million illegal immigrants in his country, but Americans still like him—I wonder why!

Americans are galvanizing to Donald Trump’s political bandwagon because of his impressive C.V. With his in-your-face tenacity that has made him almost everyone’s hero. He also gets under the skin of corporate giants, politicians, lobbyists, and the media—anyone who has made life tougher for the millions of Americans who have had enough of the crap. He brings his wit and working- class voice to an American public which is desperate to save what’s left of the American dream. His take- no –prisoners attitude is brutally funny, insightful, irrepressible and irresistible.

Donald Trump is gaining political traction on the landscape of America, and there are more reasons for his momentum. Yes, his supporters don’t have a “defined common ideology. But, they have a unifying motivation— a deep-rooted pervasive sense of anxiety about the state of the country”. They’re angry and frustrated at those they felt were “encroaching on their way of life and ruining the country in the process”

This isn’t about whether he’s going to do a better job or not. It’s a political statement the voters want to make to the political establishment: “we’re going to put somebody in there that you don’t really like to shake things up because that is our choice to choose now”.

To some American voters, Donald Trump is not afraid to get in the trenches and fight. He’s going to be politically bully and tell the establishment what he thinks. And, that is part of the attributes of a great leadership.

For one thing, he’s filthy rich and he can never be bought. He also knows how to run legit businesses. Above all, his willingness to disregard political correctness makes the supporters feel he’s saying exactly what they really feel about issues, but they’re afraid to say it in public .In a way, he represents their hopes, fears and frustrations. Isn’t he the kind of person we need desperately in Ghanaian politics right now?

When are we going to get non- professional politicians who will represent our fears, hopes and frustrations and fight vigorously for us and Mother Ghana?

Every four years, Ghanaians literally drag ourselves into polling stations and vote for the ‘lesser of the two evils’

Maybe the reason the majority of Ghanaians don’t vote—not because they are not hungry to participate, but because every time they show up to vote there is nothing but crap left on the political menu. They’re just tired of having to choose between the “two evils” on election days. How many times has the candidate you voted for turned around and done the opposite of what he or she promised?

Who among us in Ghana marches proudly into the voting booth on an Election Day thinking, ‘I can’t wait to vote for these great men and women of vision who are going to change things around?’ No one!

For whatever reasons, it’s impossible for a third party to make it on the ballot and get proper media coverage—so the voter has nowhere else to go .However, there has to be a better way than every four years some of us are being forced to choose candidates we don’t like and watch boring political advertisements and devote to activity that the majority of Ghanaians doesn’t participate in.

In our part of the world, do the people in power really give a damn about folks like you anymore? Start with your own government-- the law makers down at your district assemblies, the executives in your regional capital, or those in the Parliament House in Accra. Do your opinions really matter to them…or do they just go with the money?

That is just the government. At least with the government you get to vote every four years. But, the real power has been grabbled by the corporate executives and, lobbyists and campaign contributors, whose names are never on a ballot and, whose decisions affecting you are made in secret and whose butts you can’t even find to kick.

This ‘power’ has not only entrenched itself, but is tunneling into every aspect of our lives and culture. You see it anywhere you go. It’s in our elections, at all levels, soiling them with its campaign cash and controlling what issues get discussed. It’s in your food (do you remember the genetically modified food), water, air and your babies, classrooms and colleges.

Whether it’s the laws passed, the water your kids drink, the future of your neighborhood, or what is allowed in your news feed every day---we the people don’t have much to say about it.

The funny thing is that a handful of men with limousine lifestyles sit in soft leather chairs up in faraway skyscrapers, deciding your future. They don’t know you, won’t ever visit your town or village, and don’t give a ding as to how their decisions impact on you. Their values stop at what’s good for their company’s stock value—look how our river bodies have been polluted—thanks to the mining companies!.

I think there is a big hole in Ghana today, that we’ve lost something that really matters to us as people of this great nation. I don’t know about you but I want my country back ASAP. Probably you do too! But, who is going to bring it back for us? NPP? NDC? Corporate executives? Media pundits? I don’t think so!

Can we count on anyone of those self-imposed socioeconomic exiles, who are tired of their host countries to deliver us from the hands of corporate elites? (fully abetted by the governmental elites?) Your guess is as good as mine!

Can we defeat a force that is this powerful and pervasive? Are you kidding me! Only if we keep on pushing. I’m talking about using the human spirit .This spirit’s our natural democratic impulse that tells us to fight against no-good power that keeps shoving past us, stepping on our toes, telling us to get outta the way while it’s eating everything in sight.

I’m talking about the spirit that crushed the Apartheid system in South Africa. The spirit was so strong that it pushed some members of congress to commit the acts of civil disobedience by getting arrested at the South African embassy in Washington, D.C

Maybe we can turn all this complaining into action. Action that can collect up our democratic powers piece by piece. Wouldn’t that be something? Do we really have time? That would not be an easy task. Well, who says change comes in that easy?

Since the people have been neglected and disowned for so long, the question is: Can the people’s expectations be negotiated and their anger be contained when things fall apart?

You still want your country back right? Then get busy!!

Until we meet here again, stay tuned. Be strong, blessed informed and educated.

Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi (voice of Reason)