Ghana At 62: Has The Average Ghanaian Regained Economic And Fundamental Freedoms?

Let us face it, no one can deny the unbelievable efforts put in by our Forebears in securing the ultimate freedom from the British, far from it.

Nevertheless, the all-important question every Ghanaian should be asking is: does the average Ghanaian have inalienable human rights, economic and fundamental freedoms following the attainment of independence from the British Sixty-two years ago?

It was, indeed, absolutely right for our Forebears to fight their way through for the independence, in the sense that all human beings are born equal in right and dignity, and hence no one has an absolute right to trample upon another’s inalienable human rights.

Martin Luther King Jnr of blessed memory could not have said it any better when he articulated during Ghana’s independence celebrations in Accra: “the oppressor never voluntarily gives freedom to the oppressed; the oppressed has to work tirelessly for it (King 1957).”

I must, therefore, confess that I wholeheartedly shared in Dr Martin Luther King Jnr sentiments on freedom. Freedom is indeed gained through dint of hard work and persistence, but not through listless resignation.

That said, looking at our contemporary political landscape, it would appear that all the hard work put in by the Founding Fathers has been in vain. I bet, they are mourning their beloved Ghana in their graves.

Regrettably, we can all witness how some individuals would hypocritically hide behind the ideals of the independence and patriotism and turn around to perpetrate all sorts of unpatriotic deeds against the country they claim to cherish so much.

Dearest reader, how could anyone calling himself/herself a true Ghanaians gleefully defend a sibling of a former president who blatantly refused to pay import taxes to the tune of GH12 million?

Trust me, no true patriot, in all honesty, can conspire and clandestinely withdraw a whopping $400 million of Ghana COCOBOD’s money meant for the upkeep of poor farmers.

Where was the so-called patriotism when individuals who nauseatingly claim to be social democrats incredibly dipped their hands into the poor farmers money and built a luxurious mansion at an alleged cost of GH7.7 million for their own comfort?

How can they claim to have the interests of Ghana at heart when they could import about 43 vehicles at a staggering cost of $9 million on the blind side of the good people of Ghana?

If those politicians aren’t heartless and unpatriotic, how come they conspired and paid dubious judgement debts to the tune of GH800 million?

If, indeed, they are morally upright, and have the wellbeing of Ghana at heart, how come they conspired, looted and shared monies belonging to GYEEDA and SADA, which were meant to transform the lives of the needy in society?

Where was their much-touted patriotism when they squandered funds meant to transform the lives of the penniless in society through dubious deals such as the Brazil World Cup, the infamous bus branding, SUBA, SSNIT among others?

Let us be honest, there is nothing seriously wrong for anybody to claim birth right to patriotism. However, patriotism is not a mere rhetoric, for we could only evidence our patriotism through our actions and inactions. That is by showing our affection, solicitude and strong predilection towards our country in whatever we do as real patriots.

It is, indeed, extremely worrying that after sixty-two years of independence, Ghana continues to lag behind the rest of the pack in respect of economic advancement. Why?

In fact, I have always held a contrary view to the sceptics who contend somewhat speciously that it is hackneyed and unconscionable for anyone to suggest that although we started life with the likes of South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, we are happy to secure loans and other assistance from them.

Let us however admit that the Founding Fathers of Ghana, so to speak, were true patriots whose blood and toil won for us the desired independence in 1957.

So if you were to ask me on my dispassionate and honest opinion on patriotism; I would dare state that the Founding Fathers were the true patriots, who deserve our commendation for taking it upon themselves to muscle their way through for our ultimate freedom from the British.

In fact, there was absolutely nothing wrong for our Founding Fathers to resist the colonisers suppression, which in my opinion, was a laudable feat by all counts.

But as to whether the vast majority of Ghanaians have regained their economic and fundamental freedoms and the inalienable human rights following Ghana’s independence, is a million dollar question that would be opened to different interpretations.

The independence, I must sadly admit though, will remain meaningless, so long as we continue to elect leaders who cannot think outside the box but prefer to take delight in foreign influences, guidance and control.

Dearest reader, I am afraid, it would appear that we have not weaned ourselves from advanced countries. If this was not the case, why is it that we continue to seek policy guidance from IMF? If we are self-reliant, why do we constantly carry our begging bowl round seeking alms? If we are independent minded, why do we have to import common contractors from China to build our basic infrastructures? If we were that capable and foresighted, why do we consistently import foreign football coaches?

Sadly, our leaders, more often than not, measure their accomplishments according to the amount of loans they manage to secure from the same countries we started life with. How pathetic?

Frankly stating, I do not want to be seen as a pathetic doomsayer, but in so far as we continue to elect the dreadful economic managers to take charge of affairs, Ghana may not see any meaningful development in our lifetime.

I must admit, for so long as we have leaders that are myopic, visionless, and only count their achievements with how much loan they are able to secure and the number of schools they are able to remove from “under trees”, Ghana may sink deeper and deeper into the mire.

And, what is more, in so far as we have leaders that have no foresight, and are corrupt, greedy and incompetent; I dare state that Ghana may never advance meaningfully in our lifetime.

Let us therefore, remind ourselves that independence refers to self-reliance, so, if we chose to depend largely on other countries for survival, then our independence will somehow remain “meaningless”.

Take my word for it, dearest reader, this is not an endorsement of the NDC’s 2020 flagbearer, and the former President of Ghana, Mahama’s infamous greedy pigs aspersions, far from it, but I would dare stress that comparable to George Orwell’s animal farm narrative, Ghana’s independence has largely benefited and continues to benefit only a few-the greedy and corrupt politicians and other public servants. This is indeed an illustrative case of “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

In spite of the economic hardships, some ravenous politicians prefer to live opulent lifeclasss to the detriment of the masses. How bizarre?

Take, for instance, the officials of the erstwhile NDC government, purportedly, squandered Ghana’s scarce resources to the detriment of the poor as if tomorrow will never come.

As a matter of fact, President Mahama and his NDC apparatchiks came under the spotlight for numerous bribery and corruption allegations, among others, ‘the Brazil World Cup, ‘the infamous Bus Branding, ‘the furtive gift (the Ford Expedition Vehicle) from the Burkinabe Contractor Djabril Kanazoe, the Embraer 190 scandal, Armajaro, SADA, GYEEDA, SUBA Info Solutions scandal’.

Frankly stating, former President Mahama and his NDC government alleged corrupt practices resulted in excessive public spending, less efficient tax system , needless high public deficit and destabilization of national budgets, increasing capital flight and the creation of perverse incentives that stimulate income-seeking rather than productive activities.

In sum, I dare state that in so far as the elites among the ‘four legs animals’ continue to display selfishness, lack of patriotism, and revoltingly look down upon the ‘four legs lumpen proletariats, Ghana may never develop meaningfully in our lifetime.

K. Badu, UK.
k.badu2011@gmail.com