Democracy is not a panacea for Ghana/Africa development

The political democracy as seen to be practised in Ghana and other African countries is not, and never going to be, a panacea for the development of the African nations.

From analytically empirical observations, Africa, and in that matter Ghana, can honestly only be developed through having knowledgeable, far-sighted, dynamic and dedicated dictators as their leaders.

The current practice of democracy where leaders are changed periodically by politically unsavvy electorates based on their whims and caprices will never be a solution to the lack of development and abundance of lawlessnesses and ramifications of corruption in Ghana or Africa.

Many a developed country in the world had gone through some sort of revolution at some point in their nation building and economic development with a dictator as their head.

Not taking Ghanaians any far into any complex historical facts to buttress my views, just have a look at our sister-African nation, Rwanda.

Rwanda has Paul Kagame as her leader for almost the past twenty years.

President Paul Kagame is understandably a dictator by virtue of the political democracy in practice in today's African continent.

However, he is a far-sighted leader with the love of his country and people at heart. He is dedicated to serving his people and country.

He is selfless, incorruptible, knowledgeable and knows what he wants for his people and nation.

He knows what is best for his people and is doing possibly whatever he could to attain such things for them.

Regardless of some civilised white countries and people seeing and classifying him as a dictator or an authoritarian, he is so far the only African leader that has proven himself serious and credible to solving his country's problems.

Will President Paul Kagame sit down watching while his country's ecology comes under alarming devastation at the hands of both irresponsible Ghanaians and utterly merciless foreigners, that is, the Chinese? No, no and no!

Yes, it is visibly known and understood the efforts so far made by President Nana Akufo-Addo to stopping the ruinous illegal surface and alluvial mining (mining) heartlessly ongoing in Ghana.

However, his efforts made so far keep failing at each turn of the corner because of the hopeless democracy in practice in Ghana.

As hopeless as the Ghanaian political democracy is, it has begotten equally unsavvy electorates who are anaemic of what it takes to develop a country to better the collective standard of living for the citizens.

When President Nana Akufo-Addo is taking credible steps to stop the galamsey that is destroying the nation's water bodies, arable and fertile lands and forests, former President John Dramani Mahama and his ilk on the hand go round promising to allow people to do more galamsey when they vote him to power.

When President Nana Akufo-Addo as visionary and intelligent enough to know that knowledge makes one confident or powerful, and acquisition of knowledge comes through formal education hence empowering Ghanaians through free Senior High School, what do we see happening?

The opportunist and populist former President John Dramani Mahama, as clueless, incompetent, liar and corrupt as he is, invests time in discrediting the noble policy to finally deprive Ghanaians of acquiring the needed knowledge.

Ghanaians without foresight are easily misled. We buy into the myopic propaganda thrown our way by John Mahama and his cabal of gluttonous people.

The president's efforts are then aborted all because of the baying of "we shall not vote for you come election ...." by the Ghanaians without political discernment.

The democracy giving power to African people to unconsciously sabotage their own wellbeing is not worth the time spent and efforts made.

It makes our nation's economic development become a spineless merry-go-round wheel to the detriment of all.

As it is not always that the majority is right, concluding from how the Ghanaian democracy is being practised to our own ultimate detriment, l shall opt for having a sensible, caring and far-sighted dictator with the love of his people and country at heart to rule Ghana.

I shall come back to offer cogent reasons to support my stance as to why it can only take dictators or leaders that are able to mercilessly enforce the laws to rule Ghana to make it better for all.

Could a dictator by a word of mouth not have stopped the devastation being wreaked on Ghana's water bodies, arable and fertile lands and forests?

Be a judge for yourself on this view as expressed by the no-nonsense proud son of Kumawu/Asiampa soil, Rockson Adofo.

Rockson Adofo
Sunday, 5 March 2023