Who Gives A Country Its Image?

A couple of days ago, I stumbled unto a quote on the news wires. It was reportedly part of a speech delivered by a bigwig in the ruling NDC Party in Ghana. He wears the title of International Relations Director of the party and he was addressing a group of Ghanaians in Switzerland.

My interest is not in what title he wears or what he does. There is a confusing maze of titled individuals calling themselves Sirs, Nanas, Chiefs, Ogas, Bishops, Honorables, Apostles, “Massa”.etc in that part of the world. Neither do I want to know what he does because there are so many public servants with high sounding titles in Africa so “unconsciously incompetent” (courtesy Kofi Koranteng) that they themselves do not know what their job prescriptions and details are.

It is what he is reported to have said that intrigues me. He issued a call to Ghanaians living abroad to “uphold the good image of Ghana in their respective host countries” and also that there was nothing honorable than “behaving well and abiding by the laws of a foreign country.”

These are all too familiar sermons you surely will hear if you ever drive your tired soul to any event where so-called visiting government functionaries rattle off their standard talking points. Just last month when President Mills met Ghanaians in New York (and most definitely in Washington DC), each member of his entourage who spoke ended their deliveries with the standard “image …. good ambassadors” admonishments, reminders, whatever.

Let's say the President was in his rights, fulfilling his role as the nation's father and thus advising 'his sons and daughters'. What can we say for the rest of them or a visiting senior minister in Kufuor's government (then with presidential aspirations) spewing identical prose at a funeral in Newark?

I find these nouns and verbs with Ghana in between lines to be as empty as the characters who keep reciting them .They have become nothing more than overused, boring clichés. Nursery poems are even better. At least they rhyme.

The standard “good ambassador …. Ghana's image” lines do not excite or inspire anyone simply because do not speak to anything that we are about in these foreign lands.

We routinely joke that we did not locate to the US to take in a closer view of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline. Neither are we here to represent Ghana and its image either way.

The overwhelming majority of Ghanaians who ventured out are pretty much focused on what they intend to do wherever they disembarked --- be as successful as you can for your sake and your folks back home because past governments have failed you and them. Pure and simple.

We have not become as successful and accomplished as we are by behaving badly or living foul of the laws of our hosts. Contrary to what pertains in Ghana (and indeed nearly all African countries where selective enforcement is the norm rather than the exception)), we are sojourning in counties where laws are made and enforced. We do not live in a USA or UK where playing by the book is a choice you make and get away without the consequences thereof. These are not places where, in the everyday scheme of things, you could opt to function impudently and successfully as an outlaw. You do not park your car anywhere because you call yourself Nana or are the brother of a minister's girlfriend!

What dents a country's image the most is appointing a diplomatic representative who is yet to extricate himself from an international bribery scandal, more so than a struggling and disoriented Ghanaian in Ijora, Nigeria who makes a negative personal choice like stealing a loaf of bread? Add a national fire service that cannot put out a barnyard fire because it is woefully equipped with short water hoses/ladders and empty fire engines!!

So you see, Mr. Big Shot and others like you, please do not come apreaching to us about law abiding, yadda yadda because the great, great majority of us do not need any prodding from outside to live within the laws of our hosts. Our hosts are very good at that.

In fact the choir you should be preaching to about laws and a nation's image is right there in your face – your local constituency. And it is indeed a huge choir of some 20 million plus members with the leaders who seem to be oblivious of the fact that they are the ones who must be preached to.

It is they who must be told that there is something even more honorable than “behaving well and abiding by the laws of a foreign country.” It is behaving well and following the laws of your country. It is staying true and honest to your public charge.

It is keeping hands away from the public kitty, also known as stealing/embezzling public funds. It is holding oneself accountable to the people and eschewing corrupt practices. It is working efficiently and diligently at all times for the common public good as against deliberate ineptitude. It is being able to understand that to lead is to serve and by so doing inspiring others to serve. Good governance, that is.

So, again, the next time you talk to us, talk about good governance because it is the single most powerful determinant of the image of a country. The last time I checked the indicators of good governance are “safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity, and human development , which examines poverty levels, health, and education provision” (courtesy the 2009 Ibrahim Index of Governance).

By G. Ofori Anor
Development / Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com