Young and Reckless

History has it that those who succeed in lifting their motherlands are not necessarily the young, but are youthful in ideas, plans and strategies for economic and social advancement (can't use 'transformation' bastardised in congress rhetoric).

Let's see if we can link age and performance. Kofi Nwiah at 42 performed excellently over 15 years. ɔbenfo, the Northern Star was 45 and did his best. Kutu, a Obutu Adantoa, 41, did creditably well, perhaps best in self-reliance after Nwiah. Diawuo, 63, finishes third after Nwiah and Kutu in prosecuting the development agenda but first in governance.

Kofi Brɔfo at 56 tried. Forties appear the productive years elsewhere (Kennedy, 44 and Clinton, 47).

At 54 (now 56), came the Lacoste young, rated by my student assistant as the worst behind Junior Judas, who at 32 is the youngest, longest ruling and yet the poorest performer in governance for development.

Egya Atta, president at 65, became the first to die on the job, having hardly impacted on development term terminating eight months less.

Lacoste, the DumsÉ”'s age makes him not young. You insist 56 is young, and I will plead that young is closely tied to recklessly mismanaging a motherland's public funds and resources.

In other places, UK David Cameron (prime minister at 43), USA Obama (president at 48), Italy Matteo Renzi (leader at 39), wherever else, for results, the young surround themselves with the old and wise.

The young should not care less about incurring public debts they would not have to pay.

No motherland-loving young would pay out public monies and share that to enrich selves.

Development-seeking young would never live by 'riches are better than good name.' Young purposeful leaders never lead lives of minimum effort for maximum comfort.

Young and impetuous plus young and inexperienced added to young and unknowing topped by young and careless with young and useless added also young and wasteful twinned with young and unknowing rounded with young with insatiable wealth-seeking appetite; all that together gives you young and cursed.

Summarily, a motherland is led into gropingly heading into darkness and morass by young as such.

Short memories, they say my compatriots and I have. Come 2016, those who engaged in schooling while occupying ministerial public paid positions and those who created, looted and shared judgment debt monies believe we would have forgotten. We wouldn't forget a driver drove the motherland in first gear and yet still was able to crash her into a ditch of dumsÉ” darkness.

Vice President Dan Quayle of USA, young in the position at age 33, was shown a quick exit from holding high political office for messing up spelling 'potatoe,' confusing my class three friends.

On a visit to a classroom, a smart innocent child had written 'potato' on the board. The VP snatched the marker and added an 'e.'

After a VP's bribery adventures with an Embraer aircraft order and a phantom STX housing deal, he moved up to the presidency because he was seen as youthful at 55.

As in the US of A, in some other place, you get trashed politically. In the motherland, you get promoted because my compatriots have short memory.

If it is your intention to forget all that as one of us the motherland's offspring going through now, and have gone through since 2009 because you have short memory, think again. Think again because should you vote wrongly because you have short memory, you would suffer all the things and worse you have been suffering since 2009.

Wanna be septuagenarian's only childhood bitter experience must have been to be 'forced' to take a taxi home from school! In political adulthood, his life experiences with his Nima neighbours and grilling tour of every part of the motherland, meeting poor and rich, is extremely useful leadership asset. It is far superior to the Romanian election stealing experience of a minister's son of Achimota and free education thereafter.

A typical myth of positive or progressive leadership inspired by age as youth is the case of Junior Judas (32), the greatest betrayer of the motherland democratic development cause followed by, or after according to my student assistant, Lacoste the dumsÉ” man (55).

The four Johns have been the good (63), the bad (65), the worst (55) and the ugly (39).

Effective Nwiah, Kutu, Diawuo had seen life before president. They went through the ranks to reach the top. Bottomline, it's NOT age, it's young and reckless.

By Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh