Singapore – The Ghana that Never Was?

Whenever the failure and frivolity of Ghana as a nation is discussed and criticized, it is often done relatively to the self-reliance and virility of Malaysia. But I choose to take it a step further. While both Ghana and Malaysia had independence in the same year—Ghana on the 6^th of March, 1957, and Malaysia on the 31^st of August—, it is the success story of Singapore that puts into perspective the utter imbecility of the Ghanaian politician, and the rudderless disposition of its citizenry.

Today, Malaysia is a first world country that boasts the 29^th largest economy in the world, after almost 50 years of GDP growth averaging 6.5% per annum. It also is a major medical tourism hub with one of the best healthcare systems there is. Same things cannot be said of Ghana, however. Today, Ghana is a third world country—the status it started out with right after independence from Great Britain in 1957—, that went HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Country ) in the early 2000s, and might do same again if current economic figures are anything to go by.

Now, take Singapore, which was formerly, for a period of two years or so, federated to Malaysia. It too was a British colony that gained independence in 1963. After a brief period of struggles, the nation and its people embarked on a path of conscientious nation building and development that had over a few decades propelled it from third world status to first.

Today, Singapore is an international commercial hub, with an economy that is very much diversified and continually growing. It came first in a recent poll conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to find out which nations have the best education systems. On the same list, Ghana comes in at 76^th. She also tops similar polls in health care, economic competitiveness, and standard of living.

7 days ago, Singapore celebrated its 50^th anniversary as a sovereign state, and truth be told, they really had much to celebrate. Not only do they have the best education system in the world, but a healthcare system that trumps many in the Western world. They also have a military sector that is very much technologically advanced. Indeed, they had much to celebrate, and the celebration itself showed for the might and magnificence of a nation.

Compare that to the Independence Day celebrations that happen in Ghana. Should we even celebrate? What do we celebrate anyway? 58 years of misgovernance, corruption in high and low places, and the mind-boggling dance of mediocrity—two steps forwards, three steps backward?

What made Singapore a success story? And what made Ghana the exact opposite—to be a tad hyperbolic? Does it have something to do with location, culture, skin colour? Is the black man utterly incapable of taking care of his own affairs? Was Nkrumah wrong? Are we just not capable of changing things, developing, being self-reliant, taking charge of our own destiny and making it good and great? What at all is wrong with us as a nation?

A lot, if you ask me. Let me bother you with only two.

First of all, education; Singapore has the best education system and is hence the best all-round developed nation in the world. During its years of turbulence, it had a high illiteracy rate that directly affected its development as a self-governing state. Its leaders quickly identified the way forward, put in place measures to rectify the anomaly of high illiteracy and a few decades later, they are reaping the rewards.

Now, what about Ghana? We have an education system that prioritizes students memorizing stuffs and reproducing them during examinations over depth of study, critical and imaginative thinking. We have a system where 72% of high school students failed their WASSCE exams in 2014, and less than 30% likely to pass in 2015. Add to that the growing incidence of students cheating during examinations and the scandalous leakage of exam papers, and you have the main cause of Ghana’s failure as a nation—a most mediocre education system.

And we as a people—and our political leaders—are still ignorant of the fact that standard of education correlates to national development.

Secondly, we don’t have visionary enough leaders. Greek philosopher Plato, in his seminal work the Republic, promulgated the idea of the philosopher-king, and I think Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew perfectly epitomized that ideal. He was the one who in collaboration with his people and in a single generation transformed Singapore from third world status to first.

And he is the sort of character most of our politicians are ignorant of (I believe). In fact, if a poll was to be conducted today, I am very sure that more than 50% of our politicians will own up to never hearing of him, and only a handful conversant with the name and its significance to the extent of reading his political memoir-cum-how-to—From Third World to First: The Singapore Story.

Why? Because a sizable chuck of them are men and women of little education; either specialized in particular fields and thence ignorant of all others, or, being broadly educated to an extent, but short of exceptionality and application.

Throw in that T.S. Elliot quote about the general ethos of the people they have to govern determining the behavior of politicians, and you don’t need me telling you why Singapore, after 50 years of independence, is now a success story worth studying and emulating while Ghana, after almost 60 years of independence, remains an ignominious failure.

It all has to do with attitude.