An Open Letter To Agbeve Wisdom & Youth For Change In Shai Osudoku

Hello comrades.
Let me first congratulate you for your first ever article published in your life. You are welcome to this new world of writing but more ahead as I want more from the constituency. I am looking for more intellectual arguments and scholars from the constituency.

Well, I read on modernghana an article authored by Wisdom Agbeve, the president of

Youth for Change in Shai Osudoku Constituency (YOSCO), on the 06-12-2015 see more at: http://www.modernghana.com/news/659906/1/shai-osudoku-the-richest-but-the-poorest-in-greate.html on shai osudoku the richest but Poorest in greater Accra.

I found the article very interesting and one thing that came into my mind was that, the people of shai osuduku are widely awake now. In the said article, according to the author, Shai Osudoku Constituency sits on a lot of riches but its constituents are the poorest in the Greater Accra Region. A comparison of the poverty indicators among the districts in the grater Accra region shows the level of poverty in the district. A similar article was published in the daily graphic online, to be accessed at graphic.com.gh/.../25426-doryumu-sits-on-riches-but-its-people-live-in-...on Jun 18, 2014

The said publication highlighted the natural resources to show the correlation between the resources and the level of poverty.

The District Analytical Report again revealed that, the population of Shai Osudoku is about 51,913 of which 46% of the working populations are into agricultural, fishing and forestry sectors. And about 80% of the working populations are in the private and informal sectors. The predominant occupation is peasant farming.

According to the May 2015 edition of Ghana Poverty Mapping Report, a document prepared by the Ghana statistical Service, shows that Shai Osudoku District is the poorest in the greater Accra Region. In the report, indicators such as Incidence of poverty, depth of poverty and poverty inequality were used to assess the poverty levels of the districts.

According to the report the highest incidence of poverty is Shai Osudoku District with 55.1% and has a poverty depth of 23.2% also the highest in the region. Additionally, the report revealed that the distribution of poverty inequality in the region shows that Shai Osudoku was the worst performer with 40.1, and is the only district with inequality above the regional average of 37.6.

Moreover the league table of poverty incidence according to the report, rates the district as 28th among other districts in the country. Additionally the 2014 league table of districts in Ghana, a research jointly conducted by UNICEF Ghana and the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD Ghana) Shai Osudoku placed 46th but rose to 28th on the 2015 league of districts in Ghana.

Despite all the above resources, a chunk of the rural folks cannot afford a three square meal daily. Youth unemployment is high, educational facilities are in a deplorable state and inadequate to address the educational needs of the people.

There are schools under trees and there are school children who still write on the floor because of lack of desks. The roads are also in bad state. There is no tertiary institution in the district.

The author from the said article concluded that Shai Osudoku constituency is the richest but the poorest in the Greater Accra Region. Despite the abundance of natural resources that are tapped and untapped, majority of the residents of the district are finding so hard to make ends meet as compared to the other districts in the region. There are more to be discussed in the next article on the subject matter. The constituency needs to be developed he stated.

But one thing I realized about the article was the author assertion that the constituency needs to be developed. Now, my question goes to the author Agbevey because I know he also raise an issues of tribalism during the NDC parliamentary elections.

These are my few questions:
-Who are you calling on to develop the constituency?

-Are you calling on only indigenes of the land to develop the constituency or you need everyone on board to transform the constituency?

- If you are really a youth for change, and you need development, why don’t you stop the tribalism game you guys are playing?

-if the indigenes can develop their own land, why are they suffering?

-Is Politics based on birthright as some people are saying in the constituency?

-If it is birthright do you think that some of you are part of the inheritance right from birth?

-Why don’t you people give others chance to change things?

You see, Agbeve, what kind of change are you calling for in the constituency? Tribal change, developmental change, educational change, leadership change, political change, social vices change, alcohol and drug abuse or we refraining from so many things?

If we want change and after election, you can’t still move forward how you do expect change to happen? After elections, you are still sabotaging the winner, how do you expect development? Definitely, you will still leave in abject poverty until you change your mind set.

You see, Agbeve, the shai osudoku problem is lack of generational thinkers, simple! We have a generation that cannot think for tomorrow. Wisdom, can’t a ewe man also change the constituency? And what about if tomorrow you also decide to be voted as an MP, don’t you deserve it? Should people make reference to your tribal background rather than what you bring on board? You see, let change from today and we will see the development.

So, if we want the shai osudoku land to develop or make the place a better place for us, if we are going to take charge of the future, we have to be generational thinkers. That means therefore everything that you do, you have to think of the person who is coming after you and make sure the person coming after you, will not be worse off but will be better than you are.

So, either from the perspectives of Thucydides, Otabil or Bismarck, the decade that just ended saw remarkable rise in thinking by shai osudoku elites about their progress, more critically from within their cultural values up to the global prosperity ideals. The shadows of this state of mind is casting everywhere, from the remote Doryumu to Osuwem to the once slumbering elites , where generation of thinkers (backed by the mass media) are emerging and being encouraged, and the leaders learning from the mistakes of others. Suggested that shai osudoku needs a DISCIPLINE SOCIETY. A discipline society is equal to a society with responsible people; people with good attitudes, high moral standards, where laws enforced and individual liberties are protected etc. we need a discipline youth, discipline movement like yours and society.

The question therefore is, how do we achieve a DISCIPLINE SOCIETY? The answer I will give is STRONG LEADERS/GENERATIONAL THINKERS. We give our leaders MANDATES. This mandate gives leaders LEGITIMATE POWER. The power given comes with AUTHORITY. The authority given is for GOVERNANCE. Governance is the exercise of power in the management of resources to achieve socially desired ends. Socially desire ends is development. Development simply seeks to improve the total lives of a people.

My understanding of POLITICS (Politics is the practice of the distribution of power and resources within a state) is thus DEVELOPMENT not just development but SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

In the Western Liberal Democracy discourses, socially desired ends can only be achieved with strong leaders/generational thinkers who will not only think about the next election but the future development of the state. Development thus can be achieved with a discipline and a responsive society. In our part of the world you can only have a discipline society or change the attitudes of the people through law enforcements. If the pain of committing a criminal offense i.e bribery and corruption, poor sanitation practices, murder, robbery etc etc is more than the pleasure gotten in engaging in these acts, people will change their attitudes.

To what extent have our leaders exercised this power to ensure sustainable development? Our leaders are interested in getting power but have either failed to appreciate the value of that authority given them or lack the political will to exercise this power over resources. Our leaders should note that, the power given is for a purpose hence if for their selfish interest they cannot exercise it for the collective benefit of the entire people, then they have no reason to hold unto it. As citizens we must ensure that such persons are not given mandates again.

We always refer to President Barack Obama's statement that "Ghana needs strong institutions" What is an institution? What is its component? According to Wikipedia, Institutions are structures or mechanisms of social order, they govern the behaviour of a set of individuals within a given community. Institutions are identified with a social purpose, transcending individuals and intentions by mediating the rules that govern living behavior.

A strong institution is thus a strong leader. A strong leader exercises its legitimate power in the management of resources. This is done by the application of the law (law enforcement). For example, corrupt persons are punished without fear or favour or political interference. This is rule of law (when the law is ruling).

In conclusion, I will admonish all the constituents including you and your team do due diligence on politicians before they give them their mandates and not tribal sentiment. We have virtually nothing to leave for the future generation after all these years of our MPs or own people ruling us and voting pattern in shai osudoku. Most of our leaders have misused the power given them and that is why we are in this mess.

Every child has his or her own capabilities, dreams, goals, desires and destiny. God in His own wisdom made us unique and created every one of us to be fruitful and multiply.

Parents are busily choosing career paths for their wards without knowing which qualities the children possess. As usual, these are what we hear from parents when the children are growing up: “I want you to be a doctor, lawyer, accountant, and engineer” etc.

Parents don’t go the extra mile to find the passion of their children. Instead, they try to mold them into an image accepted by society. As prudent as this may be, many children suffer to adapt to the pressures and expectations of their parents’ in their career choice.

Who is responsible for the upbringing of the child? Is it the internet or the media? Who do we blame?

Education has long been the hope for many for a bright future. Parents therefore fall on teachers to help shape their children’s dreams. Unfortunately, our educational system only focuses on producing grades at the expense of career prospects.

It is no wonder that we have lots of people with first class degrees without a sense of purposeful living. Lecturers are not motivating students to think outside the box.

The leaders of the shai osudoku are also not helping in development towards this direction. Great talents and minds have come out with good products and yet the system does not apply efforts in promoting them.

The Lack of funds available to the youth from the district is discouraging and does not allow people pursue their entrepreneurial skills. Politics has become the cop-out and most of you went into this area this year because of what you will get but not thinking for the future leaders, so you want to promote something else.

Many young person’s become politicians because they believe there is money in politics. With unemployment figures rising, many see politics as the easy way out. Our society is bedevilled with many politicians and few generational thinkers or leaders.

Until we change direction, posterity will only inherit what we have poorly done. Children must be supported and allowed to make career choices in line with their talents. I believe our teachers and lecturers can do better by encouraging students to think outside the box rather than selling hand-outs and promoting ‘chew and pour’ stereotypes.

The truth is, we all cannot be bankers, lawyers, judges, engineers, journalists etc. Some have to be artists, athletes, entertainers, and fashion designers etc. to maintain a healthy balance. We all need each other to survive and we are all equal irrespective of our career path, tribal bigotry, superstitions, jealousy, envy, and selfishness. The shai problem start from right conception to deception and until we start right from conception we will remain like that because our won people are occupying wrong positions, places all because of tribal bigotry, and this was why shai rural bank collapse. Too many people occupying wrong places so definitely we will leave in poverty.

Get a copy of my book soon for the extensive research on our problems.

Long live the Shai land and the Dangme Land in general

Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu:ND,MSc, PhD Candidate

The author is a prolific writer and authors of the book “The state of the Dangme Land”

He has proven that, the dangme man is also capable of becoming a national asset