An Open Letter To President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo- Addo

Dear Mr President,
I am writing you this letter to congratulate you on your historic and epic victory and to thank you for the monumental effort you have put in in order to wrestle the country out of the grips of John Dramani “Dumsor” Mahama. I was a staunch supporter of Mahama when he first assumed the presidency, but I quickly realised that he does not have what it takes to run a country, especially a developing country such as Ghana, and as such needed to be replaced quickly in order not to let Ghana disintegrate. I, therefore, became his staunchest critic and nemesis, starting from a little over two years ago.

Mr President, I want to have a little conversation with you in this letter about the future of our country on matters such as corruption, petty tribal politics, the dirty environment, the Police Service, the public services, the open-mouth gutters (and the filth in them), the shattered roads (especially those in Accra (the capital) and Tema), the economy, the noisy and ubiquitous churches, the intelligence of black Africans, and more. The major points I am making in this letter are also contained (in a fuller form) in a disquisition I wrote entitled How to Build Modern Ghana and which was published on this platform in April 2015. So, without further ado, let me begin.

Getting rid of corruption
You promised on your campaign trail that you would banish corruption. You must not fail on this promise even if you fail to deliver some of the other promises you have made. This is because apart from the fact that corruption is both stealing and cheating, it is the bane and scourge of modern society. Ghana is stagnating because it has been suffocated by corruption (not only by politicians but also by all other public services). In fact, one of the secrets of the advanced Western countries is that they have come to realise that once corruption is got rid of or brought to very minimal levels, society leaps forward in bounds and more or less runs itself.

Getting rid of petty tribal politics
You said it on the campaign trail. It came from your mouth loud and clear: “I will get rid of 'petty tribal politics'.” I was mesmerised when the words flew out of your mouth. I asked myself at the time: “Is that coming from Nana Akufo-Addo?” The fact of the matter is, however one looks at it, tribalism or ethnocentrism is parochial and is the product of a primitive and undeveloped mind. Tribalism is pushing black Africans further and further back; therefore, it is appropriate that it be banished.

Because of your running mate Mahamudu Bawumia, you have more or less bridged the gap with the northern regions. Therefore, you can now turn your attention to the other tribes. With regard to the Volta Region, your recent pronouncements show me that you are on the right track and that you will get there eventually. The aim is that you bring Ghana to a level of attainment where at elections we vote on policy rather than on which tribe we belong to. You said during the campaign that you would build a harbour at Jamestown and Keta. I urge you to keep the promise. If you do, it will go a long way to help the people in the areas and also go towards banishing petty tribal politics.

Malfunctioning public services
All our public services, including the law courts - the courts are dreadfully inefficient - have failed us, and in a mega way. These public bodies are just not doing their work properly. From the courts to the Police Service to the Lands Commission to the Lands Title Registry to DVLA … dare I say more? It is almost impossible to have any significant dealings with these services without getting scarred in some form. What is it in the DNA of black Africans that we cannot improve as human beings? Is reading books, memorising and regurgitating to pass examinations all black Africans can do? Why can we not copy the good attitude of the advanced West (Japan included) about how to run public services? Please ensure that by the end of your (first) tenure in four years' time, all our public services, especially the judiciary (the courts) and the Police Service, run like clockwork. Why not? If you do that you will forever be etched in our memories. If you do not remove the last vestiges of corruption from the system or have a zero-tolerance attitude towards it, then you will not be able to industrialise the country as you are planning to do because industrialisation and the indiscipline of corruption are incompatible.

The inadequate Police Service
I single out the Police Service here for special comment because without a good and efficient police force, a country is on a hiding to nothing. Our existing Police Service is not fit for purpose: too much corruption, too much inefficiency, too much ignorance, too much arrogance, too much unprofessional attitude, too much lackadaisical attitude … dare I say more? A lot of praise was heaped on the Police during the 2016 elections for doing a job that should ordinarily be expected of them; however, that was just a veneer; underneath that veneer is a rotten and decaying core. The Police Service needs a lot of urgent and overdue training and education, and a very good one indeed.

What stops us training Ghana Police to behave like the Police in the advanced West (except, of course, the Police in the USA who behave like bloodthirsty, racist hooligans)? The Police in Britain are fairly good except that they too are dreadfully racist and brutalise black people, just like in the USA but without the American hooliganism that goes with the racism; (“black” here means black African and black Caribbean). If Ghana Police is trained to the level of British Police, it would be a joy to work with. Incompetent and/or corrupt police officers and those police officers who set up road barriers in order to extort from and bully citizens should not be mollycoddled but summarily dismissed. It is my wish that by the time you leave office our Police Service will have been transformed for the better.

The topsy turvy economy
I am sure you are aware that a big chunk of economic theory – neoclassical economic theory that is, the one taught in our colleges and universities and the one on which prime ministers and presidents are advised – is nonsense! Christine Lagarde, the IMF supremo, does not know what she is talking about half the time. Because of this, the modern trend is that prime ministers and presidents are tailoring economic theory to suit their own needs. Shinzo Abe of Japan has his dubbed Abenomics, designed to meet Japan's peculiar needs. Soon, we will have Trumpnomics (designed solely to benefit Americans). I, therefore, hereby christen your one-district-one-factory economic policy Akufo-Addonomics. Have the courage of your convictions and the foresight to do your own thing to help Ghana. Economics these days is trial and error. Many economic-theory books were burnt or thrown away after the Great Recession of 2007/8. The (neoclassical) economic theorists did not see the Recession coming, that is why their books had to be got rid of.

In the book Debunking Economics, by Professor (of Economics) Steve Keen (ISBN 978-1-84813-992-3), he debunks economic theory that has been in existence since Margaret Thatcher/Ronald Reagan (that is neoclassical economic theory) as mainly false. If you have time, read this fascinating book. I would not recommend a book to anybody unless I have read it myself.

Your one district-one-factory policy is a remarkable policy initiative. Seeing you talking confidently about how you intend to transform Ghana's economy is mesmerising, refreshing and gladdens my heart. It is a far cry from clueless busted flush Mahama. I hope Mahama is listening, watching and learning from the maestro. What I have derived from what you are trying to do is that you want to start industrialisation of Ghana, and you want to do this by a mixture of private capital and state capital (a mixed economy) – something I have advocated vigorously for a long time. There is no way industrialisation of a developing country like Ghana can be left solely in the hands of private capital. That way the industrialisation will never happen; the state has to play a major and leading role for it to happen. Your one-district-one-factory initiative is the major and leading role the state or government ought to be playing, and you have assumed that mantle brilliantly. To all intents and purposes, you are on the right track to develop Ghana. I cannot wait!

You must never give up on your aim to industrialise, or start industrialisation of, Ghana. You must continue with this initiative come hell or high water until Ghana becomes industrialised. Ghana has reached the “point of inflection” whereby the buy-and-sell economy is no longer serving us well; the only alternative left is industrialisation, and you must not shirk or wobble. Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia have already walked the path you are about to walk; therefore, they serve as exemplars for you to follow.

Please read the following interesting three books about development economics to spur you on and to be your companion in case the going gets tough and lonely: (1) 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, by Ha-Joon Chang (ISBN 978-0-14104-797-3); (2) Bad Samaritans, The Guilty Secrets of Rich Nations & The Threat To Global Prosperity, by Ha-Joon Chang (ISBN 978-1-905-21137-1); (3) Kicking Away The Ladder, Development Strategy in Historical Perspective, by Ha-Joon Chang (ISBN 1-84331-027-9).

I would not recommend a book I have not read; I have read all the three books. You would have noticed that the same person has written the three books. Ha-Joon Chang is a South Korean-born University of Cambridge (England) professor of development economics. He knows all about the tribulations of a modern-day country trying to industrialise. He has written it all down in these three books. Nevertheless, there is no harm talking to him. He will probably tell you how South Korea managed to industrialise.

Environment & Sanitation
I do not know what is in the genetic make-up of black Africans that they cannot keep their towns and cities (and the general environment) clean and tidy, and inviting. The South African state (and its towns and cities) was built by white South Africans and handed over to the black South Africans; that is why South Africa is such a nice and inviting place. The black South Africans could not have built a state like that if left on their own; it is just not in the genetic make-up of black Africans to keep a clean and tidy environment; everything has to be chaotic and shabby! The shabby way we black Africans live tells a lot about our intelligence, or lack of it!

Despite the “Sanitation Day” events that take place here in Ghana every month, almost all the open-mouth gutters in Accra (the capital) and Tema are full with millions of plastic bottles and plastic sachets, and a black cocktail of dirt and grime, in some cases right to the brim especially when it rains. This can be seen almost everywhere in Accra: it is at Accra city centre; it is at Eco Bank, Kotobabi, on Spintex Road, and several other places in the capital. It is as if Sanitation Day events do not take place in these places or take place at all anywhere. What beats my imagination though is how and why the powers-that-be can allow our environment to be that dirty and are comfortable living in such an environment. We should not tolerate this level of nonchalance from the authorities when it comes to keeping our environment clean and healthy. How can we claim to be intelligent human beings when we cannot even clean our surroundings? Intelligence is not the ability to solve a quadratic equation or to acquire a university degree (especially by rote learning); intelligence is more than that. Black Africans have failed the intelligence test in the way they keep their environment.

Mr President, I did not hear you once talk about our dirty towns and cities during the whole of your election campaign. Nevertheless, I would like you to make cleaning of our towns and cities one of your priorities. Make cleaning a serious profession; create a culture whereby people should be able to earn a living out of cleaning. You cannot leave the cleaning of our towns and cities to Zoomlion; honestly, I do not know what Zoomlion does. Despite the ubiquitous presence of Zoomlion, our towns and cities are atrociously dirty. What you need to do is to create a Ministry responsible solely for cleaning the open-mouth gutters in our towns and cities, and then covering them up with permanent structures. And, please, ask the road-building contractors to stop building more open-mouth gutters! None of the advanced cities in the world – London, Paris, Tokyo, etc – has open-mouth gutters. If we are serious in this country, then you must stop building open-mouth gutters and cover the existing ones up.

Town planning
What strikes a visitor to Ghana from the advanced West (including Japan) is the chaotic way we place our buildings. There seems to be no pattern to the way we put up buildings in our towns and cities, yet we have town planners and a government town planning department. I saw and heard a prominent town planner on television recently saying the reason buildings are being erected chaotically in our towns and cities is because “town planning has been politicised”. What does he mean by that? What he means is that politicians are interfering with town planners and town planning. For example, if someone is refused planning permission to put up a building somewhere, a politician could intervene allowing the building to be put up where the applicant wants it. This is bizarre! I urge you, Mr President, to de-politicise town planning. Because you are planning to industrialise the country, there will be exponential growth in buildings; hence, the reason to buttress up the town planning laws.

While you are at it, this is the time for you to think seriously about modernising Accra (the capital). A big chunk of Accra is a collection of fishing villages which form the home for the indigenous people of the area (the Ga people). The housing stock of the indigenous people is too shabby. The government has to replace the housing stock for the indigenous people with modern housing, starting from the Nungua Barrier to the city centre (of Accra) and past it to Jamestown and beyond. The government can go it alone or get into partnership with a private company or companies to build the homes and sell and/or rent to the indigenes at very affordable prices. I do not think the indigenes would be able to eradicate the poor housing if left on their own.

Shattered roads in Accra & Tema
What baffles me is that Mahama is always boasting about building the road infrastructure in the country, yet there are many atrociously bad roads – red, dusty roads - in the capital city itself. If so, what is the meaning of Mahama's boast about building the infrastructure in the country? The Lashibi-to-Ashaiman-Road turned from a tarred road to a red, dusty road over eight years ago, but the road is still in such a condition as Mahama leaves office! Yet this is a man boasting vociferously about building the road infrastructure in the country. Is Accra not part of Ghana in Mahama's books? Eight solid years, that is incredible! What is most peculiar is that the road in question is a very important road in the heart of the capital.

A second example is Community 18-to-Abbatoir-Road. This road was a nice, motorable road until about three years ago when it became riddled with potholes. Instead of Mahama's ministers resurfacing the road immediately, they left it to deteriorate further. About six months ago they came and scraped the tar off the surface of the road. One would expect them to resurface the road immediately. But, no, they have better ideas; they have now embarked on building open-mouth gutters along the road at a very slow pace (a project that will probably take them two years to complete). Meanwhile, we are now lumbered with a red, dusty road and a road whose open-mouth gutters are now being constructed; this is something we have not bargained for. If Mahama's ministers are not prepared to resurface the road immediately why scrape off the old tarmac? There is so much ineptitude in our society. Mr President, please make it one of your priorities to tarmac all the roads in Accra and Tema as soon as possible so that vehicular traffic can improve and so that we have a less dusty environment to contend with.

Enforcement of laws of the land
One of the biggest weaknesses of black Africa is the inability to enforce the laws of the land. We live in a culture of impunity. Black Africans do not as yet realise the importance of law enforcement. For example, if someone drops litter and you punish him, he will not drop it again and, consequently, you will have less litter to clear. However, if you let him go unpunished he will continue dropping litter and you will be clearing after him. Mr President, right now I know you are euphoric because of your epic election victory. However, sooner or later, you should put emotions to one side and try and instil discipline in Ghanaians; discipline is what Ghanaians need more than anything else. If you are able to instil discipline, the country will run like clockwork and you will find that will reduce your workload significantly. Instillation of discipline is very important; please do not relegate it.

Show of intelligence
Since emerging from the bondage and humiliation of chattel slavery and the subsequent colonisation, black Africans have not demonstrated to the world that they are intelligent humans, and people to be reckoned with. My assessment is that black Africans have not managed to demonstrate they are intelligent because the intelligence is simply not there. Tell me, which intelligent human being would cover his head with a (white) horse-hair-wig in a warm – almost hot – climate such as ours while he is adjudicating cases in court just because some (superior) human being, who came to dominate him for hundreds of years, also wears the same headgear in court in his country although that superior human being lives in a very cold country (that may be why he wants to warm his head with the horse-hair-wig)? I am, of course, talking about our ludicrous and unthinking judges, the horse hair brigade; people who prefer horse hair to their own. People who insist on being addressed “My Lord” in court when they do not look like the Lord to me and when we do not have a House of Lords here in Ghana!

Sadly, black Africans have mistaken “bookishness” for intelligence. Intelligence is not the ability to acquire a university degree (mainly by rote learning in the case of the black African); intelligence is more than that. White people, the Japanese, the Chinese, the South Koreans, the Singaporeans, the Malaysians, even the Indians, have all demonstrated that they are intelligent people. Black Africa has not as yet demonstrated that. Black Africa is yet to show the world that it has more to offer it than just Ebola. The failure of black Africa is, of course, the failure of black Africa's so-called intelligentsia. In reality black Africa has no intelligentsia at all because the ones in black Africa masquerading as the intelligentsia – the horse hair brigade, for example – are not intelligent at all if compared with their counterparts in Europe, America, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. Mr President, it is over to you; please show the way.

Ghana's lingua franca
This may seem a trivial point, but it is not. As a nation we have become so sloppy that nothing seems important anymore. It is because of our excessive sloppiness that Mahama's ministers wrote down in the Independence Day programme Uhuru Kenyatta, Mahama's guest, as the President of Ghana (and not Mahama). Shocking! I want to pose the question: what is Ghana's lingua franca? Is it British English or American English? As far as I know, for good or bad, Ghana's lingua franca is British English. Therefore, let us use British English spellings in our everyday discourse. It is so irritating to see American English spelling of words even on GBC (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) Television: words such as “counseling” instead of “counselling”, “center” instead of “centre”, “panelist” instead of “panellist”, “color” instead of “colour”, and many more.

Does it matter which spelling is used? Yes, it does matter. What is happening at present is an indication of our confusion, sloppiness, shoddiness and indiscipline. There must be insistence that the GBC, the ministries and all other government departments use British English spelling of words. Those Ghanaians who have been educated in America and who have come back to live and work in Ghana must be made to use British English spelling of words. It bodes ill for us as a people if we cannot even decide what our lingua franca is or cannot discern that there is a difference between British English and American English.

While on the subject of GBC broadcasting, I would like to say that it is comical and embarrassing to watch GBC newsreaders trying to connect to their reporters in the field. GBC newsreaders almost always find it impossible to connect to their reporters in the field to add details to the news. Why is this so? Can the managers of GBC News not see that their newsreaders are finding it impossible to connect to their reporters in the field? Is the problem due to old and outdated equipment? If yes, can the GBC not afford to replace the outdated equipment?

This farcical pantomime of newsreading came to an excruciating and embarrassing crescendo during the 2016 elections when the newsreaders or the news anchors just could not connect to their various reporters in the field. The GBC is just operating within Ghana, yet it cannot connect to its reporters in the field. If so, how come news agencies such as Aljazeera, BBC, CNN, etc, are able to connect to their reporters across continents in the twinkling of an eye but the GBC cannot connect to someone in Wa? Mr President, although the GBC is under-performing, its managers are not able to see it. On the contrary, the GBC is complacent and self-congratulatory. You want to give us a new beginning, please do not leave the GBC out of your plans.

Location of churches in residential areas
Why do Ghanaians (black Africans) pray like maniacs? What are Ghanaians praying for incessantly? Are they praying for manna to fall from heaven? No, manna does not fall these days; these days, people starve if they do not go out to find food. Since the advent of technology God has stopped dropping manna from heaven because he does not want to make a scene! In the lead up to the 7 December 2016 elections, Ghanaians prayed like maniacs. One could be forgiven for thinking that 7 December was the day the battle of Armageddon was going to be fought or it was the day we were going to witness the coming of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I guess the churches are now suffering from prayer-withdrawal symptoms now that the elections are over and we have not murdered one another; they now have nothing to pray for.

The serious point I want to make though is that because in Ghana church services are 24/7 and noisy, the government should enact a law to prevent churches locating in, or near to, residential areas so that people can relax and rest in their homes both at night and on Saturdays and Sundays when they are not at work. Mr President, please bear in mind that, although it is hard to believe, not all of us pray like maniacs, nor are all of us interested in the 24/7 church mania. When I was young, people only went to church on Sundays and for about just two hours or so, but that is no longer the case today. Some of us want peace of mind to think and reflect, at least when we are in our homes.

A special place should be designated for churches where churchgoers can shout and make merry until they go hoarse without disturbing others. If Ghanaian churchgoers are not hypocrites and timewasters, how come about 99 percent of Ghanaians go to church – I am yet to meet a Ghanaian who does not go to church – yet the country is riddled with corruption? It is not only politicians who are corrupt in Ghana; the whole of Ghanaian society is egregiously corrupt! If so, what then are the pastors or the maniacal-men-of-God preaching from the pulpit? The point I am making here is a very serious one. I do hope you take note of it.

Award of honorary degrees
You ought to ask yourself, Mr President, how come Western universities do not give their honorary degrees to their heads of state? For example, why did University of Aberdeen not give its honorary law degree to Nicola Sturgeon, David Cameron or Barack Obama but to Dramani Mahama? The short answer is the first three mentioned would not turn up to collect the degrees but Dramani Mahama would because black Africans are, in the main, simple-minded people. If you come to look at it, the offer of honorary degrees by Western universities to black African leaders is patronising and demeaning! Why should a head of state (a prime minister or a president) be distracted from his/her work with the offer of something as trivial as an honorary degree? What purpose does it serve? What possible use is the “honorary doctor of laws” degree to Mahama now that he is no longer the President? It is absolutely no use to him because he does not understand law; therefore, he can neither practise law with it nor teach law in a university with it.

Black African leaders go gaga at the sight of an honorary degree. Dramani Mahama, on receiving his “honorary doctor of laws” degree from University of Aberdeen in March (2016), said: “I consider this an honour for all Ghanaians and it is a reflection of the strides we have made as a people, both internationally and at home.” This is how low black Africans have sunk. We are so obsessed with academic titles we have stopped thinking. What on earth makes Mahama think that Ghanaians are more interested in his funny-peculiar academic indulgence than in the horrible state of our choking, open-mouth gutters back home? In fact, white people will forever control and dominate black Africans because in sooth black Africans are unintelligent and small-minded people! Mr President, my advice to you is that you must not leave your post to go and collect an honorary degree from any university. If they insist on giving you an honorary degree, they should bring it to you in Flagstaff House. Of course, you can go and receive a Nobel Prize (for defeating Mahama in the elections, for example) if they offer you one, but not an honorary degree in nonsense!

Your relationship with Britain/UK and USA
The reality of life is that, however much we wish it was not true, all white people detest black Africans and do not respect them because they consider black Africans unintelligent people! However, because white people are, in the main, hypocrites, some pretend to like black people, but in reality no white person likes a black person. The way white people truly behave towards black people is to be found in their workplaces and not the way they behave at the diplomatic level. For example, Britain treats its black-skin citizens (in Britain) (“black” defined as black African or black Caribbean) as lepers and as third-class – not even second-class – citizens, yet we have curly-hair Jon Benjamin (UK's High Commissioner to Ghana) running round reassuring Ghanaians that Britain values its relationship with Ghana. The sad reality is that black people who have chosen to make Britain their home do not live meaningful and fulfilled lives because of white racism. This is sad but is the reality of life in Britain for black people.

Your relationship with Britain and the USA will play a part, if not a critical part, in your plan to modernise Ghana. Therefore, I suggest you deal with the two countries in a matter-of-fact way at all times. For example, it is most probable that in about two years' time Queen Elizabeth will send you a red-carpet invitation to Buckingham Palace to be pampered (like they did for Kufuor). They will not be inviting you because they like you, but because Britain will be positioning itself in case something positive comes out of Ghana (as a result of your modernisation agenda) so that it can take advantage. There is no harm Britain jostling for position as long as you know what the score is.

By all means go and walk on the red carpet and be pampered, but you should be more concerned with how Britain can help you with your industrialisation plan for Ghana. For example, if I were you, I would ask Britain to build a comprehensive sewerage system in Accra and Tema for me. They have the Joseph Bazalgettes there, so why don't you ask? (Bazalgette built the sewerage system under London 147 years ago; it took him nine years to complete.) They may ask for something or nothing in return. Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained; if you do not ask you will not get. Always ask for practical assistance when you get the opportunity, rather than engage in unnecessary diplomatic niceties with Jon Benjamin. (Jon Benjamin is rough-hewn and does not like diplomatic niceties anyway!)

Regarding the USA, having Donald Trump in the White House is not as bad as it seems for black Africa. We all know he does not like black people, so at least you know where you stand with him. In my view, dealing with the “red-necks” like Trump is more straightforward than dealing with hypocritical white liberals. White liberals are only nice to black people if the black people concerned are not competing directly with them for jobs. A white liberal shows his/her true colours once a black person gets into competition with them. In their book Game Change, John Heliemann and Mark Halperin claim that during the 2008 Democratic Party primaries between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton rang the late Ted Kennedy to canvass support for his wife. The authors claim that during that conversation Bill Clinton said to Ted Kennedy about Obama: “A few years ago, this guy [Obama] would have been getting us coffee.”

Bill Clinton never came out to deny the horrible allegation; therefore, most of us have assumed that he did make the comment. Yet, this same Bill Clinton claims to be a white liberal, and has been famously described by Toni Morrison in 1998 as the “first black president”. The problem here for the white liberal is that he is being challenged by a blackman (Obama) for the same job (Hillary's ambition to be president). When that happens, a white liberal is no longer a liberal; he/she becomes a monster just like the non-liberals. The moral of the story is: treat Donald Trump and any other white person who comes your way in a matter-of-fact manner. In fact, Donald Trump's racism may be a blessing in disguise for black Africans: his rough-and-ready racism will force lazy and disorganised black Africans to do something tangible for themselves!

I hope you find the points I have made in this letter appealing.

Yours sincerely,

Abraham Agbodo
Political & Social Commentator