On Student Riots: Discipline -vs-Rights And Respect For The Served!

I have not had time to focus and make a statement on this issue of student rioting and violence at Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) campus in the week of Oct.21, 2018. Some of us older ones who have witnessed Ghana’s many transitions from Colonial rule to Independence, the era of military adventures, to the era called the 4th Republic, deserve to comment.

As I was writing this I read the comments of one young man, Ernesto Yeboah, Leader of the Economic Fighters League (Fighters) (Ghanaweb, Oct.28, 2018). He said:

“Those who are condemning violence wholesale probably don’t understand or are merely being hypocritical. If the KNUST students didn’t do what they did we probably would not have been talking about it (their grievance) now”.

I cannot but agree with this young man’s analysis.

There in no doubt Ghana is still struggling through her democracy from the authoritarian one-man rule. Ghana’s is a highly respected name among all blacks in the world due to our history as leaders from Independence. Our image is important if the black race as a whole is to gain some respect. Intellectuals and academics and people in leadership need to stop and ponder why other previously colonized nations are doing better and selling us products while we go begging and more than 75% of our University graduates are unemployed. Some of our youth are crossing the Sahara Desert and some girls engaged in domestic servitude and abuse in Arab nations.

In 1957 Ghana became the first black African country to wrestle independence from a colonial power in a peaceful manner. How do we build on the image and develop to a first world status?

Many people have made valuable comments, some putting the blame on the VC and University leadership; others are blaming the students, while some blame the government.

I think everybody is on the right thinking frame of mind and reasoning.

Ghana has a conflict between DISCIPLINE and RESPECT for human Dignity and RIGHTS.

Let me elaborate:
1. DISCIPLINE is one thing missing in Ghana and many African nations in transition from traditional verbal non-coded laws to modern written laws with rights and certain limits on behavior.

Students, no matter how angry and disaffected, simply don’t go and destroy the vehicles and property of lecturers or visitors on the streets or campus! No! Nobody does that and gets away with it! In law abiding societies, there must be investigations and due punishment by assessing damage and letting the guilty offenders pay for the damage. Period!

To solve the problem of impasse though, one should ask: how did a disagreement reach this far? We must ask:

Does the University belong to the lecturers and VCs or the Students, or the Government?

Having said that, let’s all evaluate the other side of the coin.

2. RESPECT and Consideration: In general it appears Ghanaians in public service feel they own the nation and institutions they work for! No! All government employees and executives must know and accept they work for the people of Ghana, be they students or adults!

Every agency, Ministry and institution working in Ghana must respect the people they serve and show consideration for their concerns. The human rights abuses under the PNDC military regime of Jerry Rawlings (1981-1992) produced a cultural shock among the people of Ghana. It appears there is something missing with the psyche of Ghanaians. Ghana has reached a point where government employees, from clerks to the highest levels of Parliament, the Ministries, Metro and District and Regional offices don’t care to have working phones and pick up customer calls!

Nobody in Government replies to mail anymore! Who do these people think they are? Examples from the reader. Letters to the Ghana Revenue Authority, Office of the Speaker of Parliament, some Ministries, Office of the President, written on behalf of the Ghana Leadership Union, a registered NGO, did not even receive an acknowledgment reply or call back!

Nobody seems to care once they get a government job. Who do these people think they are?

The destruction of vehicles and other property by young people may be interpreted as signs of boiled up frustration. Humans don’t wake up and start destroying things!

So what is going on in Ghana in the last 27 years after the nightmare of the Jerry Rawlings PNDC military rule?

In a PhD dissertation research based on Ghanaian concept of leadership and their expectations of leadership between 1993 and 2003, the number one expectation of leadership found by the author was “Concern for the interests of the people”, followed by “management of resources” (Danso, K.A., Leadership Concepts and The Role of Government, XLibris, 2007).

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
How does one measure the temperature of a people boiling up?

Some of the ways used in America are customer satisfaction surveys.

It Is highly recommended that every Institution, Agency, Ministry of government, MMDCA, implement customer satisfaction surveys as a culture, and the President takes this seriously if he is sincere about making a change. Nobody deserves a government job as a reward for being a member of a political party!

It is NOT a right to get a government job, be it in Nursing or Teaching, the Ministries, as a Professor or Vice Chancellor! At the end of the day it is the taxpayer who pays their salary!

In the recent case of the riots and property damages at KNUST campus, the question and inquiry should start from the beginning of the gripes and concerns of the students. This article does not intent to judge or place blame, but the President of the nation bears full responsibility for what happens in his country, be it peace or if Ghana turns into flames like some of our African countries did killing hundreds of thousands.

The Ghana Governance system has shown no consideration for the interests of the people for decades now.

Here’s a short analysis:
1. Towns and districts are neglected by central government, and modern development does not reach even areas where the people are wealthy and could contribute in property taxes to build their own roads, schools, underground sewage systems, public parks and libraries!

A good example can be seen at some of the Kwahu towns such as this writer’s hometown of Abetifi, and Pepease, Nkawkaw and others like East Legon suburb town of Accra. Some are without pipe born water for more than twenty years! Some suburbs of Accra with nice homes have no decent roads! Why??

How the heck do you expect such people to pay taxes, locally or through the ports of Ghana where they engage in most of their trading businesses. And feel satisfied and content?

It is strongly recommmended that a Constitutional amendment be made to allow towns, districts and regions to elect their own councils and mayors, chief executives or Governors. Let them learn to make decisions for their own welfare!

2. Cleanliness and basic infrastructure including underground sewage should not be beyond Ghana. It is a major disgrace if places with major capital investment in homes are denied clean environment and sewage systems. While many may think that neighbourhoods can just start collecting money and doing things for themselves, the question then becomes what is the value of a Government? This is one area of frustration! Let Government deal with it!!

3. Unemployment of the youth is a major area of frustration in Ghana. Idle hands are easy to be used by the devil, if I may be allowed to borrow from our religious books. This can be solved easily by government doing what even capitalist nation like America does: provide Small Business Loans for young entrepreneurs to engage in businesses of their own. Our women in Ghana are very creative fashion and dress designers and our men can be licensed for trades!

4. Licensing of artisans and tradesmen to do Quality construction work will ease some of frustration some of us adult investors feel. Some of us could even invest more if these youngsters had some instilled discipline. They need training and tested and licensed as Electricians, Plumbers, Masons and Metal Workers and Carpenters. This will even create more government revenue as hundreds of thousands get put in record and pay small fee. Their fees for Quality workmanship also goes up.

5. DISORGANIZATION: people in Ghana have for decades suffered the stress of a disorganised society. Loan money to anybody and you don’t see them again! This writer has tried to help but nobody in Government seems to care. Government needs to complete Naming Streets and Numbering Houses. The Ghanapost GPS system introduced by Vice President Dr Bawumia could be an additional locator but cannot leapfrog any addressing systems our development partners use. No! Confusion makes it more difficult for any investor.

6. MALARIA and preventable diseases such as typhoid, cholera should be dealt with and we should do it now! An estimated 100,000 die every year that could be saved. A UN and World Bank study (2003) showed 97 out of every 1,000 born do not reach age of 5 in Ghana. Can anybody sense the level of pain some mothers go through burying their children. The other economic losses are in the billions per year!

7. CUSTOMER Satisfaction surveys should be instituted in all Government MMDCA and other Agencies to demonstrate interest and concern for the people of Ghana. And communication channels of phone lines, email addresses must be open and published!

If we solve the frustration caused by the apparent lack of concern shown by officials for students and the people, especially the poor and those without clout and connections, Ghana can become the great country we started out with in 1957, and that our new President seems to be aspiring towards.

Sincerely,
Dr. Kwaku A. Danso
President- Ghana Leadership Union