The Past and Present Leaders/Governments of Ghana are all Failures As the Secret of the Success of Singapore is Revealed

In pursuance of my policy of being of service to my people and my country, as could be inferred from my numerous publications, I could not hesitate publishing this write-up as soon as I received the underlying video on the revelation of the “Success story of Singapore” on my WhatsApp page.

As sharing is caring, I cannot claim to love Ghana and my Ghanaian compatriots if I withheld vital information meant for our collective interests from the public if any such information came my way hence this publication. Sharing the information is one thing, and people applying the information to their everyday lives for it to yield the desired results in fulfilment of its purpose is another.

The message contained in the video is self-explanatory without requiring much elaboration from me. It is all about how Singapore, a South Asian country that had her political independence from Britain at the same time as Ghana, and was then equally poor, has been able to chalk up immense socio-economic success while Ghana is gyrating in poverty and underdevelopment. Luckily, a Good Samaritan from Singapore has decided to help not only Ghana but the African countries mired in poverty with their citizens suffering humiliation, although in the midst of plenty, by revealing the secret of the success of Singapore.

The economic success of Singapore hinges on, or revolves around three cardinal pillars which are meritocracy, pragmatism and honesty. The strict observance or adherence to the three cardinal principles as enumerated in the video and reproduced below are the magic wand for Ghanaians to solve Ghana’s problems to catapult the nation into the recognised sphere of nation building and nation development.

To make myself understood by many Ghanaians, let me quote to explain what the three principles, thus the hidden secrets or the enigma for developing Ghana to a much appreciable level to match not only Singapore but South Korea and Malaysia, are. They are meritocracy, pragmatism and honesty.

1. Meritocracy is “a political system in which economic goods and/or political power are vested in individual people on the basis of talent, effort, and achievement, rather than factors such as heredity or wealth” – Wikipedia

2. “Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected”

3. “Honesty is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, including straightforwardness of conduct, along with the absence of lying, cheating, theft, etc. Honesty also involves being trustworthy, loyal, fair, and sincere.

To lay emphasis on honesty as an effective weapon to wield to achieving economic success, justice and respectfulness for the citizens, some respectable departed American souls said, "Honesty is the best policy" which is said to be a proverb of Benjamin Franklin, while the quote "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom" is attributed to Thomas Jefferson”

To be honest with all Ghanaians and myself, all the Ghana presidents and governments since Ghana’s independence from the British, have fallen short of the three principles capable of bringing Ghana at par with Singapore. Right from the late ex-President Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana and his Convention People's Party (CPP) through to General Ankrah and Brigadier General A. A. Afrifa’s National Liberation Council (NLC) Military Government; Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia and his Progress Party (PP); Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and his Supreme Military Council (SMC I); General Alfred Akuffo and his Supreme Military Council (SMC II); Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings and his Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC); Dr Hilla Limann and his People’s National Party (PNP); Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings and his Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) & National Democratic Congress (NDC); President John Agyekum Kufuor and his New Patriotic Party (NPP); President Professor John Fiifi Evans Atta Mills and his NDC; President John Dramani Mahama and his NDC; and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his NPP, none of them can claim not to have failed in the total observance of all, or some, of the cited principles.

Do they always select their appointees on merit? No!!! In most cases, it is by whom you know and on the levers of nepotism, tribalism, wealth, etc. Dr Kwame Nkrumah and his “I concur Veranda Boys” most of whom were semi-literates or illiterates, e.g. Krobo Edusei, Kwame Kwakye the DC, and Akuafohene Kwame Opoku. Former President Rawlings gave most and the highest government positions to people of his Ewe extraction; former President Mahama selected his friends, people of his northern extraction and those who could insult the members of the NPP for positions with President Nana Akufo-Addo selecting principally his family members and those from his Akyem extraction for positions.

Are they often pragmatic in the execution of their policies? No!! I am a dictator so I shall use my autocratic powers whether or not they can achieve the intended economic results. I am democratic so I shall go gradually, respecting every person’s human rights whether or not such a habit can accelerate the achievement or hinder the progress of the socio-economic targets set. Why can’t we mix the ideologies or do away with the political ideologies to better achieve the results aimed at as advised in the video?

Are our elected or selected persons to hold higher offices in the hope of achieving better results of collective interests to Ghanaians honest? No! One is my party member, one is my friend, one is my relative so I will not touch them or will simply give him/her a slap on the wrist when they commit a crime. One is a traditional Overlord so I will leave him alone to have his way even when he is disrespecting the laws of the land by abusing his powers to the detriment of a community or the nation. One is my tribesman so I will not touch him when he embezzles public funds and State assets. Our leaders and governments arte guilty of not strictly enforcing the observance of honesty hence the lawlessness, abundance of corruption and economic stagnation or retrogression as we see prevailing scarily in Ghana to our collective detriment.

Now that we have been shown the path and told the truth by the Good Samaritan in the video, let us all strive to put Ghana on a sound economic footing by adhering strictly to the principals abbreviated as MPH, thus, Meritocracy, Pragmatism and Honesty.

Rockson Adofo