For me, there is very little to
celebrate for Ghana independence. I appreciate and hold dear the struggles and
sacrifices of our forebears that won us our freedom, for me that is all I find
worth celebrating. But when it comes to the progress made since then, I am
afraid every little rejoicing I do feels a bit overdone. I cannot rejoice
because our politics, with all the insults, corruption and biased, partisan
deliberations, is far from mature. I cannot rejoice because human capital
development and economic growth is stifled by unnecessary political debate,
lack of political will and inefficient and ineffective policies. The country
cannot even maintain a steady supply of energy to the people. Perennial
gas/petrol shortages regularly cripple the productivity of the nation. The
heck, we cannot even rely on our electricity supply. Homes, offices and businesses
have lost their sense of purpose and direction because they are trapped in the
dark, literally.
Unemployment has become a growing
problem in Ghana. Our population is rising steadily and schools are channeling
more and more literates. Yet, businesses are operating at half capacity because
they cannot afford to hire the needed labor. Productivity is falling due to
factors ranging from unreliable energy supply and falling demand to embezzlement
and misappropriation of funds. Many Ghanaians are playing the system, circling
laws and economic principles trying to make ends meet while staying committed
to living a life above their means. We all want the high life of fancy cars and
mansions and we all want it now so we are living a million dollar life on a
$100 paycheck. That’s nuts because it is unsustainable, no wonder people resort
to bribery and corruption, illegal business and the “kalabule” tactics to support
a life above their means.
Ghanaians have been hit hard by the
lack of economic opportunities and the difficulties of social mobility. Life at
the bottom of the economic ladder is light years behind life at the top, a sign
of the grave economic inequality that persist. At the top are the politicians
and business magnates, many of whom made, and still make, a living of off the
sweat, tears, ignorance and foolery of the masses. Gorging on the luxuries
their wealth and power provide, they sit back and watch the deprived scrape
around for sustenance, occasionally swooping down from their high economic
heavens on wings of gold to make well publicized donations to a few
underprivileged individuals when festive holidays, business advertisement and
upcoming elections demand it. At the bottom is the collection of the underserved,
underprivileged and the exploited masses, the custodians of the famed “kpa kpa
kpa movement” and victims of the exploitative powers of the rich and powerful.
Somewhere between the two extremes is the middle-class, a mixture of the
educated and the nouveau riche which combines characteristics of the bottom and
topmost groups, powerful and rich enough to exploit the poor but still subject
to the influence and exploitation of the bourgeois class. A disjoint and a
degree of competition and mutual hatred among these 3 classes has created a
divided populace wary of the intentions of each other, fueling lasting distrust
and robbing Mother Ghana of the unified front and coordination and cooperation needed
for economic advancement. When Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
declared Ghana independent on March 6th, 1957, he made a bold statement
to the world,
“…the independence of Ghana is
meaningless unless it is linked up to the total liberation of the African
continent.”
58 years on,
we have neither liberated ourselves from corrupt politics and chronic underdevelopment
nor taken any purposeful action to do so. By not liberating our own selves beyond
the freedom of independence, we have let our forebears and freedom fighters down,
bigtime. We may have sought and found Nkrumah’s “political kingdom” but the
economic kingdom is still notoriously elusive. That said, our independence is
still meaningless, at least from the economic perspective. That is not to say
our political freedom has been wholly achieved, we are still “governed” by
conditions imposed on us by donor partners who fund our country’s misguided
steps to economic development. In all fairness, not all of our problems are
solely the fault of our successive governments. Sometimes, our governments are
impeded by conditions they have to agree to in order to court development aid.
For instance, it is now common place for the government to “freeze” public
sector employment and state funded projects as a way of cutting government spending
because a donor partner prescribes it. I do not know about you but to me that
is neither political nor economic independence, although I also understand that
the poor policies of government are partly to blame for our development woes
and our readiness to go to these donors cup-in-hand. I am no time traveler and I
do not know any necromancers who can help me hold a conversation with the many
who sacrificed for our freedom. But I have major doubts they will be happy with
how little Ghana has gained since then. In fact, I feel they will be
disappointed and ashamed at how much we have run the country far away from and
opposite to the high expectations they had for us. Ghanaians need a major
makeover both in our mindsets and our actions. If we are willing and able to
effect the needed positive changes, I guarantee Ghana will have a lot more to
celebrate on the occasion of the countless 6ths of March ahead. GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA. GHANA, AYEKOO, HAPPY 58TH.
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