Ghana Is Asleep, As .... - Professor

... As NPP & NDC Battle Over Economic Success
As the ruling NPP and opposition NDC engage in the battle over which government has a better economic management record, a Ghanaian born Prof of Anthropology says Ghana has indeed been sleeping for the best part of her history.

In what appeared to be an overly controversial speech, Prof. Maxwell Owusu of the University of Michigan, USA provoked mixed reactions from his audience when he posited that "Ghana has lost its focus" and that the country is "sleeping" since it is placed among the 35 poorest nations of the world.

He minced no words as he lashed out at various governments since independence - both civilian and military - saying they have all been very corrupt.

The occasion was a lecture in the Ghana speaks series organized by the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) and the topic for the Prof. was "Money and Politics: The Challenge of Democracy in Ghana."

Making several references to the World Development Report, 2008 and CIA World Fact Book, 2008, Prof. Owusu deplored the rate of illiteracy in Ghana, saying it has played a major role in the country's lack of socio-economic progress. "The lowest 10% of Ghana's population have access to 2.2% of the household income while the top 10% have access to 33% of household income."

Meanwhile, he argued, Ghana in the 1950s was far ahead of several African countries that have today overtaken it in terms of education. In his frustration he asked, "Good God, what is happening to Ghana, the so-called gateway to Africa?"

"If the bulk of the electorate is ignorant and if passion and prejudice could so readily be exploited by organized propaganda and if economic obstacles inhibit criticism, then politicians may not take account of electors' claims and democratic institutions lose their point."

This is contained in a book titled Social Principles and the Democratic State written by Ben and Peters, and Prof. Owusu unshakably likened it to the state in which Ghana finds itself. Still on education, the professor of Anthropology said at the heart of Ghana's woes is a culture that frowns on scholarship but encourages education only for the sake of material gains. A lot of Ghanaians, he declared, stop reading after gaining their degrees. "Ghanaians don't like book. We don't invest in books."

Conversely, he argued, Asians, whose countries were as poor as Africans "have an ancient culture based on the technology of intellect" and that knowledge is at the very centre of their consciousness. "In Africa it is not like that."

The comments, as they came, saw some members of the audience clapping every now and then, but they did "anger" others.

The chairman of the occasion, Mr. Kwame Pianim of the New World Investments Limited, could particularly not hide his "anger." Albeit in a cordial atmosphere, he insisted the speaker came again on his claims.

But Prof. Owusu would not waver, insisting that ignorance has indeed taken away from Ghana's quest for progress. "Ignorance does not only mean the lack of education but the lack of a particular knowledge."

He could not come to terms with the fact that Ghana remains largely dependent on agriculture when many other economies are becoming knowledge based. "Ghana still has 60% of labour force in agriculture and yet we cannot feed ourselves."

Even as Ghana struggles to ensure the bulk of its citizens are given quality education, a good number of those who get it leave the shores of the country to work elsewhere. This includes Prof. Maxwell Owusu himself.

Ironically however, he says Ghana has become a net exporter of graduates and what sociologists call a migration oriented society, a trend he finds worrying. "It shows a country which has lost its focus. Ghana has lost its centre. Let us speak frankly. It is our national duty to speak frankly. Let us speak truth to power."