Ghanaian youth must demand accountability - Kufuor

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has challenged the youth to demand accountability from the leadership of the country.

He said Ghana required quality leadership, especially when it is a common phenomenon these days’ for people to complain of hardships.

President Kufuor was sure the nation would witness the anticipated development, if leadership was held accountable for their stewardship.

Addressing the Young Adults’ Fellowship (YAF) of the Rev. Dr. Nantomah Memorial Congregation of the Kanda Presbyterian Church in Accra yesterday, he tasked the youth to stand up for the truth insisting it was a virtue embodied in the things of the Church.

“Think of your roles as citizens, I’m not saying go and do politics and join party politics but politics is critical because it is through that, that we see leadership at work, you see accountability, you have to be bold to demand accountability of anybody you put in position”.

The former Chairperson of the African Union (AU) notes “these days people complain of hardships, I would say perhaps we must blame ourselves and not providence, providence has given us natural resources and even quality of people, we are not given to extremism, perhaps we tend to understand too much”.

On the numerous contributions of the church towards the progress of Ghana, former President Kufuor stated that the Presbyterian Church had contributed more than its fair quota to the development of our nation, adding that anybody who had been associated with the Presbyterian education would readily confess the moral nurturing and discipline it had over the years imparted .

“As I sit here, I owe the Presbyterian Church some debt in the sense that the secondary school I attended was fostered and sponsored by a partnership between the Presbyterian Church and the Methodist Church, so I see myself as a product of your Church” the AU former Chairperson averred, observing that Ghana would not be what it is today but for the collective contributions of the church.

Former President Kufuor, however, urged the youth of the church to be submissive, if they aspired to be leaders.

While stressing that Ghana needs quality leadership within the church which is a prerequisite for a good society, he said: “With the youth of Ghana, everybody says the youth are the leaders of the country, well that’s a slogan, for anybody to become a leader in the right sense, that person really should submit to the discipline, have fellow feelings because a leader must have followers and if a leader does not have that feeling, then that person really does not have the honour and the privilege of being a leader”.

Eric Dartey, president of YAF, said the group was particularly grateful to the former President for his support and representation to its sixth anniversary celebration.

He congratulated the president on his commitment and enormous contributions which, in his words, brought a lot of economic development to the country during his tenure in office

Rev. Emmanuel Osafo-Boateng, Minister –In- Charge of the Kanda Presbyterian Church, presenting a citation on behalf of YAF, said the group was proud of former President Kufuor for still allowing himself to be used by the international community, insisting his contributions to the development of the country and the international community spoke volumes about the type of person he was.