Individual success key to dev’t - NDPC boss

The Board Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Mr. Paul Victor Obeng, has said the success of the country is not the absolute responsibility of any political party or group, but rather an amalgamation of individual responsibility and success.

“There is no nation that has prospered without the citizens accepting individual responsibility and making their contribution to that development agenda. National success is a product and an amalgamation of individual success.”

He said a prosperous nation is one in which the citizens have accepted personal responsibility for their success including reviewing developments and responsibly counseling where necessary.

He, however, acknowledged that government and politicians play a very central and pivotal role in the development of every nation, but he likened government to a driver of a bus that carry its citizens to the promised land of freedom, peace, opportunities and prosperity they aspire for.

According to him, for the bus to arrive safely, it needs a mechanic to be servicing it, a fuel station from where to purchase fuel and passengers who will give him the peace of mind to drive, saying “no nation swims in prosperity without the citizens living out their share of the expectations or imperatives of this partnership.”

“A critical analysis of the content of our political discourse reveals that they are predominantly titled towards critiquing the performance, attitudes and operational tardiness of government in their responses to right and privileges of citizens as against the responsibilities and conduct of the citizenry,” he said.

The NDPC Chairman was speaking at a launch of two books authored by Emmanuel Dei-Tumi in Accra.

Mr. PV Obeng said there is the need for Ghanaians to accept personal responsibility for their personal and national success and not completely outsource it to other groups or individuals alone.

Reviewing the book, he said the author wants readers to think of what they can do for themselves as individuals and not what others can do for them. The books with the title “Success is More Than Luck” and “Your Talent Creates Your World.”

The first book “Success is More than Luck” talks about what success is and is not; it makes a case for why success is more than luck, and redefines what luck is and urges his readers to take their destiny into their hands and march forward.

In the first two chapters, the author introduces the role of paradigms in success and establishes that one’s paradigm is the foundation of his success. With the skills of a brick layer, he lays the foundation and the first set of bricks by defining what success is and what it is not.

On the second book, “Your Talent Creates Your World”, the author takes on himself the divine task of helping readers locate their true calling in life and building a career around it.

He advocates that one should build a career driven not by income only but through a discovery of himself and his mission in life.

He outlines five important questions to answer as a guide to discovering himself and establishing whether he is a square peg in a round hole or vise versa.

Both books are inspirational and philosophical in their outlook and content but very practical. With the skills of a kente weaver, he has skillfully woven into it the experiences and quotes from successful people to throw more light on the insights he shared.