Apportioning blame in Ghana's development

One mature nephew has asked me a question and at our age, I feel an obligation to respond. He wrote:

“Opanyin please a stich in time saves nine. If we want to portion blame, where do we GENUINELY place or ascribe this human trait to? After all, there is always the argument that either humans or history repeats itself. Please educate some of us”:

My response:

It is not fair to start analysis or evaluation of a nation, as you described it, by “apportioning blame”. The analysis of how things started going down for Ghana starts mostly from the time of overthrew of Nkrumah!

I am too young to evaluate Nkrumah, but was old enough to listen to him as a child and also studied his Vision spelled out in his many Books I read. Common sense and Love for nation seem to be lost since Nkrumah was overthrown.

Almost everybody since then seems to seek POWER to gain wealth and fame, and leave not much permanent change to our society!!

From

- NLM to Busia, to - ⁠Acheampong, to - ⁠Limann to - ⁠AFRC and PNDC and - ⁠Kufuor and - ⁠Mahama and - ⁠Akufo Addo and now - ⁠Mahama

None of them had a clear VISION of what our society should look like, and hence, build using our own resources or even if with a Loan, had a clue how to pay off those loans!

Let’s discuss those who ruled for more than 4 years.

1. I give Acheampong great credit, as limited as it was, about his VISION of building our society starting from “feeding ourselves”. He called it “capture the commanding heights of the Economy”.

By 1979 the Cedi was about c2.7/$1 as I recall. He tried, but it was too complex for him and he would have left a major legacy if he handed over himself and not overthrown by another soldier and later to be killed by the next military junta.

It’s been a waste of God’s talent if you ask my opinion of African /Ghanaian leadership since 1966.

2. Jerry Rawlings talked about “ democratization of the dispensation of Justice”- it was a hazy foggy vision about justice! Killing people without any kind of trial is his version of justice? Tweaaaa!

In terms of development he also took $2.3 billion World Bank loan and Dr Kwesi Botchwey was one of the greatest fake academics of our time! They build the Highway that lasted from 1990-1992 and became all filled with potholes!

The era of giving major contracts to unlicensed contractors and fake unskilled unlicensed workers started from that time!

3. J.A. Kufuor had no real vision to accomplish beyond wanting to be President and wanting PEACE or Asomdwee!

He had no real Vision articulated- None that I can recall! He tried to bring discipline and let his AG at the time (AG Akufo Addo) put to trial and convict 3 people through the Judicial system!

After that he stopped and simply whiled away the rest of his 8 years, travelling around the world begging for loan forgiveness and help that never came save some write-off our some loans!

It was a great opportunity wasted to investigate and restore court justice! Instead he talked traditional “Gyae-ma-no-nka” or “Let-it-be”.

Kufuor could not even have a simple 168 mile Highway from Accra to Kumasi, and Kumasi to Takoradi, with a $2.3 Billion loan, completed to specifications of a modern Asphalt-concrete Highway!! No! They left a shabby coal-tar on gravel road that could not last 2 years!

4. Akufo Addo has been a major disappointment to Ghana- his vision of building a Cathedral was so poor he never thought where money was to come from!

Leadership literature (Prof. G. Northouse) found that the greatest skill or asset of a leader has been “problem-solving skills”. In other words, “adwene”.

Destroying state housing of more than $5 million to sink a hole costing $58 million and no building constructed in 8 years seems like a very bad record! It was a very foggy vision and no planning! But it shows a man who is not too problem-solving oriented!

Abrofo have what they call IQ. I don’t want to rate leadership job as intelligence: but it sure helps if you look at it as solving problems to accomplish one’s VISION!

Akufo Addo’s free-SHS implies almost every child can attend school for 12 years without paying tuition. That is a good legacy and we must find the money within ourselves to pay for it! Period!

5. John Mahama is our most experienced leader and his Vision is perhaps the most attractive of all the leaders. But from his last two opportunities of a combined 6 years (2010 to 2016) it was obvious the man has a nice colorful VISION he expresses and exhibits for even rural classroom blocks his government completed.

However and unfortunately John Mahama has no Managerial competence to get his Vision accomplished! No!

Major projects like Saglemi Housing with $600 million or the Abetifi Hospital (maybe $200 million) were never completed, and nobody held accountable! I feel sad for John Mahama.

He is the only leader since Independence to think of having streets all named in all towns but he forgot that houses must be numbered in a logical way as done in modern civilizations like America- the most simple exercise! Or maybe as usual he wanted it that way but it was never Managed to completion!

On this his last 4-year cycle (2024-2027), he has revealed gigantic visions with highways and Railways and more!

He has not reached a level of envisioning Underground sewage systems, and letting homeowners pay for it in every town/district, but well, we pray that one day he will also hate mosquitoes and open gutters like some of us do!

I am not apportioning blame but simply giving a summary analysis of each leadership based on my academic study of leadership compared to what I have seen in America, as well as experience of how Visions in industry are transformed to reality through what we call Management!

I wish all of them good luck! Have a Happy (American) Thanksgiving tomorrow!

You may join my Forum called GLU- Ghana Leadership Forum, if you like such discussion about our nation.