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Democracy, Culture, And Brainwash !!

Thu, 11 May 2006 Source: Aboagye, Francis Kweku

First, I would like to thank all those who had time to e-mail me on my earlier posting; Government Shake Up, Too Little Too Late. My fellow Ghanaians, you wouldn?t believe what some people wrote. We definitely have a long way to go in Africa, and I believe a lot have to do with our culture some of which should be abandoned. We have a society where the authority is always right and cannot be questioned. With the exception of one individual who claims to live in Texas, all other NPP responses were harsh and insulting. Hell had broken loose for questioning the competency of the president, John Agyakum Kufour and demanding investigation into his corruption-filled tenure. Is the president above the law in Ghana?

Why do some NPP fanatics assume automatically that anyone who criticizes Kufour is an Ewe? One guy wrote to me insulting all Ewes and demanding that they move to Togo. His charge, I am an Ewe using Twi name for my dirty works. Why on heaven will I assume a fake name if I have that ability to write something intelligent? You see, I wasn't born coward so I wouldn?t need to use fictitious names to insult people behind my computer like all those Kufour sympathizers who wrote to me. Even if I was an Ewe, would that make me less human? What makes some NPP members assume that all Akan people like what Kufour is doing? Are all Akan people in Ghana NPP members? Are most Ghanaians afraid of the truth, or they just prefer Ghana to remain the way it is, after all they must be living good as long as the NPP is in power? How long will the Ewes pay for the evils JJ Rawlings did, and how long will it take for us as Ghanaians to forget the past and move forward? Is it okay to allow corruptions to reign because the past Governments practiced it? Ghana is getting worse and worse, and instead of finding real solutions to our problems, we instead end up making unnecessary comparison to other bad governments in the past? Wake up Oman Ghana, our past make us what we are, it shouldn?t prevent us from moving forward. It?s where you?re going that count, not where you?re coming from.

I had an angry response asking me to go home if I could do better than the NPP. Remember, not everyone was born to be a politician, but we all have responsibilities in the society to help guide our elected officials to do the right things. We have an Akan Proverb that goes; ?Nea otwa sa no, onnim se nekyi akyea? which explains, when you are part of a problem it's hard to see it from within, hence it is imperative that those of us who see it clearly from the outside, bring it to their attention. The reality is if nobody criticizes, then nothing changes. For some, they don't care because they have better life and so do all their relatives back home; pure selfishness. For others, it?s partly ignorance, and mostly lack of courage, a by-product of primitive culture where the authority cannot be questioned. If you are reading this article then I do challenge you to ask yourself; are you in support of Kufour because of your tribal or political affiliation; are you against Kufour because he?s not in your political party or tribe? There is absolutely nothing good about the present Government in Ghana in my opinion. There are always headlines of scandals after scandals, we never hear of any positive initiative in the motherland.

The president has made more trips outside the country than within. Is Kufour aware of the majority of Ghanaians who cry before they wake up in the morning because they may not find food for their little ones, or those who sleep on the streets of Accra because they have no money for rents? Has Kufour ever made a trip to those remote villagers who work endlessly only to get a one-time year?s pay on their cocoa product? Does he know the sad living conditions of these farmers who have no good drinking water and sometimes watch their children die helplessly? Do Ghanaian Politicians know what?s going on in their constituencies? I am aware of one MP from my area; Asikuma, Odoben Brakwa constituent who makes headlines sometimes with his controversial remarks. This is a typical politician we have in Ghana. This man has not lived in this constituency for the past thirty (30) years, but fined a way to win an election there. These crooks do not deserve to be in politics, they are only after their selfish selves. It?s about time we hold our elected officials accountable for what they were elected for. We have to shed our primitive culture of not questioning our leaders, they are not God, and they are not above the law.

We have a sitting president who has no idea of how a country is run; creating unwanted ministries and acting like a dictator. What is the use of the Aviation ministry? We couldn?t even manage a national airline, heck how many airplanes do Ghana have? He?s also contemplating on creating ministry of chieftaincy, what is the use for it? After all, our corruption culture is traced to our chieftaincies. We should rather make a move to abolish the chieftaincies in Ghana, they are of no use. Our lazy mentalities start with these useless chiefs living lavishly in their palaces creating children after children. Africa?s curse started when our chiefs started selling our own as slaves to the whites. Our culture of bribery and kick-backs started with these useless chiefs who exploit the poor and the weak with lands that belong to all. Our elites in the society followed suit and today, we have a society where corruption reigns.

I know what some of you are thinking; because I live abroad, I am abandoning my culture, right? Cultures are made to be discarded if it?s impeding development. If we are so proud of our culture then why aren?t our politicians wearing Kente cloths? Why are our Judges still wearing those ridiculous hot white stupid hats on their heads? Why do Ghanaian civil servants wear tie and sweat under that scotching sun? Our society is brainwashed, we need to live simple, but we have to get rid of primitive cultures. We have to get used to criticism, our minds have to be freed from slavery, and our children need to be thought honesty because that is the only way we can get rid of corruption. It?s a long journey, but we can do it. Long live Ghana.

Written by Francis Kweku Aboagye [Real Kweku]
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.


Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.

Columnist: Aboagye, Francis Kweku