Let’s tone down the partisanship ....

and rather debate policies that move us closer to realizing the ‘Ghanaian dream’

A happy new year to you my beloved Ghanaweb readers. It’s been a while since I contributed here by way of an article. I have remained an avid reader though and chime in occasionally in the comments sections. I come to you today on behalf of the silent majority who really want to see us seize the current opportunity we have to develop effective African solutions to our socio-economic challenges instead of wasting valuable resources in the scoring of cheap political points. Anyone reviewing our media would think that politicking is the assured path to putting fufu or akple on our tables and paying for the education of our children (or does it?).

What happened to the scriptural saying that a house divided against itself cannot stand? How about our traditional folktale that touts the strength of the bound broom over its individual components? Can we change the tone of our discourse into discussing alternatives for socio-economic development? How does Mills’ health or education policy compare to any alternatives proposed by Akuffo-Addo or how are they faring against Kufuor’s? What economic models should we emulate? How can we build our agricultural sectors like those of Australia, New Zealand or Brazil? Are we on target with the Ghana Shared Growth Development Agenda?

Folks, when it is all said and done, the average Ghanaian wants a job that affords him the comforts of life: homeownership, a car (or cars) and a prominent position in society. This is the Ghanaian dream, akin to the American dream of ‘a home with a picket fence and a dog’. This dream is shared by all –NPP sympathizers and NDC sympathizers alike whether Ewe or Akan. So why do we disperse our energies attacking one another instead of the common enemies of poverty, disease, and ignorance? How can we expect different results when we fail to change our attitudes?

I have always invoked the Black Star to emphasize our role in the global economy. In all endeavors, whether in soccer or at the economic front, we are destined to lead the way on the mother continent. Until we rediscovered democracy, that vision was almost compromised. The last decade was good to us and we must build on it. Let’s make the 21st century, the African century. Half a century ago, Kwame tried to bring all our sisters on board the political independence train. In this century, let us continue to lead the way with economic progress. The ‘NPP this or NDC that’ and ‘Akan this or Ewe that’ dominating our media is far from helping us achieve Ghana’s Shared Growth Development Agenda. Let the healthy debates begin and let’s all contribute by making suggestions on how to improve education, health, trade, employment etc. Hyper-partisanship, insult, and ethnocentrism will result in another golden opportunity slipping through our fingers. We’ve been given a second chance similar to the immediate post-independence era. We must take it like the Koreans and Chinese took in the last few decades.

Ghana Tsooboi!