Open Letter To Ghanaians

Dear Fellow Ghanaians,

Please lend me your ears. I am moved by the passionate love for my country of birth (Ghana) and the citizenry, to engage in today’s honest socio-politico-economic sensitization discourse with you. I am not going to trouble your hearts and minds with fabrications, but to reason with you through honest discussions, approaching issues with open-mindedness, suggesting the way forward, finding solutions to the country’s problems, and ensuring that sound policies are implemented to address the discovered problems.

Do we honestly believe in our heart of hearts that Ghana, in which we live today, is being managed well by those in whose hands we have correctly or wrongly entrusted the management of the country? I personally believe not, and until we wield the weapon of truth against lies, selfishness, insatiable greediness and a host of other social ills as empirically evident in our today’s Ghana, our country will permanently be on the precipice of socio-economic doom.

Have not almost all the institutions (the Armed Forces, Police Force, the Judiciary, Legislature, Churches etc.) in the country become weaker rather than getting stronger? They have become weaker due to their inability to tell the truth at all times, coupled with their propensity and vulnerability to succumb to acts of corruption all of the time.

Unless we face the facts, and call the spade a spade, Ghana will not even be lucky enough to continue to stagnate in her current deplorable situation, but will rather retrogress badly. If you find me lying, please do not hesitate to chastise me but make sure, you are being truthful to yourself, to Ghana and to God in any such condemnations or submissions.

How do we find our current leaders, both political and traditional? Are they not ridiculously corrupt, disrespectful, selfish, incompetent, myopic, nepotistic, too partisan and extremely partial in the execution of their duties? Do such characteristics not inhibit the progress of a nation or a people? Is there any wonder that Ghana is bleeding profusely to death when our leaders are nonchalant about the collective interests of the citizenry but are vigorously pursuing their egoistically ostentatious agenda?

I feel our Ghanaian leaders are conducting themselves in a way comparable to square pegs placed in round holes. How funny and incongruent that is. By their actions, they appear to have placed the cart before the horse? Can that be the possible way of improving the living standards of the people? No, I should think.

In Ghana today, the government, aided by the courts, is not only practising, but also, encouraging the institutionalization of the practice of selective justice. When you are a member of a particular party, you can commit murder with impunity. However, if you are a member of a different party, you will be flayed alive when you commit a similar crime. Do we build a prosperous country through such policies and behaviours that have rendered most Ghanaians despondent about ever enjoying successful life before their death?

For lack of respect for the people by our leaders, in the absence of obligatory checks and balances, our leaders are permanently fraudulently availing themselves of the country’s coffers. From the District Chief Executives (DCEs) to the President of Ghana, they are all stealing the nation’s money as and when they want, without anyone able to tell them to stop.

By the daily irresponsible insulting behaviours exhibited by our leaders, most of the people in the country have become foul-mouthed persons. Is that attitude good for the social upbringing of the people of Ghana? No. It has infringed our traditional upbringing that is hinged on respectfulness. However, our politicians seeking to remain in power until thy Kingdom come have used insults, personal attacks and aimless character assassinations as effective weapons to obtain their party’s or their individualistic objectives.

Election rigging, vote-buying, abuse of incumbency and oppression have been employed to deny Ghanaians of the true reflection of their election results. That is how dangerous the politics of Ghana at the moment has become.

What is the way forward to extricating ourselves from the incidental suffocating cobweb in which Ghanaians, find themselves today? We need to honest, be one another’s keeper. People must volunteer information leading to the discovery or the revelation of all the vices being audaciously committed by our leaders. Such revelations must be published and the media ready to discuss them until the perpetrators of such crimes are punished.

The government and the institutions that are to ensure such practices become the thing of the past are themselves actively involved, spearheading such crimes. Can we then overcome the problems, one may ask? When persuasion fails, the ultimate and only solution left, that is, Force, must be applied. But are the security forces not in bed with the government? Yes, they are, but the people’s power, like words, is mightier than the sword.

Public demonstrations have oftentimes culminated in the riddance of the organisers’ target. Not long ago, the Prime Minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra and the Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich were deposed consequent upon repeated public agitations to have them removed from power.

The courts in the country are not helping to better things, but are rather, compounding our problems. They are as corrupt as the Executives are, if not worse. I really feel ashamed of their lack of respect for the very laws they are employed to interpret. Justice in Ghana is sold to the highest bidder. Should we as Ghanaians continue to resign ourselves to fate, while a few rouges in power take the whole nation for a ride?

I feel for Ghana and all those suffering masses within. Fellow Ghanaians, we need to act to liberate the country from the hands of rogues and criminals who are very unfeeling to the great needs of the country, but their parochial self-interest.

Let us all unite to shed the disgrace and the low self-esteem that the actions of our current crop of leaders have brought to bear upon us. We can do so by voting for an honest, dynamic, farsighted, dedicated and a selfless person to lead Ghana from her current socio-politico-economic shambles, to the base, if not the top, of the Sugar-candy mountain.

Do not allow yourselves to be continually taken for fools. Enough is enough with the underestimation of your intelligence! Arise, to defend your rights, oh fellow Ghanaians!

Yours Sincerely,

Rockson Adofo