THE “RULING” PARALLEL: If I Could Turn Back the Governance Hands of Time

Background

The world has undergone an industrial revolution which has brought about new technologies and increased productivity. Thus, there is the urgent need for more raw materials to feed newly created industries. The Ghana government which has established itself as the world’s most industrialised nation has realised the need to expand its reserves of industrial raw materials. To this end, it has brought together a team of expert explorers and navigators to go beyond Ghana’s geographical boundaries to seek other sources of raw materials like bauxite, timber, oil, gold, salt and other human survival-hang-ons one can think about. After six months of mission abroad, the team made a breakthrough and returned to Ghana with the best news the nation has heard in its economic history. They had actually found a land which they claimed was well endowed in untapped natural resources and was inhabited by a species of creatures the Ghana government later came to recognise as being part of the human race after a thorough research, just because the so-called creatures had different skin pigmentation.

The government, realising the enormous economic potential of the new land which was later known as England and also sensing the need to expand their social, cultural, and economic influence worldwide, sent out a new expert team to re-examine the land. The new team did not only include explorers and navigators, but also all the other experts who have made it to the top of their professions. The list included philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, surveyors, lawyers, military personnel, engineers, manufacturers and many others. Their main task was to do a feasibility study of England and suggest ways for the Ghana government to harness her natural resources. The mission completed its work in exactly one hundred days; however, they lost two of their members through insects’ bites. The team came out with report from their findings and made some recommendations. Paramount amongst them was the requirement for the Ghana government to take over the land in respect of the general weakness of the inhabitants in terms of weaponry.

The Ghana government upon the team’s recommendations took a quick action and appointed a governor, Sir Derrydean Dadzie to take control of affairs of England. The land was by then declared a sovereign colony extra-ordinaire of Ghana. Sir Derrydean was also to help establish a stable and practicable system of governance in England. Amongst other things, he had the jurisdiction to set up a vibrant economy through any practicable means and facilitate the rebuilding of the social system. The ultimate objective behind Ghana’s taking over England was to control their piles of natural resources and also to export enough minerals and other raw materials to help build Ghanaian industries to boost the economy.

Sir Derrydean Dadzie in Person

Sir Derrydean Dadzie is the world’s finest economist. He graduated from Ghana’s premier university, Ashesi University where he had his Masters in Economics and also had his PhD in International Relations and Social Governance. He is very young and renowned for his clever leadership skills and his in-depth philosophical wisdom. He has no ideological orientation politically, but has decided to tow the same political lines as Thomas Hobbes and Nicollo Machiavelli because of the nature of his new assignment at England. He however has intentions to establish a “Lockean” system of governance in the long term; that is, if he is still alive or remains the governor for forty years. Like Machiavelli, he believes that the end always justifies the means. He also had at the back of his mind that the people of England were neither political nor social. Thus, dealing with them should have a “consequentialist” connotation. That is, he should be judged based on the outcome of his actions and policies and not the process of the action in itself. He is intellectually religious and a staunch adherent of the “abosom som” religion. He always held the opinion that his religion was the only firm foundation that moral change can be laid on. Thus, he sees this as one of the best tools he has in his administrative arsenal and plans to use it effectively.

England in the Eyes of Sir Derrydean Dadzie and the Ghana Government

England in the eyes of the Ghana government was the most environmentally conducive location for all human activities that God (an unseen being supposed to have created the entire universe and all that dwell in it) had created. The place had the best climate and all the resources that could have put them in a good position on the world economic scale; on the contrary, England’s resources were untapped and the people were living in abject ignorance and poverty. They had no philosophy or any sense of history because they did not possess the ability to document their past and in addition most of the thoughts behind their actions were not reflective, rational and systematic. In Ghana’s view, the people had no socio-political identity. They saw this as a potential drawback in the dissemination of their political policies to the people of England. The England natives had an incomprehensibly complex but well organised chieftaincy which had undoubtedly caught on with them very well. Quite the opposite, the current government was corrupt and ineffective. The Ghana government saw this as a latent problem whose solution was not farfetched. Worse of all, the people were hard-knock conservatives who were stuck to their heritage like glue. They were unwilling to change their questionable practices which included human sacrifices and cruel punishments.

The Ghana government was of the view that, their questionable cultural practices and the wasteful utilisation of their natural resources were legitimate reasons for them to take over the control of England. The natural resources were virtually lying waste and the human resources were being wasted. Trees that could serve as timber for manufacturing industries were being worshipped, and rocks that could serve as sources of minerals were used as sacred sites for the worship of their gods and animals that could also serve as sources of food and leather were declared totems. This was in the eyes of Sir Derrydean a clear definition of monumental wastage. Human beings who could be put to good industrial use were being sacrificed or traded to the priest of the land as appeasements for an ancestor’s folly. Sir Derrydean, thus, justified slavery on this basis. He believed these useful creatures could serve as labourers or slaves to put into operation the intellectual works of the Ghana people. This, Sir Derrydean thought, would bring about productive outcome both to the England people and the Ghana government.

Ideal Government as Sir Derrydean Hoped to Implement

He was of the view that, to rule this people, an element of authority was fundamental. To him, this element of authority had three primary features that were relevant: negotiation, coercive power and physical power. He planned to implement an internal definition of roles amongst his workforce and thought task stratification will be another distinguished feature of his administration. He believed in social order and was ready to use any means possible to achieve it. To him development could only thrive on stable socio-political order. Sir Derrydean’s perception of authority included total control over everybody, property and all forms of leadership. He shared Thomas Hobbes’s view of the Leviathan. He believed that people should trade their rights to the Leviathan (a sovereign overseeing the wellbeing of the people involved in the social contract) for protection and ensuring the smooth carrying out of civic duties. In his case, Sir Derrydean considered himself as the Leviathan and saw the administrative staff and the garrison the Ghana government gave him as his arms.

Getting the administrative structures in place

To enhance communication, he was determined to learn the “English” language of the natives together with the rest of his workforce. Among other things, Sir Derrydean Dadzie had plans to distinguish those natives who had responsibility and authority in his connexion. To those people, he was going to segregate them from the rest of the natives, with the hope of getting them to accept all the policies he had install for them. He was going to send them to a far away land, brainwash them by telling them all the good plans Ghana had for them in terms of trade. He was also going to show them a video of Ghana and all the good things that are there. Not all, he was going to introduce them to alcohol and other incentives. This action which he stated as being the negotiating feature of his element of authority is aimed at getting the natives to accept the Ghana people. Those who were still not willing to comply will be permanently segregated and might be killed if they continued to be a threat.

He also planned to divide England into ten provinces that will be headed by a collegial body of instrument which will also replace the corrupt chieftaincy system in the long run. Each province would have fifty soldiers, five administrative staffs and five hundred natives. The five administrative staffs will form the core of the collegial instrument which will also have the power to do anything that will bring an outcome that serves Sir Derrydean’s Interest and the overall interest of the Ghana Government. The England natives will not be included in the leadership structure because they lack the expertise and the right kind of education − one issue key on Sir Derrydean’s agenda.

To get the England natives stop their bad cultural practices and also allow them get a socio-political lifestyle, Sir Derrydean has formal education and the “abosom som” religion as his tools. Ten soldiers from each garrison in the various provinces will additionally serve as teachers and missionaries. Schools were going to be built in each province and it was going to be compulsory for everyone from the age of five to eighteen to attend. Hundred natives who have undergone three years of education in England and are between the ages of fifteen and eighteen will be selected for higher and quality education in Ghana. This is in the hope that, in five years they would have acquired the right knowledge to take up responsible positions in their provinces. In addition, the “abosom som” religion will be made compulsory because Sir Derrydean thought there was no question about its authenticity. In this regard, the both physical and coercive force will be employed to get people to accept its doctrines.

Implementing development projects

After getting his administrative structure in place, Sir Derrydean Dadzie hopes to carry on with projects that are geared towards putting their natural resources to good use and also generating raw materials to the Ghana industries. Massive oil exploration will take place with Ghana people doing all the intellectual work and the labour offered by the people of England. Machinery would be sent in from Ghana to permit large scale agricultural activities. Factories would also be setup in England to reduce cost of production of some of the goods. He was also going to introduce the natives to money and make it the only medium of exchange. He was going to introduce them to wages by paying them for giving their labour. With this he hopes to promote trade and establish a market to regulate the movement of goods and services.

Conclusion

With Sir Derrydean’s model of governance, he hopes to achieve a good end. He hopes to end the barbaric cultural practices and get the people of England to join the world’s development machinery. He also believes that his form of governance will establish law and order and bring social reform to England. Above all he has no doubts that his tenets of governance will bring the right end to the Ghana government, in terms of spreading their cultural, political, ideological influences and above all bringing into reality their economic aspirations.

Email author: ddadzie@ashesi.edu.gh