The President’s Tour Is A Travesty

In a world bewildered by scandals, mysteries, uncertainties and reasoning, it is only appropriate to say that wonders will never end. The ‘Thank You Tour’ master-mined by the president is nothing less than a sham and I now understand why Ghana is ranked 9th in the world (213 countries) when it comes to economic mismanagement of the economy. Life is about the choices we make and the use of our God given talents to efficiently harness our resources to ensure productivity and growth. How can any conscious person of sober reflection encourage and sympathize with the government on this adventure at a time when most of our people have no access to borehole water, electricity and even public rest rooms (toilets)? Can we as a nation think of the cost of the tour in relation to the many bole holes and public rest rooms we could have constructed for our towns, and villages whose sources of water have been destroyed by galamsey operators under our watch? If we are thinking as a serious nation, then we need to weigh our options better in order to justify our actions which will define our sense of reasoning and judgment as great leaders of this nation.

We are in the 20th century, an advance technological age where time, knowledge and resources play a mayor important role. This challenging and competitive period of our history calls for serious-minded people who understand the dynamics of this strange world manipulated by sharks and tricksters. Where on this planet has any president taken a lead role in travelling around the globe to thank colleague Heads of States for sympathizing with his or her nation on the demise of the sitting president? What then are the roles of our Ambassadors, the Regional Secretaries and District Secretaries? Are they not capable of representing the president?

Before independence when our population was about 5(five) million and our societies were structured in small groups, bereaved families would organize themselves in groups to go out and render thanks to sympathizers. As society started increasing in seize, our culture took a sudden turn and we started using public announcement cars to thank well-wishers. The terrain changed to the use of radio, TV announcements and other sophisticated media as society grew larger and larger. Notwithstanding these media formats, there are some circumstances where few personal contacts are done excluding the participation of the Head of Family.

What is the essence of funding Embassies, Regional Secretariats and District Secretariats to represent the seat of government? I can assure anybody that if the president had come here (U.S.A.) to thank President Obama, he would have smiled as usual and in soliloquy says that ‘this is a waste of time and resources in a nation where most people are living in misery’. I am surprise why we cannot manage anything in this nation with all the quantum and quality of human material around including people who have excelled in diverse roles in many advanced countries. I just don’t get it. Do we need the white man again to redirect our lives for us? We may have to revisit this issue again.

In 1992, when Senator Hillary Clinton said that “the world is a global village” most of us did not understood her at that time. Today, some customers services inquire in the United States of America are answered in Bangladesh. I can assure all readers that one does not need to travel to say thank under any circumstance in this modern world. We need to be circumspect in our decisions to reduce waste in our service to the nation because posterity will not forgive us if we denigrate the citizenry reasonable lifestyle based on our endowed economic resources. As we speak, cost of living is really high and people are really suffering ; incomes have appreciated due to the single spine but still making ends meet is tough especially the self employed; paying school fees is a hell and it get more complex if you have more children. Have we conducted any research to find out why homicide cases are on the rise? It is pathetic to see the few living as ‘children of a King’ while many languish in abject poverty. Where are we going as a nation?

Our country has no character and our citizens have identity. Most of our leaders have no conscience, and will sell and defend any idea so far as it puts money into their pockets. Majority of our leaders are blind to the truth and there is none ready to defend our nation. Today, to sacrifice for the general good is a taboo which explains why a person in the likes of Mr Martin Amidu, former Attorney General is struggling to find balance. Most of our dealings are just senseless but who are you to say what if you are not part of government; why do we have to buy refined oil from neighboring countries when we have crude and a refining plant here in Ghana; to whose benefit do we perpetuate this outrageous deals ? Why do we have to allow these Chinese national to come here and operate illegally, destroy our land, our water bodies without paying taxes? This is senseless and we need leadership to spearhead the fight to redeem our nation.

Indian nationals living in Ghana drive Tata vehicles which demonstrate their level of patriotism but Ghanaian leaders have no love for our nation and will defend foreign nationals to dupe our nation in millions of dollars for their own personal aggrandizement. Just listen to the arguments on judgment debts which tend to suggest that we are either all fools or otherwise which is an insult and a slap on our sense of reasoning. The way we protect our enemies (nation wreckers) defines how power corrupts and indentify the greed element embedded in most of our leaders. How do we develop as a nation when we do not have a national agenda, a functional belief system or character?

It is really sad and disheartening to feel classified as stupid and this is what is happening now .The whole nation did n’ political safari’. Managing a nation is not about our economic endowments but how resources are harnessed and managed. Cuba and Japan have nothing compared to Ghana and yet they live better than us. Let us stop the unnecessary politics and get busy with the dictates of effective governance to enhance the lives of the masses. People are dying, cholera is on the outbreak, cost of living is rising astronomically, corruption is on the ascendency, school fees are galloping, homicide activities is on the increase and our health system is collapsing. These are real issues that call for leadership and in a country where our demands are many and varied, waste should not have any role in our national agenda. May the good Lord help us.

ERIC KWABENA EDUSEI, A ONE REALTY, VA. USA