The Lovers and Killers of Ghana

Who should we blame for the woes of our country - the over-indulgent lovers or the haughty killers? Who is killing Ghana? Is the politician? Is it the technocrat? Is it the watchers (apostles, prophets, pastors)? Or is it the general citizenry? Many a time I have come across people who seemingly have so much love for Ghana that they never stopped blaming the politicians, who in their estimation, are “killing” Ghana slowly. In the moments that I had the opportunity to engage these so called lovers of Ghana, I always sought to find out what they had done to prove their love for mother Ghana. Unfortunately, most of these lovers were not able to pin point any significant thing they had done to demonstrate their love for our beloved country. This sets me thinking “Do we love Ghana only with our lips?” Is it lip service we render to our dear country? What is love if it cannot be demonstrated?

On a fine Saturday afternoon as I was taking a stroll, I chanced on some young, energetic gentlemen who were having an argument. What was the bone of contention? Three of the gentlemen were talking about how the government of the day had underdeveloped the economy and for that matter the country. The other two will not have any of that so they protested vehemently and an argument ensued. To these two gentlemen, it was the previous government who had ‘killed’ the economy and let it to rot. I stood there for a while, wanting to know how it will all end. But it did not seem like it would end any time soon. So I left the scene, asking myself when the blame game will stop. But the question that lingered on long after I had left these young men was “Can any one person or group of persons be said to be responsible for the woes of our country?”

Who are the lovers of Ghana? How can we identify them? Are they the ones who speak the finest things about Ghana? Are they the ones who behave like the ostrich, saying all is well when in fact, all is not well? Are they the ones who have the eyes to see the negative things in Ghana and never propose solutions? Are they the ones who are heard the most criticising the political leaders of Ghana? Are they those who use any platform or opportunity they get to paint how black and bloody the country is? Are they those who recall the good old days and keep reliving those moments? Again, I ask

“Who are the lovers of Ghana?”

And who are the killers of Ghana? Are they the selfish and greedy politicians who venture into politics with the mindset of milking the nation of her resources for their personal gains?

What about the greedy technocrats who are in office to amass wealth for themselves? Who do not care about the welfare of the people they are supposed to serve or about the state of the nation? Who take bribe and award contracts to undeserving contractors who hold the country to ransom by their shoddy works?

What about the contractors who rob the country of millions of Cedis and do shoddy work? Who use inferior materials to build roads, schools, hospitals and other state facilities?

What about the tardy civil or public servant who reports for work late and closes earlier than expected? Who uses state’s time to do their own business and expect a timely payment of their monthly salaries; and constantly ask for salary increment? Who will never process any document on time if you do not put 'weight' on it? Who goes to the extent of bargaining with their victims (clients) on the level of weight they are to put on documents?

What about the selfish government officials who use their official vehicles and other state resources to satisfy the whips and caprices of their girl/boy friends and family members? Who care only about satisfying their libido and sexual desires at the expense of the nation? Who scale off every flesh and leave the bone 'kwatirikwa'?

What about the undesirable teacher who instead of teaching spends the time doing their own business at the expense of the future of the students entrusted in their care? Who absent themselves from school, and even when they are present, they don't teach as they are required to do? Who draw salaries they do not deserve?

What about the evil lecturers who exchange grades for sexual favours? What about the lecturers who force students into sleeping with them with the threat of failing them if they refuse? What about the lazy students who go out of their way to offer sex in exchange for good grades?

What about the selfish private business man or woman who evades tax and deprive the nation of revenue for development? Who mistreat their employees, abuse them, disrespect them and pay them next-to-nothing?

What about the corrupt importers who bring in inferior goods and flood the market with them? Who bring in contraband goods and thereby suffocate and kill our local industries? Who bring in goods through unapproved routes and deprive the nation of revenue for development?

What about the market men and women who increase their prices arbitrarily and tell the consumer to go to hell? Who bring in inferior goods and sell to the unsuspecting consumers?

What about the red oil seller, the powdered pepper seller, the honey seller, and all other food stuff sellers who add all kinds of substances to reduce the efficacy of their products, cause damage to the human body, and make more money? What about those who sell fake products to unsuspecting consumers?

What about the unscrupulous police officer who stands on our roads to collect bribe from commuters? What about the driver who runs through the red light when the police are not watching; and put the lives of other commuters in danger?

What about the customs officer who takes bribe and turns aside for people to usurp the system and dupe the nation?

What about you and I who throw rubbish around for the state to spend millions of Cedis to gather and manage? Who chock our gutters with refuse and defecate in our water bodies and expose all of us to all manner of diseases? Because of our bad attitude, the state spends huge sums of money to import drugs to treat all manner of sicknesses. We build in water ways, cause avoidable floods for the state to spend millions of Cedis to take care of victims. We pretend to work and expect to be paid. We offer bribe and corrupt the incorrigible government officials.

So who is without fault in this country? Who can say with all honesty that he or she has been truthful and fair to Ghana, our motherland? Let him be the first to cast the accusing stone and point the accusing finger. So the next time you attempt to answer the question “Who is killing Ghana?” Pause to ask yourself if you are not one of the killers. Remember that as you point an accusing finger, the rest of the fingers are pointing towards you.

Ghana is sick; she is very sick but definitely not DEAD. Ghana is suffering from all kinds of maladies orchestrated by her citizens - the great, the small; the powerful, the weak; the affluent, the not so affluent; the upper, the middle, and the lower class. This sickness is not caused by one person or a group of persons. Like our elders say, “No one person can cover the face of God with his hands.” We have all contributed to make Ghana sick. Stop pointing accusing fingers and look at the man in the mirror.

Can Ghana become strong again? Can Ghana be vibrant again? Can Ghana really live again? My answer is a resounding YES! Ghana can live again! It will take the combined efforts of all of us who made her sick to make her strong again. The question you may be asking is “How?” It's very simple - CHANGE OF ATTITUDE AND GENUINE LOVE FOR OUR COUNTRY. Do we think we can all love Ghana a little more so as to place her above our selfish interest? YES WE CAN!

Let the politician be selfless in serving the people who elected them into office and entrusted the future of the nation into their hands. Let the technocrat do what is required of him/her in all truthfulness and honesty. Let the civil and public servant work to earn his/her salary.

Let the government official use state resources prudently to serve the nation. Let the teacher be in school and teach well. Let not the lecturer exchange grades for sexual favours. Let not the student give sexual favours for good grades. Let the businessman or woman pay the right taxes. Let the importer stop importing contraband and fake goods. Let not the market men and women increase their prices arbitrarily.

Let the foodstuff seller sell raw and genuine food items. Let the police officer stop collecting bribe. Let the driver stop giving bribe. Let the customs officer stop taking bribe. Let all who claim to love Ghana demonstrate their true love for the country through real service, but not just talks. Let us all change our bad attitude and put Ghana first. Only then will Ghana be great and strong. Only then will Ghana live again.

So I ask you “Are you a lover of Ghana or her killer?” The answer rests with the man/woman in the mirror.

Well, before you paint me with a political brush, let me say that I am just bearing my mind. This is “food for thought” for all of us, regardless of our political affiliation.

Patricia Abena Konneh

Human Resources Professional, Career & Personal Development Coach and the Author of “Uncovering the Hidden Self – A Rare Insight Into Personal Discovery and Development”.