Doc. Your analysis of our problems due to leadership deficiency is spot on. The question is: How do the masses operating in a democratic election of our "leaders" discern the leader- candidate from the manager candidate? As t ... read full comment
Doc. Your analysis of our problems due to leadership deficiency is spot on. The question is: How do the masses operating in a democratic election of our "leaders" discern the leader- candidate from the manager candidate? As the ex-deputy female minister pointed out, ALL our politicians - Presidents, parliamentarians, ministers, etc. ARE ALL THERE TO MAKE THEIR MILLION DOLLARS!! The voting masses have been SO REDUCED TO THE BAREST NECESSITIES, SUCH THAT A HANDOUT OF A SACK OF RICE, OR CUTLASSES, or promises of ANY NEEDED AMENITY - clinic, school, road will get the stomach (usually the manager) politician elected. No matter that the promises may never be fulfilled. The "Leader politician can't even get his message understood.
Our govts. have more PhD's than some universities because that is one sure qualification for political appointment into the loot brigade. One had hoped these PhD's in govt. would effect changes, but sadly A BIG NO!! They go there to find ways of individually or condoling with foreign entities to loot our resources/treasury, or subjugate our health, food source, and sovereignty. Yes, It's a catch-21 - HOW TO GET THE LEADER (INSTEAD OF MANAGER) POLITICIAN ELECTED
insight to the bone 9 years ago
Let us not be fooled into ignoring the true motives and intentions of JJ's so called uprisings as the truth is evident upon reflection with wisdom and a just heart. It was nothing but a dubious plan and insidious agenda motiv ... read full comment
Let us not be fooled into ignoring the true motives and intentions of JJ's so called uprisings as the truth is evident upon reflection with wisdom and a just heart. It was nothing but a dubious plan and insidious agenda motivated by tribalism and hatred of the Akans . This is the greatest tragedy and the reason why the country can never develop, as long as the undercurrent of all political activity is the hatred and exclusion of everything Akan there can never be true unity and peace of mind . We now have generations of youth in absolute poverty who will never know what a job that can sustain a family is , brainwashed into thinking the perverse lies of this ndc are the right moral standards of the day, yes buga buga tactics designed to break the spirit of a free nation . They say we are only angry but the fact remains this was a tribal war still continuing against the Akans , you will never hear JJ mention the corrupt EWE such as woyome , segbefia and tsikata but rather any Ashanti public or private is the enemy and criminal and his follows will add drug barons . He will never see the evil corruption of his allies in this backstrabbing war against the Akans the northerners and other minorities such as the Gas. Without proof or the need to respect the law and human rights of the accused he will judge and execute innocent Akans into jail or death , even his long time traitor friend Mills was not good enough because he was Fanti and therefore not motivated enough to hate his brothers the Ashantis or npp. Forbes has put the mahamas in the list of being one of the most corrupt family in the country and Africa but JJ and the NDC are blind to this fact and obviously have succeeded in bribing our so called opposition NPP into compliance of the ongoing crimes . JJ , WHERE IS YOUR COUP NOW IN SWEEPING AWAY THIS CORRUPT GOVT ,is it because its now your ayigbe and pepeni who are now the one's stealing ?
Captain Canada 9 years ago
No need to go further.
No need to go further.
Captain Canada 9 years ago
and yet you are blind to all the evils Akans have dumped on the nation. From coup d'etat to cocaine smuggling. From making bribes a staple in the country to outright hatred for other tribes including Fantis. Who are Akans too ... read full comment
and yet you are blind to all the evils Akans have dumped on the nation. From coup d'etat to cocaine smuggling. From making bribes a staple in the country to outright hatred for other tribes including Fantis. Who are Akans too. You have the nerve to say AKANS but exclude Fantis. Who is the tribalist here?
Kojo T 9 years ago
Some people are too confortable and want to distort the works of others. Dr Ohemeng , thanks for your suggestions. We need to start with the grassroots where people must show thei mettle and have a track record. At the moment ... read full comment
Some people are too confortable and want to distort the works of others. Dr Ohemeng , thanks for your suggestions. We need to start with the grassroots where people must show thei mettle and have a track record. At the moment eveything is top down
captain canada 9 years ago
I was answering the dude called 'insight to the bone'.
I was answering the dude called 'insight to the bone'.
Captain canada 9 years ago
who understand what it means to lead. Internally I don't think we have any such persons because we've all been corrupted by "flash equals knowledge or reputation" nonsense. We need external characters to help us on the road t ... read full comment
who understand what it means to lead. Internally I don't think we have any such persons because we've all been corrupted by "flash equals knowledge or reputation" nonsense. We need external characters to help us on the road to proper leadership.
Humanity 9 years ago
According to an Italiana state man (Gramci). He prefers injustice to disorder. He said in Africa, they are both injustice and disorder.
African leaders lacked the ability to contain the perpetual disorder. Governing is the ... read full comment
According to an Italiana state man (Gramci). He prefers injustice to disorder. He said in Africa, they are both injustice and disorder.
African leaders lacked the ability to contain the perpetual disorder. Governing is the ability to think in advance and the ability to prevent chaos, unrest or disorder before it occurs.
A leader-president- listen to those he leads to find a lasting solution. A manager-president tells the governd what he thinks is good for them.
Nowadys it is difficult to discern between a president and pastors. Our president and politician have become a pators preaching gospels, while our pastors have become politician's telling the massa how we could fixed our economy.
mensah abrampa 9 years ago
I agree that the presidents double as preachers/pastors while in office . Some of the "certified" pastors are in reality what we call pimps.We all know a pimp has no regular job except being a sucker, a leech. The pastors als ... read full comment
I agree that the presidents double as preachers/pastors while in office . Some of the "certified" pastors are in reality what we call pimps.We all know a pimp has no regular job except being a sucker, a leech. The pastors also become presidential advisers and both suck it to us. They're both pimps whose job descriptions need to be re-defined to suit their pimp status. I'm not trying to paint all pastors with the same brush. There are genuine ones among them.
Vuvuzela 9 years ago
What is really behind the abysmal performance of our ‘leaders’?
It is lazy mindedness, laziness of thought, lack of intelligence, absolute stupidity, excessive greed, lack of foresight and general cluelessness, lack of ... read full comment
What is really behind the abysmal performance of our ‘leaders’?
It is lazy mindedness, laziness of thought, lack of intelligence, absolute stupidity, excessive greed, lack of foresight and general cluelessness, lack of sensitivity for the plight of the ordinary citizens, lethargy...
Vuvuzela 9 years ago
Try to make real paragraphs to enhance readability. Long passages without paragraphs make the reading kind of onerous.
On the other hand:
"It is gratifying to know that there is a large swathe of the Ghanaian middle cla ... read full comment
Try to make real paragraphs to enhance readability. Long passages without paragraphs make the reading kind of onerous.
On the other hand:
"It is gratifying to know that there is a large swathe of the Ghanaian middle class who are thinking and discussing leadership issues."
It is genuinely thoughts for better "leadership issues", or the routine pretentious way of thinking about their gains? Give them position in the government, and the same behavior patterns show up afresh. It is hypocrisy.
Yaw, I agree with you to some point but what many people fail to see is that, what actually runs a state is NOT people. It is the LAW! But the law is toothless if there aren't honest, sincere, patriotic and dedicate citizens to enforce it. That is the problem, its roots, its trunks, its branches! Everything else is speculation. Laws dictate how individuals live in a society. They even help in cultivating modalities for education and production.
This is what I wrote in my open letter to the president last year:
"Starting from 0, as in ZERO, how does a human civilization evolve from the rudimentary savage life of a jungle into a complex structure of developed, prosperous and civilized society capable of sustaining principle-based healthy culture, viable economy, good will, freedom, equality and ethics and morality systems that guarantee not only immediate life instincts but also takes posterity into account?
Since we understand every human has his own social pulls and pushes, streaks of character, mentality, attitudes that may be dictated, or not, by rationality or from a myriad causes, we suppose that there ought to be regulation – rules that define how each individual comports themselves so as to uphold the intrinsic idea of intelligence, wisdom, order, sense of direction and purpose, as distinct from lower animals.
Next in sequence, the tedious challenge and the predominant of all, in scale, which may be likened to a structural frame, is finding honest and loyal people who would be the interpreters of the rules and who would assure everyone in the nascent civilization bows to the rules by will, reason or by force, that is, the laws will be imposed by default.
It is understandable that in the dire absence of any such rules, what would fit the description of this society would be chaos; life here would be meaningless. No objectives, no vision, no judgment, no sense of morality as the sense of good and bad would be lost. The very strong of this civilization will subdue the weak to every known form of bully, in the fashion of the Law of the jungle.
Your Excellency, what is happening in Ghana now bears close resemblance to this. As far as Ghana is concerned, we don’t have such structural frame. The country is presently getting stuck in the mud because nothing seems to be working because the laws aren’t working!"
Pelicles 9 years ago
Look, I have said time and time again that no nation on this planet or anywhere is developed with strict adherence of the "RULE OF LAW". We have the idea that the laws are just for the books or as a "show off" but no. As lon ... read full comment
Look, I have said time and time again that no nation on this planet or anywhere is developed with strict adherence of the "RULE OF LAW". We have the idea that the laws are just for the books or as a "show off" but no. As long as we fail or deliberately ignoring to enforce the rule of law, nothing will work in Ghana.
When Obama came to Ghana, what did he say? All the lectures he gave centered on one thing, enforcing the rule of law.
Yaw Ohemeng 9 years ago
Vuvu, thanks for your contribution. I wrote the article with paragraphs. The editors of Ghanaweb rather 'dump' the articles without paying much attention to how authors structure their articles.
I agree that enforcement of ... read full comment
Vuvu, thanks for your contribution. I wrote the article with paragraphs. The editors of Ghanaweb rather 'dump' the articles without paying much attention to how authors structure their articles.
I agree that enforcement of laws work but to a limited extent. It is rather better that we have a predisposition to observe laws. It is in this regard that we need leaders to influence people to do good rather seeking to change behaviours through laws. Such people jhave empathy, they understand the concerns of the people they lead and can see things from their perspective. When someone in leadership position shows that he/she is authentic and genuine, he can induce others to be same.
Laws have their place and are amongst the 'weapons' available. However, they work well if they are only there to check the conduct of a few deviants.
Pelicles 9 years ago
Ghanaians go to the polls and elect "people we label as leaders" but rather, we elect "I-don't-care-leaders" who come in to knock our heads together then off.
One question I do ask myself is, where do these leaders come f ... read full comment
Ghanaians go to the polls and elect "people we label as leaders" but rather, we elect "I-don't-care-leaders" who come in to knock our heads together then off.
One question I do ask myself is, where do these leaders come from? They are among us and know the problems facing our dear nation so, the question is what stops them from putting structures in place to fix the problems from the onset?
They rely heavily on our body politics to chart their course. By that I mean, tribalism, partisanship and those vices that forces any elected official to veer off course. If you live in Ghana, just listen to the prevailing wind.
mensah abrampa 9 years ago
Dr Ohemeng your analysis is faultless, almost perfect. I wish I could even whisper the word but I realize humans are far from being perfect in spite of the giant strides in science, medicine and technology.
I think part of ... read full comment
Dr Ohemeng your analysis is faultless, almost perfect. I wish I could even whisper the word but I realize humans are far from being perfect in spite of the giant strides in science, medicine and technology.
I think part of the problem lies with our education system. The system is not designed to produce independent, critical thinkers and since humans reproduce ourselves, with a few exceptions, our system is inundated with more of the same, people who are zombie-like who cannot think for themselves, who cannot think independently or as they say outside the box.
When it comes to problem solving there's not much difference between the "educated" and the "uneducated". The striking difference between the two is the ability of the educated to manipulate numbers in what has come to be known as white collar crime.
When a person suddenly passes away what do we always hear from both the literates and the illiterates? He was killed by supernatural powers. Since we refuse to find solutions to the myriad of problems through study and effort we tend to always find culprits for even our personal mistakes and shortcomings. If there are thinkers among us which I believe we do, they are greatly outnumbered, rendering them totally in- effective. If you can't beat them join them. This is how we've gotten where we are.
We are lazy, both mentally and physically. Most people believe in instant gratification, reaping where we have not sowed. In a system where there's is no reward for hardwork there's no incentive for industry and ingenuity .
The list goes on and on. We'd even have to change the approach to agriculture and peasant farming.
It's easy to blame everything on poverty but aren't we endowed with more natural and human resources than many countries? The time has come for us to come together and find the solutions to our common problems. Yes, we can and we should.
Barnabas Oware 9 years ago
Thanks for your analysis,Dr Ohemeng.I have also followed African politics for a very long time and I have concluded that what you call LEADER-PRESIDENTS are non-existent in Africa.The Founder of the nation Kwame Nkrumah,may b ... read full comment
Thanks for your analysis,Dr Ohemeng.I have also followed African politics for a very long time and I have concluded that what you call LEADER-PRESIDENTS are non-existent in Africa.The Founder of the nation Kwame Nkrumah,may be described as the only true Leader-President.First and foremost,regardless of their educational background BLACK AFRICANS have a peculiar MINDSET which make them think that POLITICS is a GOLD MINE.Secondly,unlike advanced nations,tribal solidarity is too deeply-rooted in Africans so the masses only consider a political candidate's tribe during elections and nothing else.Only God knows how we can reverse this unfortunate situation.
Joe Mensah 9 years ago
Barnabas has raised good points.Changing the Blackman's MINDSET from greed,selfishness and embezzlement of state funds to selflessness,truthfulness and devotion to duty is certainly one of the greatest challenges of mankind.I ... read full comment
Barnabas has raised good points.Changing the Blackman's MINDSET from greed,selfishness and embezzlement of state funds to selflessness,truthfulness and devotion to duty is certainly one of the greatest challenges of mankind.It is also common knowledge that Black Africans are imbued with tribal solidarity.This explains why people who don't deserve to win elections,win elections and become members of Parliament,Ministers and Presidents.
captain canada 9 years ago
The concept of a leader in African terms is a do nothing, lying and pilferer. We have come to not demand anything of them. Ghanaians expect every leader to plunder. Infact if you dont do that as leader you are considered inco ... read full comment
The concept of a leader in African terms is a do nothing, lying and pilferer. We have come to not demand anything of them. Ghanaians expect every leader to plunder. Infact if you dont do that as leader you are considered incompetent. Our leadership races are now a farce and is about who can flash best. That's what we expect and that why we get them. We worship flash and no substance.
francis kwarteng 9 years ago
Dear Brother Ohemang,
I think you have made a very powerful statement with this beautiful essays of yours as far as leadership is concerned.
I also believe we need more of this kind of debate as leadership crisis conti ... read full comment
Dear Brother Ohemang,
I think you have made a very powerful statement with this beautiful essays of yours as far as leadership is concerned.
I also believe we need more of this kind of debate as leadership crisis continues to eat away at Africa's development and growth. This is a good essay.
Doc. Your analysis of our problems due to leadership deficiency is spot on. The question is: How do the masses operating in a democratic election of our "leaders" discern the leader- candidate from the manager candidate? As t ...
read full comment
Let us not be fooled into ignoring the true motives and intentions of JJ's so called uprisings as the truth is evident upon reflection with wisdom and a just heart. It was nothing but a dubious plan and insidious agenda motiv ...
read full comment
No need to go further.
and yet you are blind to all the evils Akans have dumped on the nation. From coup d'etat to cocaine smuggling. From making bribes a staple in the country to outright hatred for other tribes including Fantis. Who are Akans too ...
read full comment
Some people are too confortable and want to distort the works of others. Dr Ohemeng , thanks for your suggestions. We need to start with the grassroots where people must show thei mettle and have a track record. At the moment ...
read full comment
I was answering the dude called 'insight to the bone'.
who understand what it means to lead. Internally I don't think we have any such persons because we've all been corrupted by "flash equals knowledge or reputation" nonsense. We need external characters to help us on the road t ...
read full comment
According to an Italiana state man (Gramci). He prefers injustice to disorder. He said in Africa, they are both injustice and disorder.
African leaders lacked the ability to contain the perpetual disorder. Governing is the ...
read full comment
I agree that the presidents double as preachers/pastors while in office . Some of the "certified" pastors are in reality what we call pimps.We all know a pimp has no regular job except being a sucker, a leech. The pastors als ...
read full comment
What is really behind the abysmal performance of our ‘leaders’?
It is lazy mindedness, laziness of thought, lack of intelligence, absolute stupidity, excessive greed, lack of foresight and general cluelessness, lack of ...
read full comment
Try to make real paragraphs to enhance readability. Long passages without paragraphs make the reading kind of onerous.
On the other hand:
"It is gratifying to know that there is a large swathe of the Ghanaian middle cla ...
read full comment
Look, I have said time and time again that no nation on this planet or anywhere is developed with strict adherence of the "RULE OF LAW". We have the idea that the laws are just for the books or as a "show off" but no. As lon ...
read full comment
Vuvu, thanks for your contribution. I wrote the article with paragraphs. The editors of Ghanaweb rather 'dump' the articles without paying much attention to how authors structure their articles.
I agree that enforcement of ...
read full comment
Ghanaians go to the polls and elect "people we label as leaders" but rather, we elect "I-don't-care-leaders" who come in to knock our heads together then off.
One question I do ask myself is, where do these leaders come f ...
read full comment
Dr Ohemeng your analysis is faultless, almost perfect. I wish I could even whisper the word but I realize humans are far from being perfect in spite of the giant strides in science, medicine and technology.
I think part of ...
read full comment
Thanks for your analysis,Dr Ohemeng.I have also followed African politics for a very long time and I have concluded that what you call LEADER-PRESIDENTS are non-existent in Africa.The Founder of the nation Kwame Nkrumah,may b ...
read full comment
Barnabas has raised good points.Changing the Blackman's MINDSET from greed,selfishness and embezzlement of state funds to selflessness,truthfulness and devotion to duty is certainly one of the greatest challenges of mankind.I ...
read full comment
The concept of a leader in African terms is a do nothing, lying and pilferer. We have come to not demand anything of them. Ghanaians expect every leader to plunder. Infact if you dont do that as leader you are considered inco ...
read full comment
Dear Brother Ohemang,
I think you have made a very powerful statement with this beautiful essays of yours as far as leadership is concerned.
I also believe we need more of this kind of debate as leadership crisis conti ...
read full comment
wonderful piece.great work.