Learning to Become a Patriotic Ghanaian

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• KWAME OPARE 11 years ago

  Sir,
  You hit the nail on the head. I am always amazed at the wealth of intellectuals that Ghana has and we are still suffering in all phases of development. The issues of ethnocentricism and nepotism are eating at our natio ...
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  Sir,
  You hit the nail on the head. I am always amazed at the wealth of intellectuals that Ghana has and we are still suffering in all phases of development. The issues of ethnocentricism and nepotism are eating at our nation's fabric. There are too many myopic leaders. We are a nation of talk and no action. I was in Bulgaria on a work visit. I was surprised as to how this Eastern European nation has turned their fortunes around. They decided on going this course by ensuring that everyone was a Bulgarian first. We hate Ghana so much, and so we do not see the good things that it has been able to offer or has to offer. Our political arena is filled to capacity with people who do not even love the country. I applaud thinkers like you who come on this platform to offer something doable. We tend to over-think on the ideas that would help Ghana. How big is Ghana? Ghana and other struggling African countries have become the jokes of the West. As you rightly quoted from Ayi Kwei Armah, there is abundant light at the end of the tunnel. GHANA WOULD NEVER DIE. Good piece. I salute you, Dr. Sarfo.

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• francis kwarteng 11 years ago

  Dear Dr. SAS,
  
  I think this is another great write-up.
  
  You have raised another crucial question about the political economy of ethnocentrism and its relationship to the political morality, or immorality, of (un)patrioti ...
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  Dear Dr. SAS,
  
  I think this is another great write-up.
  
  You have raised another crucial question about the political economy of ethnocentrism and its relationship to the political morality, or immorality, of (un)patriotism, both of which have dire ramifications for intra-national (continental) cohesion, development economics, and the like.
  
  Again, this is a well-thought-out, masterfully written piece. With unbroken infusions of great appplicable wisdom. I simply love it!
  
  Let all stilted, unabashed, and psychologically-starched ethnocentrists and "tribalists" pluck bushels of leafy-wisdom from your great book of essayed wisdom.
  
  What is more, making a beeline for T.S. Elliot brings back old memories, something to do with Oliver Wendell Holm, Sr.'s satirical poem "The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay ("The Deacon's Masterpiece"), which has useful inferential connections to the moral subtext of your beautiful and poignant essay, that we should learn as a people to logically erect social scaffolding of relationships, ethnic, racial, religious, familial, political, ideological, and cultural, on the foundational shoulder of longevity, not on the socio-cultural bedrock of "zero scrap value" or "depreciation," as they say in economics.
  
  Bravo, Dr. SAS.
  
  Thanks.

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• insight to the bone 11 years ago

  As the days go by more and more people wake up to the reality of the ndc anti Akan hate agenda and their deep rooted corrupt dark souls of evil .This was first initiated by the Ewes and through Mahama and his brothers being c ...
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  As the days go by more and more people wake up to the reality of the ndc anti Akan hate agenda and their deep rooted corrupt dark souls of evil .This was first initiated by the Ewes and through Mahama and his brothers being championed today by the northerners. We see in Iraq/Syria the announce of the Islamic caliphate state and their map which now includes Ghana and the whole of West Africa .Most people are ignorant of the fact that unlike in Christianity and other religions whereby the leaders or priests are men of peace in Islam their imams or priests advocate for war and destruction of the non believers and when war starts every single one of them assumes the title emir and becomes the captain of a murderous horde as we saw in Libya and with the boko haram. The mosque is not only a place of worship but an army fortress or barracks and that is why they must in the design in every area which is not predominately Muslim its required to have a tall reconnaissance tower. we see in Accra and other places these mosques spring up all over the place at militarily very strategic positions but we are vigilant and when our bloody revolution starts we will raze all these structures to the ground and drive out this menace from our midst . There are some brainwashed idiotic fools who still believe mahama has good intentions but don't know he is a Muslim disguised as a christian which Islam allows and his only agenda is to weaken with corruption and destroy with negligence the Akan economy so the caliphate can be achieved that is why no project of strategic importance can see the light of day under his watch.As for the Ewes his partners in crime all i can say is have you ever wondered why when you go to Togo there the Ewes are very nice people and true African brothers but the moment you cross the Aflao border into Ghana the ayigbe wickedness , hate and evil starts? The ewes in Togo know these ayigbe are so bad and useless that they are not interested in reuniting with them but would rather throw them all into the sea. We should find a way to trick them into taking them back as we Akans will definitely be better off without this foolish idiotic people. Mahama and his brothers have stolen so much that even the bank of Ghana admits they dont know where our foreign reserves have disappeared to , i can tell you where , Turkey , Iran, Dubai and other Muslim countries where its safe for them. Congrats to Kumasi for hitting the nail on the head and exposing the discrimination and abuse of the civil/human rights with the WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO YOU demonstration , today we see idiots and saboteurs trying turn it into a question of mere economics , even one idiot woman came out with a humiliating brainless idea to go naked just to deflect from the main core issue of discrimination against the Akans. My people we have only one problem and if that's solved the rest will be easy , the problem is discrimination and the Anti Akan agenda of part of this mafia ndc . its never about npp , ndc ,left or right wing ideology politics but simply pepeni/ayigbe tribalism against Akan nationalist evolution. They are only attracted to ideas that only destroy our economy like this EPA paramount foolishness with the Europeans or giving away our gold fields to foreigners who never invest here in the name of prudent business , end result our people are exploited and made poorer. we shall never surrender or be fooled again. While we were thinking of a better Ghana for ALL citizens they were thinking of only themselves and destroying the future for our children . We need to have our revolution and secede to form our own state as they will never change.

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• adumtumi nyansafuo 11 years ago

  You cannot be patriotic when your own government has deserted you. Stop writing garbage.

  You cannot be patriotic when your own government has deserted you. Stop writing garbage.

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• Kojo T 11 years ago

  But that is his point . The lack of patriotism is the cause govt neglects you . Let us give credit where it is due and condemn when it is due

  But that is his point . The lack of patriotism is the cause govt neglects you . Let us give credit where it is due and condemn when it is due

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• James Opuni 11 years ago

  What do you think you are saying in this first paragraph of your opinion piece, my friend? Here it goes:
  
  "The question of patriotism is now a question in vogue, given that the present government is perceived to be patently ...
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  What do you think you are saying in this first paragraph of your opinion piece, my friend? Here it goes:
  
  "The question of patriotism is now a question in vogue, given that the present government is perceived to be patently corrupt, and the political stage is now a theater for the final act in the quest for chicanery and the salacious satiation of congenitally inherent avarice."
  
  Just take a good look at all the unusual words with which you've loaded this paragraph and if you have your head properly screwed on your torsoo, you should know that they kill the force of your communication.
  
  In effect, you are not communicating at all. The words are available for writers to use but sensible writers don't just choose words to string together without considering readability and comprehensibility.
  
  Don't try to show off with those archaic words because they downgrade your writing.
  
  Of course, as a lawyer, you may be proud of legalese, but not for Ghanaweb or any other online environment.
  
  You are a failure and should bow your head in abject shame, even as you challenge the resident fools of Ghanaweb (Okoampah-Ahoofe and Akadu Mensema over language use)!!

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• KKS 11 years ago

  One thing SAS prides himself on is his ability to speak and write good English. He makes that known often on ghanaweb. The paragraph you cite is his idea of great English. If he doesn't write that way, there will be no way fo ...
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  One thing SAS prides himself on is his ability to speak and write good English. He makes that known often on ghanaweb. The paragraph you cite is his idea of great English. If he doesn't write that way, there will be no way for him to demonstrate his immense knowledge of the language. He won't feel fine writing like any common person on ghanaweb. So expect him not to mind you.

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• James Bamfo 11 years ago

  While the facts of this piece are true and accurate, you failed to mention enviousness among the elite as being a hindrance. SAS, if, you should become the President of Ghana,the sun can rise from the west and set in the east ...
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  While the facts of this piece are true and accurate, you failed to mention enviousness among the elite as being a hindrance. SAS, if, you should become the President of Ghana,the sun can rise from the west and set in the east, you'll never appoint Okoampa Ahoofe as your Education Minister even though, he may be more qualified than everyone on your list. What may be the reason?

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• James Opuni 11 years ago

  Why should a President Dr. SAS appoint Okoampah-Ahoofe when Okoampah-Ahoofe is at the centre of this critical analysis by Dr. SAS to prove how useless the Ghanaian intellectual of Okoampah-Ahoofe's type is?
  
  Are you thinkin ...
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  Why should a President Dr. SAS appoint Okoampah-Ahoofe when Okoampah-Ahoofe is at the centre of this critical analysis by Dr. SAS to prove how useless the Ghanaian intellectual of Okoampah-Ahoofe's type is?
  
  Are you thinking right, James Bamfo?

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• KWAME OPARE 11 years ago

  James,
  Can we just deliberate on issues here without malice to no one? This is one of the things killing Ghanaians. We seem to have fault-finding radars to detect and discredit people. Your final comment about Dr. Ahoofe is ...
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  James,
  Can we just deliberate on issues here without malice to no one? This is one of the things killing Ghanaians. We seem to have fault-finding radars to detect and discredit people. Your final comment about Dr. Ahoofe is immaterial to this discussion. Please let us use this platform for brain-storming and sharing of useful ideas to help the motherland in this trying times. Thank you.

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• IDRIS PACAS 11 years ago

  Good work!
  
  Anyway, I got scared up with the introductory paragraph. With self-control, I got to the end to realise that we converge at it: ethnocentrism being Ghana's No. 1 problem.
  
  
  Because Ghanaweb hardly organizes w ...
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  Good work!
  
  Anyway, I got scared up with the introductory paragraph. With self-control, I got to the end to realise that we converge at it: ethnocentrism being Ghana's No. 1 problem.
  
  
  Because Ghanaweb hardly organizes write-ups, setting up your paragraphs with double line spacing prevents a mixed up. I guess you realise this claim because what appears as Paragraph 3 seems too long to have been one paragraph from you.
  
  Good evening!

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• Kwesi 11 years ago

  SAS is a ghanaweb old timer and knows of such things. Maybe he was in a hurry or it was just plain forgetfulness (aka carelessness).

  SAS is a ghanaweb old timer and knows of such things. Maybe he was in a hurry or it was just plain forgetfulness (aka carelessness).

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• Kwesi 11 years ago

  "Once, in a conversation with my good friend Dr. Michael Bokor,..."
  
  Is Michael Bokor a good friend of yours, SAS?
  
  You have always spoken against any tendency on the part of Bokor to exhibit any ethnocentric tendencies ...
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  "Once, in a conversation with my good friend Dr. Michael Bokor,..."
  
  Is Michael Bokor a good friend of yours, SAS?
  
  You have always spoken against any tendency on the part of Bokor to exhibit any ethnocentric tendencies in his write ups on ghanaweb. You have expressed your greatest disappointment at the fact that he was your student at the university in Cape Coast. You have also berated his English language.
  
  In one of his rare appearances in the forum, Bokor came out to say that he doesn't know you and has never met you before. He said you were not his teacher in Cape Coast.
  
  Now, where is the truth? What is the truth? The two accounts don't tally.
  
  I understand Bokor's father was a headmaster in Peki Secondary School and he and his brothers grew up there. It seems Bokor is in the same age group as you, SAS. Unless he went to Cape Coast late in his life (not a straight secondary school to university student), you couldn't have taught him. It is also possible that you are only two or three years older than he is in which case you could have taught him as a Teaching Assistant in Cape Coast.
  
  It's a bit confusing but some of us want to know the truth. Is your good friend Bokor the guy you taught at Cape Coast and is he the same guy who is second only to Okoampa in the frequency of their articles on ghanaweb?
  
  I understand Bokor is a common Ewe name - something almost like Osei or ... Adjei

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• Kofi Nsia 11 years ago

  Nkrumah talked about unity fifty years ago.Why are you telling us the same thing now? Go back and read some of the nonsense you wrote a few years ago and retract them.Okoampa cannot be classified as an Intellectual nor Dr,SAS ...
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  Nkrumah talked about unity fifty years ago.Why are you telling us the same thing now? Go back and read some of the nonsense you wrote a few years ago and retract them.Okoampa cannot be classified as an Intellectual nor Dr,SAS.Do you think an average o level student will understand the first paragraph of your article? have a wee bit of common fucking sense and write for the uninitiated like myself.Achebe,wrote good books for ordinary people to understand.We don"t give a fig about your verbal dexterity.We want clear,coherent and lucid English Language.Put this message into your Akan cum Ewe head.

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• RINGO 11 years ago

  Dr SAS and Ahoofe are in the same boat sailing on the sea of VERBOSITY.

  Dr SAS and Ahoofe are in the same boat sailing on the sea of VERBOSITY.

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• Kofi Badu 11 years ago

  All readers who have followed Dr SAS' comments on this forum will agree me that his write-up is a true picture of his own ethnocentric nature.

  All readers who have followed Dr SAS' comments on this forum will agree me that his write-up is a true picture of his own ethnocentric nature.

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• Kofi Badu 11 years ago

  will agree with me

  will agree with me

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