Amanfoo Columns

As I reflect on this day and the changes that the 9-11-01 has had on our lives, I can’t help but do a little introspection, stop and ponder a little on life itself, it’s fleeting nature, and why human beings do the things they do. On Sept.11, 2002, the first anniversary of perhaps the most dastardly act perpetuated in peacetime on civilians in history, the whole world must all ponder for a minute and ask Why?

Today is surely a day that will remind us always or our limited humanity, perhaps a reflection on the purpose or meaning of life, and either way a day that will live in infamy till time's end.

Today reminds us of the day the forces of evil and cynicism, The forces of intolerance of human views, and our diversity, Of man’s stupidity in the worth of his own life as taught by others, Of hope in life thereafter, things unseen, when there is no hope to see. The forces of envy and jealousy, of greed and selfishness, Of power and centralism, or fear and revenge, Of ideological blindness to the pain of fellow man, All came together to remind all of us of our sheer humanity.

I have always thought that religion is man's way to the inner self. Many may define them their way. But a search for God lies not without but within, each with his own staff, his beacon of light. Religion is thus nothing to brag about, or to push others aside for. That the outer world was of clay and mud, wood, sand and stone, meant to be overcome, built and molded to satisfy man's need for comfort and for happiness. Silicon Valley, in which some of us have lived and made our livelihoods for decades, has demonstrated how ordinary sand, alias Silicon, can be used to build electronics and computers using the laws of Chemistry and Physics. Man's search for life's meaning took on a trip, the trip of science and technology.

Those nations who relied on religion alone were left behind in the search for answers of life. Being late in the discovery of Science, and hence technology, left many behind in the development of the world's resources to satisfy man's needs. It is for this reason that many still wail and mourn, waiting for some magic wand or manna from heaven, to bring economic prosperity, or reap gains not sowed.

It was for this reason, over-reliance on religion, on faith and beliefs, on things yet unseen, of ghosts and those dead and gone, and perhaps of Manna yet to fall from heaven, that our brothers in the Muslim religion or Arab world were left behind in civilizations. Africans also were left behind. They rather relied on the mystical manifestation of life. The others relied on what could be seen and smelt, in the laboratories of the cold winters of Europe and America.

At the end of 2000, a great friend from high school, a man who studied and mastered Science and Engineering to the highest level of man, passed away in New York, unable to find any meaningful application of his knowledge. He happened to be one of the two selected from among four brothers born to Muslin parents in Ashanti region of Ghana, to go to Christian School to learn the modern Science. He did well, even though society did not do well to employ his talent in this time of eternal life.

Such is life and such must every nation try to employ their people, to give them some purpose for life, a reason to live. As bad as war is, the gun has helped determined the power shifts and diatribe in the world. The gun and war, combined with Science and it's applications, has determined the power and sometimes resource distribution in the world.

As we examine and analyze why Sept. 11,2001, as we feel frustrated going through airports on trips, as we feel for the families of those lost on that tragic day, and our lives changed forever on freedoms hitherto taken for granted on American soil, I can’t help but feel sorry. I feel sorry for the families of the innocent victims of 9-11. But then I feel sorry for the souls of many Arabs and Muslims, as well as many Africans, trying to find solace on this earth, but wandering in distress. I feel sorry for those who feel they have been cheated in life's equitable distribution of wealth. The weak, the hungry, the oppressed, the miserable, the poor and the desperate, all have a right to express themselves. But to die a wasteful death, to die knowing that it will not help win the war, is not the answer for those gone; neither for those remaining.

However, hope is not lost. As every nation looks around them, as well as within, they will find resources nature has created and endowed them with, by which, combined with the lessons we all have to learn, they can muster and pick themselves up.

It is for this reason I encourage our friends the Palestinians and the Israelis to stop for a minute and give up a war no side can win. The Palestinians need help, and they have to learn to negotiate, and live and let live. At the same time I remind our friends the Israelis that were it not for the older brother America, they would be in a deep doodle themselves, applying the same laws of nature, size, and human elements. As such they also have to learn to respect other people and their rights to live and survive on earth. They have to learn to let go some of some dirt acquired from nature by circumstances of fate. They have to learn to give a little, whiles they live with a smile, for a lot of Peace.

Of course big brother America will learn, as 9-11-01 taught all of us, that the world is balanced by forces higher than all of us, and we do not have to look only on one side of a coin to see it's beauty. All of mankind aspires for peace, the weak from the strong, the poor from the rich. It’s simply our responsibility, of one to another, on this earth, meant for all of us.

Cheers and love to all around the world, of all beliefs and faiths.

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THE KETTLE & THE POT: THE LEGACY OF DR. KWESI BOTCHWEY

There is a proverb I learnt from the Akwapims of Ghana, that translates that the pot (the clay ones used for boiling soup in Ghana) does not tell the Kettle he is black.

If there are things this writer cannot stand in life, one of them must be hypocrisy. It’s extremely hard for me to deal with hypocrisy. Hypocrisy of public officials should be a crime that Ghanaians should learn not to forget so quickly, if we are ever to learn and develop under the rule of law. Democracy is a way of societal governance where people learn to live and let others live, as we elect people to represent us for our good, not for them to enrich themselves and run. So far as their livelihood does not affect others to their detriment, it’s Okay. It also holds people in public service accountable for the trust bestowed on them by society.

Can we say this about many of the men and women who bullied their fellow men for almost twenty years, and today stand on podiums preaching Peace? I personally cannot imagine that Dr. Botchwey, a man whose economic policies drove many away from Ghana and kept those overseas there, today stands at the Ghana Embassy as invited guest of a government that was in opposition, in Washington DC, preaching about human values such as humility.

In a GhanaWeb report dated 2002-07-03, we read:

“Speaking at the launch of the Ghana Skills Bank at the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC, Dr Botchwey said some professional Ghanaians, who have worked abroad tend to portray a superior complex on their return home and invariably clash with their colleagues whose sacrifices, sustained the economy.”

It is hard for some of us older folk who know the short history of brutal dictatorship, corruption and mismanagement in Ghana from 1981 to 1982, that has brought Ghana to HIPC, to imagine what Dr. Botchwey means by “whose sacrifices, sustained the economy”.

What economy is he talking about? What does Dr. Botchwey mean by the word “sustain”? Does the mere living in or being born into Ghana mean a person is sustaining the economy? It is amazing how some people are able to be in the same room with such a man and no sparks of fire occurred.

In all analysis there perhaps is no man who had faked his way into a job and lasted as long as this man, Dr. Kwesi Botchwey. I don’t men to be personal, but no man can avoid responsibility for the job he has held for over 15 years to lead a nation to the brink of bankruptcy. This law Professor, an avowed socialist or communist, had absolutely no understanding of business and economics, and at best a textbook reading. One must remind those not familiar with the sad part of Ghanaian culture, that the title “doctor” or such degree, means to the ordinary Ghanaian expertise and knowledge in every field of man. Many have faked themselves as “Doctor”, whiles some African heads of state have influenced some Universities to have such titles bestowed on them. It is for this reason that most post Nkrumah governments in Ghana have had more doctorate degree holders than the American or British governments, from where these individuals may have obtained their degrees.

On the practical side, Dr. Botchwey was the man who would announce an increase in the prices of petrol, kerosene and other products deemed “essential commodities” by say 27%, fix the prices farmers and manufacturers should sell their products, set the fares transport owners should charge for trips in Ghana, and at the same time claim that he would reduce inflation by 30% that year, whiles having currency printed to pay workers. What a wizardry! It is even amazing that World Bank experts, most of them also highly educated men without much practical experience, would buy such wizardry, and keep giving Ghana more loans year after year.

Culture: In my thinking, and writings, I have always cited culture as a major factor why Africans and Ghanaians were kept behind civilization. Just a gist of it here. Ponder on this with me:

Why is it that in our society a man could be a criminal, and yet as soon as he wears a nice suit and goes to Church, we are prepared to forgive and forget, whiles the victims of the crime are forgotten! The victims in this case are the people of Ghana. -
Why is it that known crooks who had stolen for personal gain, and steered the nation of Ghana to the current economic decay, are allowed to walk as free men, the privilege they themselves denied others; and all our mothers will tell us is to “Let it be” (gye-ma enka”), forgive and forget, and give it to God (“fa ma Nyame”)?

The Short Memory of the Masses: In Shakespeare’s masterpiece Julius Caesar, he cites the mentality of the masses and their short memory that will turn from praising an Emperor one day, and when he is overthrown, they turn around and cheer for the conquerors, or in some extreme cases such as Julius Caesar’s, his assassinators.

After 15 years on the job, the man believed by the World Bank as the saviors of Ghana’s economy, Dr. Botchwey, left Ghana in a hole $6.2 billion deep. Not a single 200 mile, or even 42 miles stretch of modern highway in Ghana could be shown for the $4.2 Billion borrowed for road construction in the early 1990s. At the same time, nations like Singapore picked themselves up, building industries at home and attracted back their young men and women who had studies overseas, to help develop Singapore. On page 63 of the book by the former Prime Minster of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, titled “From Third World to First. The Singapore Story”, we read:

“ In 1997, we had nearly 200 American manufacturing companies with S$19 billion worth of investment at book value. Not only were they the largest of our foreign investors, the constantly upgraded their technology and products. This reduced their unit labor costs, enabling them to pay higher wages without losing competitiveness.”
On page 87, he writes:
“These changes in employment and industrial relations laws and practices brought tangible benefits. Within a year, in 1969, 52 new factories were built, creating 17,000 new jobs. In 1970, new investment added 20,000 jobs. Income increased.”

It must be noted that twenty years in Singapore brought the Singapore per capital income from around that of Ghana’s at Independence (about $300), to a number close to $30,000, with 97% high employment rate (or 3% unemployment rate), and exceeding even that of the USA. Can Dr. Botchwey say in all honesty that under his administration, any real progress was made to attract Ghanaians to return home?

So what did Dr. Botchwey do that was so good for Ghana? Did the World Bank programs such as ERP (Economic Recovery Program), SAP (Structural Adjustment Program), and all those fancy acronyms, help Ghana to improve her economy and create jobs? Whiles contracts for road construction were being given out and the projects not being done to specifications, with our roads good only after two rainy seasons at best, what did Dr.Botchwey do? The masses should not have a short memory. The NPP should not.

Short History: It is always Okay to forgive those who are too young to remember. As a great teacher once said, “For they know not what they say”. For those who remember, wasn't this the same Botchwey whose economic policy in 1989-90 time required that people who were importing ordinary Video Recorders and any cars with engine sizes of 2,500cc or more, be classified as living in (quote) “conspicuous consumption” and hence imposed his 500% Super-Sales Tax”? I have a personal testimony in 1990 when I arrived at the Accra airport, and refused to pay the 500% duty on a Video Recorder. On my Camcorder, I had to pay a $300 deposit before taking it inside Ghana – part of Botchwey’s economic legacy.

QUESTIONS:

When businessmen were being chased out of Ghana, did Dr. Botchwey, as economic Minister or Secretary, and one of the main men Mr. Rawlings relied on for the economic development of Ghana, require that that they be given a fair trial?
Or was he one of those who called businessmen anti-revolutionaries and asked them to produce arbitrary sums of money within days or face execution by the firing squad?
When major businesses like Siaw’s Tata Brewery and Mark Cofie’s Mazda Assembly plant were being closed down or confiscated by government, was Dr. Botchwey present or not at such meetings?
When C50, 000 (today’s $7 ) was defined as too much money in the early 1980s, and his government confiscated all Bank deposits in excess of such C50, 000, was Dr. Botchwey involved in such decisions, or shall he plead innocent?
As the economic Secretary to the illegal military junta the PNDC (Peoples National Defense Committee) did Dr. Botchwey ever give a word of warning in public, or even in private to dissuade his friends, that chasing businessmen out of Ghana and monetary confiscation would let Ghana lose all investor confidence, and that such loss would take decades to regain or never be regained?

Why are Ghanaians still overseas?

I find myself speaking for many Ghanaians overseas, many of whom have known me for the decades. In the late 1960s to early 1970s, I was one of the radical ones who used to jokingly pest the older Ghanaians about patriotism and why they were not returning home. Today I know why. It’s Jobs? Jobs! Jobs! Ordinary decent jobs for a man or woman to take care of family when he returns home. Most Ghanaians again may ask Dr. Botchwey why Ghanaians, with such talent, are scattered overseas and not returning home. Does he have a clue?

Some of us are seriously asking the NPP government to be specifically careful about personalities as opposed to substance. We are sick to know that the NPP is relying on Dr. Botchwey for any advice. It is a shame indeed on the NPP, for people would think they have no foresight and vision of their own.

So far as this writer is concerned, any real audit of Ghana's economic malaise will show that Dr. Botchwey is criminally liable to Ghana, and Dr. Botchwey should be called to account for his time when the Cedi dropped from C300 to $1 to approximately C5, 000 to $1 by the time he left office. He should be in jail, if not now, in the future, if he fails to account for his part in Ghana accumulating over $6 Billion in debts with not much to show for it. Dr. Kwesi Botchwey was one of the Ghanaians who stood solidly behind the illegal PNDC regime that had overthrown an elected government in Dec. 31, 1981. The technical term for a man who aids and abets a criminal act is "complicity" in crime. Dr. Botchwey will be considered a criminal in any international court of justice if properly examined under the rule of law in most countries today. Our people should never forget.

People should judge issues and events with no emotions and feelings against a person. I have nothing against Dr. Botchwey personally, nor any of his other accomplices such as Dr. Obed Asamoah, the Tsikatas, the Ahwois, and Rawlings, and others. Ghana is simply trying to establish a society that can live by the Rule of Law, and such will not happen so far as we do not know how to institute Justice and apply Laws to bring people to justice who abuse the public trust and fail us. It is a hard road to follow, but once we have chosen to live in the modern world, no man should appoint himself King or Head of State or treasury over others without being held responsible.

Such is life, and the people like Botchwey must face the Law irrespective of our culture.

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ARE YOU WITH THE NEW GOVERNMENT OR AGAINST THEM?

There is a school of thought that says that once you are “within”, everybody else is “outside”. This mentality seems to exist in African governance.

Why? Do we have to be for or against a government? This kind of mentality is not progressive. A government is supposed to represent all of us, and we must be willing to dialogue with any government, so far as it’s legit, and fight any that is not legit until it’s overthrown. That should be the cardinal principle.

Recently there was a topic that excited a friend to send me a quote from another friend that Rawlings was trying to incite army commanders to take over Ghana. Maybe the article did not specify exactly that, and I should have read the news report before sending a response. But you know how busy we all have to be here in the West to survive and send money home so our parents and the government too can run the nation from the amount they can squeeze from us. My response went through some good friend who thought I was “against them or for them”. A few days ago when my article about whether President Kufuor should exercise his right to “lash back” at his critics was posted on GhanaWeb.com, there were many responses, but a couple of guys thought I was rooting for the NPP. One guy even said this was “sycophancy”. Hmmm! I said, if this is sycophancy, then what if I had lauded praises. Some just don’t get it, do they? Is it because we are new to this concept of democracy or what?

Do we have to be for or against a government to criticize it?

I am not known for short responses, but this time it was quick. My thoughts on why Ghanaians should support an existing government, be it NPP or what-have you, and still criticize them, is in this short response to my friend, and I share it with you.

My brother,
I don’t know what “WITH YOU OR AGAINST YOU” means. I don’t even know what the topic means since I have not read the story yet on Paul Gyamfi inciting army commanders. If this Rawlings wants to come to power again, his dreams cannot be allowed to exist for one second, I don’t care who is in power and by what means we use to get that man out of our hair!! Period!! If Kufuor allows this idea of being a gentle giant to affect the national security of Ghana as Dr. Limann did, he will not have a day in Ghana when he will not regret. He would be better dead in the struggle to salvage Ghana than face the fury of people if he fails us.

Can you please tell me where YOU STAND or what party you have formed so I can align if I agree with your principles? The CPP group, so far as I know, is dead! A bunch of self- centered egotistical people who cannot unite to salvage the principles of the Great Nkrumah. They took money from Tsikata to splinter themselves, and allow P/NDC to win!! I am not that much of a follower to allow such things to happen to me.

I didn’t even know this was sent, but my views in private are same as in public. We were all condemning the previous NDC government as a “MUST GO”!! I for the mere facts of basic philosophy, that

1. Their roots were from an illegal group, the PNDC, who after illegally kicking out Limann in 1981, staying for 11 years, took advantage and assumed pseudo-legitimacy through an election without JJ stepping down first.
2. Their promises for stamping out corruption and mismanagement, for which they killed people and confiscated people’s assets, were not achieved and they instead left us with a debt of $6Billion, some enriching themselves.

These are to me enough for any one of us to see through their fake pretenses. NDC is to me not a legitimate party of Ghana. Period.
So all of a sudden we have a new government of Kufuor. I never said I am a member of the NPP, even though many friends are members, just as some friends were/are in the NDC. I for one, until I am ready to compete, will support any government that will work to elevate the peoples’ lives to the modern age and create employment. I co-formed our own party in 1991/92, and until I see the kinds of programs and aspirations we had being pursued, I don’t jump on any bandwagon. I do not give up hoping that one Party in Ghana will implement the right programs and management discipline we need, and perform in the way that I know will let us catch up as equal human beings as these Americans and other Westerners. I don’t’ subscribe to this “Calabash-in-hand” begging politics. We need to plan first, then make a budget, then ask for loans if need be, and know exactly how we are going to pay the loan back and when, and put discipline in our workers not to squander and steal the money. Period! Life is a Business! (Sorry, that is the title of my Column in the Toronto Ghanaian News)
The NPP just started some 18 months ago. Yes some of us were disappointed about their prior-planning before assuming office, such as Ministers without offices and desks, something which any of us can do within one month with ease after working for the Western corporations for so long. Kufuor is also traveling too much with little to show, and not giving heed to the micro-management that a nation in HIPC needs, and not putting the Ministers to normal Western style reporting to achieve his Goals. But we can’t give up so quickly and start wishing that the illegal group would do better!! Come ooooon!!! After this man (Rawlings) did to Ghana?

Think about it.

On Principles: I hope this clears the air for anybody on the net who thinks of him /herself and government as for this or for that. Why should any of us who have not voted in Ghana for over 10, 20, or more years, be so infused with the idea that they should be in bed with one political party? Do you want a post? For us overseas, our ability to criticize a government should have nothing to do with whether we know who the leaders are or not. I believe we should criticize or praise on principles. Period. Leadership is not an easy task, and to be President of an HIPC nation like ours, one has to be under great stress daily. After all Kufuor is a legitimately elected government, whose influence did not come by any intimidation. So why should we be so negative within 18 months unless he has done some really serious mistakes. (Well, we’ll talk about his endorsement or silence on the Parliamentary theft of $20,000 for each MP later in another article).

Do they care? From the way the Rawlings government dilly-dallied about dual citizenship for years, and from the way they even disenfranchised Ghanaians overseas from the very beginning in 1992, it was obvious they did not give a hoot about us, and there were some “skin-pain” politics. (True Ghanaians will know what I mean by “skin-pain”). From the way Kufuor’s NPP government also put clauses in the revised dual-citizenship law, it is obvious they don’t want us to come home and assume responsible positions as citizens, even though in one mouth they are saying they want us to come home and help. Bull!! As American will put it. Why the heck would I want to come home if I cannot contribute to the fullest in the society I was born into and have contributed so much of my time, ideas and money into? Why?

What they can gain: The human greed principle, what a person can gain today, seems to permeate many. So far as we see, once most of these people, including our friends, get into government, all they seem to think about is themselves and what they can gain. This is what I call ”the curse of Africa”. These people just want to collect our money when we come home. The Engineer in Colorado who lost half of his $210,000 savings when he went home last year and returned this year, is a typical example where the talk of “Homecoming” does not go with any substantial plans the government has put forth. All due respect to Mr. Asamoah Boateng at the office of the President, who seems to be trying, but may be working against a system of entrenched corrupt people he may not understand. Can you imagine in today’s world somebody calling himself a Telephone Broker and asking $10,000 before giving a phone line to a person returning home and wanting a phone line in Kumasi to set up a business? Why does the phone company even allow people who do not have a physical location to own phone lines? It’s all part of the corrupt system!

What we can do: So far as we are alive, what we can do to show our love for Ghana, whether we are overseas or in Ghana, is to work together with a goal in mind towards the development of our nation. We should work toward helping to bring discipline in our system, as we see done outside. We must expose the corrupt elements in our society and any tendencies of leaders to mismanage or mis-spend our common HIPC funds. We must agree to work to bring Justice and the Rule of Law, and put these bad elements in jail. We should criticize, but better still give constructive suggestions, giving a little benefit of the doubt that we have 4 years within which to send in the grade reports.

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IS IT FAIR FOR PRESIDENT KUFUOR TO LASH OUT AT HIS CRITICS?

There are some who have criticized President Kufuor of Ghana, that he is “dull” or not charismatic, looks too forgiving, and does not react quickly to criticism. In other words, if one can liken politics to boxing, one has to react quickly to a punch, or sooner or later one gets worn out and vanquished with the low blows. Honestly, I think some of these may have been justified. However, this was before the elections of 2000, when a friend had just returned to the US after a 3 and half year stay. Of course we were all very troubled about Kufuor losing to the Rawlings’ continuity train of his former dictatorship. It did not happen and so the man was vindicated.

It turned out Kufuor won the match. Perhaps, the man who has been called a gentle giant has some long powerful knockout blows that are devastating, and can take the opponent in the last round.

In a message dated Thu, 30 May 2002 1:33:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time, sent from our friend "Kwaku Azar", source: newsinghana.com, we read:

“PRESIDENT Kufuor has lashed out at his critics, saying the same people who are complaining that the economy is harsh are those who were mute under the previous government. According to him these people adopted the culture of silence under the former regime, but now they have broken their silence and are talking as though it is the NPP Government that has created the economic problems in the country.

"They played dumb, but now are cackling like chicken" The President intoned”.

I can understand the President somehow. Who can say that he is wrong on this point.

We have to remember that the President is human also. A few years ago I had the chance to exchange some heated debate with a Professor who was trying to put my face down. I was in the process of moving my office, and found out that by the time I returned to the net without being able to respond to his blows quickly, I had been indicted, tried and almost found guilty by my Internet jury. That is not fair, I shouted. Of course those who know me know that behind my gentle faзade lies some powerful punches. I thus ignored my many “let it be” and “give it to God” advisors, and lashed back powerfully to defend my good name. Talking of a new generation, can you believe the topic was on some stupid issue such as “tribalism” – which I found was more important on peoples’ minds than I ever anticipated. Whether it was right or not is or another day, but at least I know I slept good by punching back.

A lovely African Philosophy: One of the most lovely things about Akan and Ghanaian culture that we may be losing to the younger generation is the expression of our thoughts, philosophies and wisdom, in the form of proverbs. A friend of mine who likes to use Ghanaian proverbs has one that I like. It goes like: “Wo ankasa wo tiri ho a, yeyi wo ayi bone”, translated as “if you don’t make any comments about your haircut when it’s in progress, you end up getting a poor hair cut”. Literally this happened to me a few years ago when I visited a barber who had done a good job for a friend. Since then, the poor haircut I got justified my long habit of cutting my hair myself.

Freedom of Speech: Freedom of speech has a way of waking up men who may be asleep. Many have come out from underneath the proverbial beds they were hiding under for about twenty years. On this score I think the President is right to lash back, even though the title of the article does not do him much justice for a gentle giant. The good thing is that President Kufuor has not sent his “caporigimes” (old mafia term) or commandos to pour human faeces in the offices or houses of his critics. That is progress indeed!! May I recommend that the World Bank, IMF and our international critics take a note for Kufuor’s scorecard.

Is Democracy Free? There are some who have taken Democracy for granted. Many thought that once we had “Freedom and Justice” written boldly on our Coat of Arms at Independence in 1957, we were home free. Not so quick! Little do our uncles and fathers who were older during Nkrumah’s time, some of whom condemn the man, forget what Nkrumah said, that “we prefer self-government with danger to servitude in tranquility”. They voted for him! This implied that there was danger with the Freedom that we had won. It was our duty to be vigilant and to stand strong. Did our elders do that?

- Our older generation watched without saying a word when policemen openly stopped those “mammy wagons” (as the British called them), and took bribes from drivers on the road.

- Our elders watched without massive analytical comments when the sycophants around Nkrumah decided to make him “President for Life”, and Kwame succumbed to his personal weakness and accepted it (whether it was initiated by him does not change the point here). A few chose to try assassination, but that was the wrong method! As another Ghanaian proverb goes, “you don’t catch a dog with “anihane-hane” (overt aggressiveness)”. Similarly after Nkrumah turned his back on the same principles he championed for our freedom, started the Preventive Detention Act, many noble MPs voted for it and our society did not have any massive Civil Society unrest or uproar to send a strong message to Kwame Nkrumah, the man they called “showboy”. Instead of our people stopping him using organizational strategies he had used to win Independence, our people became docile and impotent, whiles the few power hungry men and thieves around him fed fat on Nkrumah’s weaknesses.

The Final Price for Moral cowardice: I call what happened after political independence, moral cowardice. In my mind, the final price for this moral cowardice and docility, a culture that I often write that it needs to be changed, is what happened to Ghana. It kept us economically behind other nations who were at par or behind us at the time of Independence. Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, and India are doing far better than Ghana today, and I will take no excuses for that except for our dreaded culture of moral cowardice, the fear of venturing, speaking out strongly to condemn evil and to stand for the right.

There is a name I have given Ghana’s economic degradation, management incompetence, technological depravity, and moral decadence. It’s a CURSE! A man who was a dictator of Ghana for almost two decades has himself called one of these weaknesses the “culture of silence”. J.J. Rawlings was right. We were all cowards, and perhaps fools to succumb so far, as he found us.

Moral Courage. I have written on this before and repeat it here. Moral courage is like Faith the many religions preach is a necessary factor in human success. We all, as humans, have an inherent courage in ourselves, in life, and the creator, whether we know it or not. After all we can fall asleep, not knowing the outcome whether we will wake up again. And we do, at least those who are reading this. We get into our cars every day, or board airplanes or ships, and have the faith that everything is going to be alright.

So why can’t we stand up for the right thing?

- Why do we have to pretend that our voices don’t count?

- Why do we let men get away for stealing public funds, and we watch, condone or participate, and then go to Church on Sundays expecting some forgiveness or political reconciliation?

- Why are we able to pocket and steal moneys entrusted to us by our relatives or friends overseas, and expect that it’s Okay?

It is this lack of courage to stand up for the right or condemn evil, that stands in the way of our progress as a people. It is lack of moral courage that cripples us from having a business partnership with another, to expand our business, or to form a corporation and put contracts together - all because we are afraid it will not work. Of course FEAR also prevents us from taking risks with ideas, venturing out, and making any new discoveries. Once again it reminds me of a quote from one of Nkrumah’s books: “The Secret of Life is Action without Fear”. It was no doubt that the man was able to lead our people some half century ago against the mighty British Empire.

A friend of mine who taught University in Sierra Leone told me that the people there don’t like to be pressured to do anything, and they have a saying “don’t Burger me”. This is a term coined after the people who travel to Hamburg, Germany, work in factories and get used to doing things on time. Most of our people don’t want to be “Burgered” when it comes to providing services they are paid for, and yet they want to live well or get Free car loans. Funny indeed. Hope the World Bank remembers that. Where is our courage? I told a friend in a joke the other day that were the Wright brothers Ghanaians or Africans, mankind would still be traveling on foot and not climbing aboard airplanes as we do today. You get my point.

Welcome the critics: Having said all that, I think it is good that Ghanaians have their moral courage back. We should welcome all those who hid under the beds for too long with an open arm to join the table of democracy. Let us hope that the moral courage they have gained will be used in other ways also, to stand up for the right thing, to condemn evil, to expose corruption. I have to add that this courage will help us to take risks and make new discoveries, point our mistakes, testify against the corrupt executives. It will also help us to venture out with our brothers and friends to form a business partnership or corporation, to respect agreements and contracts, and have our self respect back as true Africans. Of course as a society, we must be brave also to allow the offenders to go to jail or face the Law. We should remind our older generation also that there is a new way of communication, called the Internet and Electronic mails, alias Email. Let them get on board also- it will not hurt them.

So on the issue of a President being a gentle giant, and giving it to God, my personal opinion is that it is Okay for President Kufuor to make the statements he made to remind the people of Ghana of our past, lest the short mob memory of our people indict him and his government for being weak. This does not mean that we the people should be sycophants, as I have said above. It is also okay for our people to come from underneath the beds they were hiding under, to criticize and give opinions, and better still constructive suggestions. Perhaps better still will it be for them to insist on having self-empowerment, by exercising their right to vote their own city councils and mayors for their towns and districts, and holding them accountable for the development of their areas.

In conclusion, let us not forget that for criticizing the President, a few years back, many at home would have found themselves with either one of the following:

Latrine bombs (human faeces) in their living rooms or offices, as Publishers Kofi Coomson and the late Tommy Thomson found out (Editors /publishers of Chronicle and Free Press respectively); or
With all front teeth lost, as KwesiPratt Jr. learnt in his 8 trips to jail under the Rawlings administration of PNDC, by the time I met him in Dallas in 1991.

For President Kufuor, all I can say is let is be “bokoo” (softly), reconciliation, and “give it to God” if he is criticized. If that does not work, I think it’s Okay to lash back by issuing a statement here and there, of how his administration is making progress, demanding that his Ministers publish their report cards monthly or quarterly, or by condemning or issuing an executive order to stop or veto the MPs from stealing from empty coffins, err, err, I mean, empty coffers. When everything fails, he can join, and ask his Ministers to join, the SIL (“Say-It-Loud”) crowd on GhanaWeb and the Internet.

All the best to our newly won President Kufuor.

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