Dear President Mahama, I remember when I first took notice of you as the new Vice President of Ghana, a young, intelligent thinker who saw and represented the future of Ghana. A future where the consciousness of the people sought to be the change in stomping out tribal, regional, class and party politics. A nation seeking “A Better Ghana” which became your slogan. A slogan that brought the vim to the people to dream bigger of what “A Better Ghana” would be. A newly oil rich nation with a newly booming middle class of entrepreneurs who built from within Ghana and those who built from without coming back through the encouragement of the oben to sankofa as they fuse their skills, ideas and expertise to build within. A nation who was gradually finding its voice locally and globally in taking pride in that which is ours in Art, fashion , photography, music and cultural celebrations. I remember seeing a man who brought the spirit of Dr. Nkrumah in his knowledge of the power of words and the need to tell our own stories, as he evoked the pride and future of our nation in the articles he wrote in international papers and an autobiography recounting his 1st Coup d’Etat, where as a young child he saw a promising nation fall apart and had its dreams deferred right at the pinnacle time that it was going to shoot its star into the brightest of futures! I remember becoming a believer in what “A Better Ghana” would be in seeing a globally knowledgeable man who saw the many divisions in the world and on his continent along with the players of divisionism at hand and called it out. An appointed president who would soon be elected by the people, who used his platform at the table of the world to let it be known in his address to his nation and the world that “Ghana will not allow its territories to be used to destabilise any country…He said Ghana was a respecter of the sovereignty of other nations and will not harbour fugitives from any country whose agenda is to foment trouble back home“-President Mahama at the 67th UN General Assembly Fast Forward to election 2013 where you became the elected president that is currently being challenged in the courts with Ghana facing many of its uncomfortable truths! Even with the election controversy, I had faith in the “Better Ghana” that you had painted the picture in your words so beautifully with such hope and promise. I knew the nation wanted to move forward in action, and as a man of shown vision- your actions in manifesting your words would quell the nation of any divisionism and doubt in your presidency. Unfortunately all I heard of and saw was un unravelling nation with national workers with much needed doctors included going on strike to demand payment as they too had families to take care of and needed their hard earned income to continue life to do their living; yet they were told to wait while the governing body received their raises and perks showing how government was not putting the needs of the people first. I heard of unprecedented light offs AKA load shedding schemes that was taking the light out of productivity, making a living and moving forward to the future with the excuse of lack of money for electricity demand even though Ghana is a nation of pre-paid electricity. All I could wonder is do Ghanaians get their pre-paid money back for the times their light is off because in democratic advanced nations -people do not tolerate paying for services that they are not receiving. I also wondered of what became of the exposé of multinationals and even the government itself not paying its full share of their electricity consumption while the little people suffer constant light offs whether they pre-paid or not. I am seeing the bubbling desperation and loss of hope in a nation facing high gas prices,water shortages, the tragedies of unchecked multinational investmet that end up detrimental to a nation faced with out of control galamsey , building collapses , recent markets fires being politicized to further divide a nation, rampant drug trafficking from those who are supposed to be the enforcers and protectors of our borders from such illegal activity , foreign military invasion , foreign sources coming to control the nation’s food source with GMO and a general culture of corruption that spans from laborer to bosses at the very top all going by the waist side in not being fully addressed with the nation’s voice in the decision making on how to move forward in what their future of “A Better Ghana” will be. Instead we we are celebrating the ability to have big ideas in building Africa’s tallest building with a 10 billion dollar Hope City while the majority of the nation are not standing tall and feeling cut off at their legs as they are being depleted of hope in their basic necessities of living to even muster the strength to dream big in hope for “A Better Ghana”. Before we can run and successfully win a marathon we must first perfect our walk as we talk our talk. Ghana is now again at the cross roads of the wind of change where we can shoot that shining black star into the future in unprecedented success or once again have our nation unravel right before it manifests its destiny of greatness in “A Better Ghana”. The people of Ghana is its greatest capital because even as they get push back in government allowing the basic tools to self empowerment, Ghanaian think tanks and entrepreneurs are still finding their way in pushing the nation forward in technology, agriculture, fashion, film, music, art, education, culture and various home grown businesses garnering endless foreign interest for and of the nation. The people of Ghana’s excellence locally and globally has once again caught the eyes of the world in not being able to get enough of the Black Star nation . While the hypocrisy of so called super powers are suffering the same ills of poverty,hunger, inequality, corruption etc. that they often only associate with Africa; We must not let our light dim and play small when it’s convenient to us and others, but rather showcase our full Black Star Shine to garner the full support of our nation toward ”A Better Ghana” that is Africa’s example and the envy of the world because it is not an anomaly, but rather something that has been done before with the existing blueprint still fresh and relevant to build upon in a destiny once defferred. Together we stand but divided we fall. East, West, North or South we are all Ghanaians and as Dr. Nkrumah once said ” If we have lost touch with what our forefathers discovered and knew, this has been due to the system of education to which we were introduced. This system of education prepared us for a subservient role to Europe and things European. It was directed at estranging us from our own cultures in order the more effectively to serve a new and alien interest… Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. Thy claim it as their own and none can keep it from them. We face neither East nor West: We Face Forward “. The world is watching Ghana in its leadership in Africa and we must demand in ourselves and our government a truly “Better Ghana” in our actions! 2013 is our Reclaiming period where we manifest our own destiny, write our own story and define ourselves locally and globally as a nation and a people who are moving Forward Ever, Backward Never! - See more at: globalfusionproductions/featured/in-search-of-a-better-ghana-ode-to-president-mahama-ghana/#sthash.tgF7Cf66.dpuf
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:52:35 +0000
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