The concept of succession planning and legacy has been part of many a successful organisation, family or country. That none is immortal is unfortunate parts of human existence, all of us are born, go through life and eventually die. Some societies have used this concept of transition as bedrock to build solid institutions, companies and governments with a sound understanding that different actors will play centre stage in the orchestra of life at different times and that reinventing the wheel is not a way to achieve development, strengthen institutions and build strong families. The concepts of dynasties have thus ramified in some societies; family lines, company succession and inheritance tracks can be traced for generations and centuries. In the United States the mention of the name Kennedy points to a dynasty well respected in politics, in the United Kingdom the mention of the name Dimbleby points to a family that has dominated broadcasting; in the business world the mention of Boots UK Ltd. points to a business that is still headquartered in Beeston, Nottingham and a family that is traceable and still predominant in this business. All these dynasties have been established thanks to an initial ambition of an individual to leave a legacy for a generation that will outlive him with the hope of ensuring wealth, creating jobs, enshrining a name and ultimately creating a label. To achieve this basic objective, they ensure that there is preparedness on the part of the next generation through training, mentoring and coaching; they also ensure that successors learn the ropes of all aspects of business. There is often a discipline akin to siege mentality that excludes family members deemed to be bad apples, though the business structure often factors in taking care of their needs. The house of Saud the ruling family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia best epitomise this latter assertion and so do many royal households of the Middle East. Sad to say this concept seems to elude us as a people or race. As a kid growing up I remember a number of prominent names, companies and businesses especially in Kumasi where my umbilical cord still lay, somewhere in the earth of the precincts of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology hospital. There was Koowuse, Bataa, SAT Amankwah timbers, Fabi, Jon Bitaa and Co; Panty timbers, Peprah sawmills just to name a few. There were also the small start-ups like Eno Buruwaa enterprise and Kwaaso trading enterprise. In those days Kumasi was booming, Asokwa and Nhyieso were the place to be and the children of these prominent families were seen as A-listed. The Mercedes Benz 280S was standard issue. In parallel to these families were those to which academics and education was deemed to be their forte, many were affiliated to the campus of KNUST or its environs. Names like Baffo-Bonnie, Adadevoh, Kuttin-Siaw, Bamfo-Kwakye etc. were known to open doors. Those were the days when mothers asked a guy ‘‘wo papa nie whiee’’ and the mentioning some of these names received a favourable response. In those days tribe was not the issue, surname was. It was actually prestigious to be dating a child from one of these two categories of families and trust me the queue for such was inexhaustible. On a recent visit to Ghana I tried to trace the existence or succession for that matter of these companies or families. To my dismay most of these companies were in liquidation, dismembered or a pale shadow of their prominent self. I tried tracing some of these A-listed kids and to my surprise few had risen to the dizzy heights their parents achieved. In fact some of them lived in abject poverty and could hardly make ends meet, gone were the days when Mercedes Benz 280S dropped them at school, gone were the days when they could change their Achimota sandals on a daily bases and wore the latest Kambuu. Sadly their offspring could not enjoy same. These observations set me wondering where it all went wrong for these companies or families, was this situation synonymous with our identity as Ghanaians, and was it that to us we live for today never bothering about what happens after we depart the stage called life? Was the preceding generation too rigid to move with the times and accept the dynamism of the succeeding generation? Or was it that the next generation were not prepared for succession in the first place? Is this micro situation what reflects when we elect people into public office? It looks to me that this sad situation has a lot to do with our cultural values, customs and the entire handling of the passing of a prominent person. To us the passing is an entire transition, that is the point at which handing over notes is prepared and family feuds are settled. The acrimony and rancour that precedes the laying to rest, the eagerness and anticipation that the reading of the will generates; the litigation and contest the follows etc. In our society no funeral is a really a celebration of life in that sense, it is the opportunity for family scores to be settled, fingers to be pointed and long standing hatred to be dealt with. The phrase ‘’yee ko chee nie nnoomaa’’ is often heard on the fortieth day following the death in very high decibel. We behave as though death puts finity to man’s life, often the impression is created that some in the succeeding generation put their lives on hold waiting for the preceding generation to die so theirs can start. It is also clear that the ‘’big Joe’’ attitude so eloquently portrayed in the song ‘’sika ye mogya’’ does not allow many family leaders and business pacesetters plan for when the leave the stage; to them maintaining a strangle hold is a sign of exercising their wealth and power, to thinking of succession requires contemplating death a situation they will rather avoid. The sad situation is ones some of these family businesses fold innocent people are out of a job and the unemployment statistic goes up. We all cry for job creation in Ghana, blame government and institutions we entrust for lack of jobs but forget that this aspect of our way of life is a contributor in no small way to the situation. I have tried to take a cursory look at businesses nationwide that existed when I was a kid, who exists now, the findings are horrid. It seems to me that Ghana has no legacy businesses, all big business you see today were started in our generation. The generation before us died with their contribution to national development, regarding families yes I can mention a few names that have maintained some sense of purity; the Mercers, Mercer Ricketts, Cesley Hayfords, Gbeho’s, Anyidoho’s, Nyaho Tamakloe’s, Kuffuor’s, Akufo-Addo’s, Prempeh’s etc. To me if the term spreading the wealth will ever become relevant to our society it will take more than the effort of government. It will require the growth of small business, the entrenchment of businesses and the transfer of these from one generation to another; with the associated creation of business and family identity. The greed, lack of planning, get quick soon and waiting for the will to be read attitude would not suffice. That is a mediocre approach to life that will only yield the mediocre results it’s so far yielded from a national development point of view. Truth be told our; approach to life is one that will never sustain any business or family; it’s one that is self-centred, celebrates mediocrity and glorifies short term gains. I hope our generation will not fall into the same trap and die with whatever contribution we make to national development. I shall return.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 07:34:20 +0000
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