Gradually and surreptitiously our dear nation is slipping through our hands helplessly. We’re increasingly losing control of our national destiny and sovereignty. We have unwittingly sold our generation and those unborn into the exploitative arms of foreigners who are gladly enslaving us in our own backyard. Wherein lies our national pride and honour when we have relinquished sovereignty to strangers? How do you tour the world in search for so-called investors and development partners to simply come and profiteer at our own backyard while we wallow in penury and poverty?
Globalization does not in sense mean a loss of national pride and identity. Globalization translates to learning from other people and cultures around the globe to entrench yourself and better your lot. The first thing we have lost as a country is our national identity and cultural heritage. Our forebears might not have left behind flamboyant and transient trappings of life but at least left behind rich cultural heritage and national pride which they were not under any circumstance ready to sacrifice and trade away. The reverse is true today where we are materially resourced but lack substance.
Like a ship without radar and compass, we are the sway of other people and culture and we have no clue as to what to stand for, believe, practice and live by. As a nation, we are at our wit’s end and in the comity of nations, we have become a plaything in the hands of world superpowers. Our dear nation lacks a personality and enduring character. We stand for nothing and inevitably fall for anything.
Every aspect of national life is taken over by foreigners or foreign influence and involvement. From illegal mining (galamsey), small-scale mining and large-scale mining both in the formal and informal sectors to the construction industry. From the fashion industry to the fabric industry. From manufacturing to retailing in the local Ghanaian market. From the running of five-star hospitality facilities to guest houses and motels. From the provision of internet services to the music industry. From football to other sports. From syllabi to formal education and training institutions. From church planting to religious orientation.
We have been brainwashed to think of ourselves as inferior or second class citizens who need the endorsement and approval of other people abroad to make us feel adequate and significant. From the President to government appointees to intellectuals to the least Ghanaian, the same disease afflicts all and sundry.
The irony of our situation is that we do not have control over the forces that create the conditions and circumstances we find ourselves in as a people. We are therefore best described as slaves in our motherland. We are in no wise to be classified citizens in the true sense of citizens. Citizens have equal opportunities, equal rights, equal privileges and equal entitlements by virtue of their membership.
For the so-called ordinary citizen to enjoy what is due him in Ghana, certain conditions must be met. One must necessarily attain a ‘real’ citizenship status by affiliating to a political party, connecting to people in authority, becoming rich and influential and belonging to a reputable family lineage. Until these conditions are met, your citizenship status would be called into question at critical moments. In short, some are more Ghanaian than others by virtue of their association, connection and privileged positions in society. Always question your citizenship until you get to the point where your citizenship cannot be questioned. In these circumstances, I can only demand better by calling for a Ghana for Ghanaians generally.
We have wantonly sold our lands as individuals, families, communities and together as a country. We speak and understand only one language which is the language of greed and avarice. Greed and self-centeredness define the life of the Ghanaian today more than anything else. Instant gratification is our new watchword. We have subtly told young people that it is not worth waiting; it is not worth sacrificing for others and for one’s country. Life is in reality about us or nobody else. We have sold our national assets and lands without remorse and conscience. Ghana is dead and her children are feasting off eventually on her properties and assets.
Friday, 23/03/2018 qualified as the proverbial “Black Friday” as it was Ghana’s day of shame. We sold our birthright for a bowl of food. No amount of money is worth our national sovereignty. What happens to the “Ghana beyond Aid” mantra of President NAAA? I weep for Mother Ghana.
Author: Clement Adjei Sarfo, President, Leadership Empowerment International (leadershipempowermentint.org), sarfo22@yahoo.com, 0274445696
