GHANA’S INDEPENDENCE: ANOTHER MILESTONE OR WASTED YEARS?




Ghana is 57years old. On this occasion, and like several others, I am in a dilemma; should I jubilate or weep. Should I shout ‘hurray’, pop champagne, give a toast, sound the trumpet, light explosives, play the drum, as normally happens with birthdays and other milestones? Milestones of achievements or success perhaps? Or should I bow down my head and weep? Weep for the underachievement and underdevelopment I see around me. Weep for the people we have become, as suggested by a friend a couple of weeks ago?
Where are the visionary vistas?
Can they be found in our leadership of misappropriations, bribery and corruption, bi-partisanship, selfishness, gluttony, to mention but a few?  A leadership of misguided priorities, if any! Can they be found in a citizenry of lazy, corrupt, nonchalant, passive, selfish, tribalistic, and godlessness?
For today, I can only weep. I weep for men like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the big six, who were instrumental in the fight for our freedom. Considering the misadventures in this nation, I doubt whether we were actually prepared for the responsibilities or perhaps, consequence of that freedom. I weep for the soldiers or ex-service men who sacrificed their lives to build this nation. I weep for our great-great grandparents who lost their lives in this struggle. I weep for the good people of old, who worked tirelessly in securing this land, her resources, and her heritage. Most importantly, I weep for the few, struggling each day to uphold truth, freedom, justice, devotion, and most importantly, the spirit of patriotism.
And to what avail?
That we will trade off this land and all her resources for our selfish interests? That we will throw away our heritage? That we will allow bi-partisanship tear us apart? That we will allow bi-partisanship kill the spirit of patriotism? That the current breed of Ghanaians would scramble for any ship that would pull into our docks to take us to foreign lands for so-called greener pastures? That we will allow all sorts of dictatorship and neocolonialism pervade us? That we will underutilize our God-given talents and resources or in most cases, misuse them?
This is the nation we call home. This is our motherland. That is the people Ghana has begot! That is the people we have become! And so on this Independence Day, I weep! Many may choose to call the rainfall on 6th of March 2014, showers of blessings, but I choose to call it a storm of pain, bitterness, sorrow and disappointment! It was no shower, as we prefer to call it. It was a heavy downpour, an outpour of grief and sorrow. Ghana must wake up.
Ghana is our heritage, secured for us, at the peril of priceless lives. This is a legacy. What have we done with this legacy? What have we done to this legacy? What will be said of us tomorrow?
Indeed, Ghana has come this far, through our collective efforts and effortlessness. Have we done enough? Considering the level of literacy and resources available back then, both human and otherwise, much more was achieved. In Ghana today, all kinds of resources are at our disposal. How useful have they been?
At our workplaces are stories of underemployment. We keep talking about unemployment, and yet, a considerable percentage has jobs, but is not working satisfactorily. We keep talking about better conditions of service when we do not merit it. It is all about greed and laziness. What are we doing for this nation? We may blame our leadership, but we are the government. We are no different from our leadership; from the same stock.
What is your dream for this nation?
A dream of robbery, stealing, murder, bribery and corruption, embezzlement, and all kinds of crimes, perhaps? A dream of laziness, self-pity, and mediocrity? A dream of resentment, hatred, to mention but a few? Ghana deserves much better.
Our governments seem to gamble, try and error in finding solutions to our problems. In the end, they lose their way; they get lost in the maze they create. Others get drowned.
Ghana is 57 years old, at least, old enough. For most 57 year olds, three years to retirement. As a nation, we should be at the peak of our development. Rather sadly, Ghana is far from that. For once, let us stop the try and error approach. Let us put a stop to gambling this nation away. For now, I can only look forward to another year; another milestone, or wasted years…….
Anna Esi Hanson (nnhanson2@yahoo.com); esociocomm.blogspot.com

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