Ghana, home of doers or talkers?
There is a joke making the rounds in some African countries that when you go to an international conference, just look for the Ghanaians and sit close to them.
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They would normally make a presentation full of great plans. Afterwards, ask for a copy, go home and just implement it.
The school of thought arguing for the motion would probably look at our history of unrealised visions and plans and say we are talkers and not doers.
The school against the motion obviously holds a contrary opinion. They point to several individual achievers, who have built formidable businesses, banks, universities and other educational institutions, churches and significant global achievements in the face of steep odds, as proof of the fact that we have the capacity to do or to deliver. They say we are DOERS.
Mr Joel Nettey, the president of the Advertisers Association of Ghana (AAG), is not one of those people. He argues that the country is full of talkative with little or no action.
Speaking on the weekly motivational radio programme, the Springboard, Mr Nettey said if Ghana were able to even do a tenth of the things its citizens talked about, it would have made significant progress by now.
Debate
This week’s programme was a debate on the topic “Execution: Ghanaians are talkers and not doers.’’
Mr Nettey, who supported the motion, stated that as the country approached its 60th birthday “we did not even need this debate for verification because the truth is we are a nation of talkers.”
A lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Professor Bob Hinson, who spoke against the motion, disagreed. He said there were a lot of amazing achievers in the country, which pointed to the fact that Ghana was not only a talking nation but one where ideas get implemented.
Failed ideas
Citing examples to buttress his point, Mr Nettey said a lot of things that were talked about but never implemented could be found around the citizenry, with majority being in politics, social stuff, religion and business.
On the political aspect, he said there were lots of testimonies to the promises that political leaders and would-be leaders gave the electorate every four years.
“The question, however, is what per centage of those promises are delivered? Action speaks louder than words,” he stated.
He said the various parties shouted about their opponents not doing things right and came up with brilliant ideas but basically did none of the things they proposed when they got the power.
“It’s almost as if we agree that he or she who talks best wins. No action needed to back the talk. Look at our political appointees over the years, how many of them can point to specific achievements during their time,” Mr Nettey asked.
“What have they done? I wonder how some of these appointees are even considered in the first place,” he added.
Educational system
Touching on the country’s educational system, he said it had been broken for some time now but “which political party has been able to do something about it aside from alternating between three and four years?”
According to him the quality of students passing out of universities kept declining at a very fast pace.
“As an employer, one of my most stressful moments is when I have to recruit people. We were taught, as early as at the common entrance level, how to write a letter but if you see a typical application letter today, you will be amazed at the kind of errors on it.”
“And if per chance you survive that wait for the actual interview and see the substance or non-substance these graduates are made of,” he lamented.
“The educational system feeds any other system; be it health, infrastructure, and the rest. So, if we were doers, we would stop playing ostrich and tackle it once and for all,” he pointed out.
Tourism potential
Mr Nettey also noted that the country had a huge tourism potential that it was yet to take advantage of. This, he blamed on the country’s inability to reduce the talk and rather capitalise on opportunities.
“What do our politicians see when they travel? You don’t even need to do anything, you just have to copy and replicate the same thing here,” he stated.
‘’Let’s look at our national airline: we need a national airline. Several airlines fly into this country seven times in a week so why are we still talking about a national airline? Why can’t we set it up,” he asked.
Amazing achievers
While admitting that the country needed to do more in other to develop, Prof. Hinson said it was erroneous to say that Ghana was a nation of talkers and not doers.
“I agree that we have a very long way to go but we also have some amazing achievers in the country,” he stated.
“If you have one good leader and over 2,000 followers who are recalcitrant, all that the leader will need to do is create a good path, set good standards and have quality monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. That way, he/she can still turn the over 2,000 people in the right direction.”
“Good leadership triumphs any mediocrity,” he added.
Features of doers
On what distinguishes doers from talkers, Prof. Hinson said doers must be bold, be willing to challenge themselves, do something good, and have a “just do it” spirit.
He said in challenging one’s self, one must aim high, try new things, and set goals that exceed normal expectation.
“Doers calculate the risk and take it, chase their dreams and goals and have no regrets,” he added.
He said there were people in this country, who boast of these characteristics and had been able to start excellent movements.
Using the Founder of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, as an example, Prof. Hinson said the Bishop was someone who epitomised excellence and was a doer; not just a talker.
On the issue of calculating risks, he said Bishop Heward-Mills had a successful career as a medical doctor but took the risk by taking up the work of God.
“That was a bold and courageous decision and many years after, that decision has paid off and Lighthouse keeps growing and expanding.”
“The kind of lessons I draw from him are very profound in ordering my own steps, so he is an excellent example of a doer,” he said.
Change
Prof. Hinson also noted that change was not one big sudden thing but a long process.
“Once you keep doing these small spots of excellence, the change would finally happen. Change is one day at a time,” he said.
He, however, cautioned that for change to happen, “you need people who are dedicated to lead the charge.”
“This mammoth change will not come from the political class but everybody. Those who are excellent would lead the charge and Ghana will become better than it is today,” he stated.