It is really a very strange idea but think of it this way - how many people, being very true to themselves would vote for themselves in an election.
There seems to be views and thoughts of despondency among many people. You find many complaining about the poor state of health. Many complain about the state of education. Still many complain about the state of sanitation, housing and general security.
We as Ghanaians also have very fine rhetoric. We make a lot of sense. Our diagnosis of problems and issues are usually spot-on. Our understanding of how to work around the challenges that confronts us is amazing.
We have lots of fine brains. We have lots of amazing citizens. And yet, for one reason or the other we seem to be stuck in a deep rut that continues to hinder our progress.
Guess who dug the rut? We. We are the people. We live in this country. We own, to a large extent, most of the resources of this country. We are in charge in this country.
We are the one who raise children. We are the ones who were once raised. We know the corners of this country more than anyone from outside the country would.
We understand things that no one from anywhere would ever understand about our country. We know each other’s voices. We know each other’s names. We know each other’s assets. We know each other in so many ways that it is hard to enumerate.
And yet we are the very challenge to this nation. For a long while, the rhetoric has been on how colonialism ripped us apart as a nation. We complained and wailed about how our lives would have been but for what some other person from some other country had done.
But here we are. We are by ourselves. And day in, day out we keep hurting, ripping and defrauding the country every step of the way.
This is not about political corruption. This is not about the kickbacks. This is not about the virulent and sometimes detestable conduct of politicians. This is not about the 10 or 20 reasons why the political class has failed.
This is about you. And the many ways in which you let the nation down – right from the moment you wake up over to the time you retire to bed.
The politicians are just a microcosm of society. Whatever values we abhor publicly, we encourage privately. Whatever conduct we consider as despicable, we praise them for it privately.
It is only foolishness to not understand the limits of government. It goes without saying that everything has limits. Even the creator found a day of rest. So must we also understand the limits of the constitutional and political structure we are operating within and fill in the gaps whenever necessary.
The story of how a charity medical team was ripped off by some staff of the St. Joseph’s hospital is making the rounds. Yeah. That was us; never missing an opportunity to rip ourselves off at the least opportunity.
The long and short of the story is that we are the losers at the end of the day. The kindhearted charity workers are going to walk away thinking that Ghanaians are thieves and robbers.
This is just a principle of life. In the same way that Nkrumah and his influence went before and after us, so also would the negative image the medical team.
Some are shocked. Well I am not shocked. Just as we prepare to participate in the national elections, so must we make time to assess ourselves and ask if knowing ourselves we would vote for ourselves in an election? That should be our focus in the coming election.
The challenges and ills we find with the politicians are just a reflection of our collective cultures. Change starts with individuals. Change starts with little words. Change starts with a strong desire to make a big difference in our community and nation. Change usually starts low key.
We cannot be irresponsible enough to think that our obligations as a people only end with voting. No it doesn’t. If we care about our democracy and our livelihoods, we would be more aggressive and forceful in the manner in which we look at our conduct and ourselves.
The buck does not stop with the president. The buck stops with you. You are in the community. You are a direct beneficiary of whatever good that the community has to offer. You are also the one who is directly affected by the floods, the bad roads, the mosquito bites and the numerous health challenges.
We’ve had enough said about how bad our politicians are. Can we now have an inward and outward debate about the numerous ways in which we let our nation down?
