We are losing spirit of patriotism — Rawlings
Former President J.J. Rawlings has expressed grave concern about the increasing quest of the Ghanaian for economic and monetary power, which has dominated every facet of life so much so that “we seem to care little for the good of our country”.
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“Are we quick to join the chorus when there is talk of corruption and lack of accountability and love for our country? Today we seek money so we can have power and then proceed to lord it over the vulnerable in society,” he said.
Former President Rawlings was addressing award winners and guests at the third Millennium Excellence Award, which honoured 12 Ghanaians who had excelled in their various fields of endeavour, at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Theme
He was speaking on the theme: “Patriotism and Self-Sacrifice for Nation Building.”
Former President Rawlings reiterated that the right of might had now overridden the might of right and metamorphosed into a cancerous monster, while “selfishness is now a proud asset and, patriotism is seen as the pursuit of people without ambition.”
He wondered the rate at which greed, thievery, fraud and lies, which are not peculiar to government and state institutions, had become the order of the day, describing them as “societal issues that have to be confronted head-on by the people”.
He did not mince words and plainly stated that some of the traditional leaders had played complicit roles in perpetrating fraud on the people and sometimes on investors who meant well for the country. He asked: “How often nowadays do we hear harrowing stories of multiple sale of lands, arming of land guards to intimidate persons with genuine land title deeds and rich land for agriculture being sold to persons who put up concrete structures for easy commercial gain at the expense of Ghana’s medium to long-term agricultural and economic sustainability?”
Globalisation
Former President Rawlings added that globalisation had played a significant role in the sense of detachment many now have for their country and community, “but we cannot forget the bond of love and unity that moulded us into what we are today.”
“The world has its huge challenges, including the scourge of terrorism — a direct descendant of the discord and lack of equitable distribution of resources we in Ghana and elsewhere on the continent seem to take for granted. We cannot do so for long. The rich cannot continue to get richer at the expense of the poor who then proceed to get poorer,” he added.
Terrorism
He noted that the new wave of global violence, referred to as terrorism, showed how man’s insensitivity to his fellow could lead to a violent upheaval almost impossible to contain and control and added that even as the world empathised and sympathised with innocent victims of terrorist action all over the world, the world also supported the fight against terrorism.
“Even as the world supports the military measures against the perpetrators, these will always continue to be short-term solutions” he said.
Some of the people honoured were Anas Aremeyaw Anas for Democratic Governance; Uncle Ebo Whyte for Literature; Ms Martha Bissa for Sports; Prof. Kofi Anyidoho for Literature; Dr Joseph Asare Bediako; and Osei Kwame Despite for Entrepreneurship.