7 pillars of nation building

Just like any other busi­ness, nations have to sur­vive in the midst of global vicissitudes in economic fortunes. The landmark of any appropriate nation building and transformation is the ability of a govern­ment to develop struc­tures and systems based on specific, pragmatic sustainable ideologies which I term as “Pillars”. Pillars are basically used to support structures, and the sustainability of these structures will depend on the viability of the pillars. Translating this to nation building, the sustainability of any long term vision of a country will depend on the viability of the pillars or ideologies in a particular period characterised by domestic and global environmental forces.

Nation building should not be a one off agenda but a continuum of peripheral ideologies since societies perpetually evolve over time. The interconnectedness of these ideolo­gies although may be varied overtime should be symbiotic.

Agriculture

From my perspective the first pillar of nation building is agriculture which is very fundamental to the survival of man. This might sound abstract to the ordinary man living in the western world since countries in the western world are hardly plagued with foot shortages, famine and in­creasing cost of food. The terrestrial nature of agriculture may portray this noble vocation as a subservient adventure. Agriculture is strategic importance to any economy because it fulfills one of the basic necessities of life; satisfying hunger.

It is very important to note that any policy by a government geared towards using agriculture to just “filling the belly” will be a failure. Agriculture can be considered a suc­cess if it fundamentally provides food sufficiency and the right nourishment at affordable prices before moving to the next level of feeding industries with raw materials and exporting for foreign exchange. A popular food programme that attempted to address some of these critical fundamental issues in agriculture especially in the area food sufficiency was the “Operation Feed Yourself ” launched in February 1972 by the late General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and his National Redemption Council. This project gained nationwide popularity through publicity from the media. The enthusiasm that greeted this laudable initiative can be likened to exuberant spectators in ancient colosseum awaiting a titanic gladiato­rial contests. People were energised and a number of people turned their backyards into farmlands; planting crops and rearing of animals.

The programme was supported with access to credit facilities, subsi­disation of farm inputs and impor­tation of machinery which were duty free to small and large scale farmers. These policies by the Acheampong government made the programme successful and in 1974 Ghana was declared self- sufficient in rice pro­duction. Although the programme had it setbacks, the intent and motive were laudable.

Another agricultural project which might be seem as a trajectory of Op­eration Feed Yourself is NPP Gov­ernment’s “Planting for Food and Jobs”. Although the ideologies or pil­lars underpinning these two laudable projects are different the ultimate goals are similar; providing self-suf­ficiency and food security. Under Operation Feed Yourself the govern­ment empowered the populace (not just farmers) to take the initiative and embark on farming backed by very powerful propaganda machinery. In the case of Planting for Food and Jobs the government took the bold initiative and motivated farmers to adopt the right agricultural practices with the direct effect of creating jobs. Farm inputs such as fertilisers were heavily subsidised which were under­mined by smuggling threatening the viability and survival of this laudable project. The project also embraced modern agricultural practices such as greenhouse technology which had the potential of generating $ 1 billion of vegetable exports in the next 6 years at the time.

Similarly the current NDC Government agricultural project on “Irrigation for Wealth Creation” and “Feed Ghana Programme” appears to be a replica of Operation Feed Yourself. As published in the Tuesday, February 18, 2025 edition of the Ghanaian Times, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr. Eric Opoku urged the public to venture into home gardening to reduce cost of food. The Minister also urged senior high schools, tertiary institu­tions, churches and assemblies to all start farming on small, medium or large scale. These laudable projects need the support of all Ghanaians and if well implemented should be successful.

As indicated earlier the success of any agricultural programme or proj­ect domestically will be determined by the ability of the ordinary man to afford “three square meals”. Food security and self – sufficiency must be tangent with affordable food prices. If food prices continue to increase domestically it undermines any effort to ensure food security.

It is very regrettable that in the 21st Century Africa which is blessed with very good ecosystem for farm­ing is still confronted with issues of food shortages and malnutrition. Ghana and Africa as whole needs viable national and continental policy on agriculture which will form the bases for every successive govern­ment to develop its programme on agriculture.

Industrialisation

Industrialisation has been the ‘doyen’ of economic transformation in most of the powerful countries in the world. This has been the dream and vision of the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for Ghana and Africa. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah began his industrial journey by setting up many factories across the country with the vision of making industrialisation the pivot in Ghana’s economic trans­formation and a beacon in global trade. The factories that Osagyefo set up were well targeted in locations that will provide the necessary raw materials for these factories. Some of the factories include Zuarungu Meat Factory, Pwalugu Tomato Factory, Bolgatanga Rice Factory, Kumasi Shoe Factory, Tarkwa Bonsa Factory, Aboso Glass Factory etc.

If one evaluate the locations and the products that were churned out from these industries you could understand the intellectual strategic intent of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah; developing and harnessing the potential of every region, using industrialisation to develop agricul­ture, creating employment, prevent­ing rural-urban migration, developing Ghana into a global industrial icon. These factories that were built by Kwame Nkrumah would have be­come the foundation which will spur Ghana into self- sufficient, export oriented and global dominant force in industrialisation. Unfortunately these factories and the foundations of the country were numbed. The closest to this model by Osagyefo was the NPP government’s policy on One District, One Factory which, I believed if successful would resurrect Osagyefo’s unbridled vision of Gha­na as pinnacle of industrialisation.

Considering Ghana’s history in terms of industrialisation and Pan Africanism, Ghana needs to have one of the most illustrious, prominent and modern industrial hub in Africa and the world. Ghana needs to have an industrial global, Afrocentric, strategic plan which all successive governments must follow. Ghana should use its strategic position in be­ing the centre of the world to create an industrial powerhouse.

Tourism

From my perspective tourism can be considered as the differentiated, natural or deliberate attractions of the unique selling proposition of a country. These attractions may involve cultural, economic, political, infrastructural enhancement, mon­umental edifice, ecosystem, social dynamism and brand perception of the country.

The obsession, vibrancy and the manner in which a people endear the distinctive values of their cultures to the outside world can create an overwhelming traffic of tourists and visitors. According to the Statista Research Department the overall contribution of travel and tourism to global GDP was $9.9 trillion in 2023. This figure is expected to reach $11.1 trillion in 2024 exceeding figures pri­or to COVID 19 pandemic, signifying huge potential in tourism.

The interesting phenomenon about tourism is that, it has the multiplier effect and the catalytic tendencies of escalating growth in industries such as hospitality, transport, construc­tion, agriculture, retailing etc. This is the more reason why governments should pay more attention to tourism especially countries like Ghana with rich historical antecedents. There must be planned and sustained effort from government to promote tourism. Countries such as Ghana can use the prime international media channels such as CNN, Aljazeera, BBC, Sky to promote the country using creative, innovative, persua­sive, differentiated ad concepts to communicate unique selling prop­ositions to the world. Ghana being at the centre of the world is a big tourist attraction which should form the base of our strategic message to the outside world. Being at the centre of the world, Ghana should be able to connect to all countries, cultures and people of the world. Tourism in Ghana should be the focal point for the whole world.

Ghana can used it embassies around the world to hold tourism fairs and take advantage of social media to publicise the events. The country can also use its prominent personalities from economic, po­litical, religious, sports background as tourism ambassadors to attract tourists into the country. For example Michael Essien who was prominent and connoisseur in English Football can be Ghana Tourism Ambassador in England. Jackie Appiah and Majid can be Ghana Tourism Ambassadors in Africa.

As a country, we need to eulogise the works of great personalities such as Kofi Annan, one of the most as­ tute Secretary Generals to occupy the enviable top seat of the United Na­tions. The remarkable achievements of the Late Kofi Annan who was a maestro in world governance and ar­tistic in his style of leadership, should be used as a point of reference in attracting the world to his land of birth, Ghana, just like Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

Ghana is a perceived as friendly country. To become a powerhouse in tourism this is an attribute the coun­try must uphold and sustain.

Culture

Culture reflects the norms, prac­tices, behaviours, lifestyle which are enshrined in the values and traditions of a people. Culture affects what, when and how we eat, drink, wear, dance, sing, learn, adore, marry, entertain, sleep or even smile. Culture is supposed to give a people identity and purposefulness. The impact that culture have on a people can be so distinct to the extent that it can generate considerable wealth for the country.

If a country can really promote what the people eat, wear, dance etc in a very distinct manner, this can generate huge traffic for tourists. For example Ghana Jolof Rice is becoming very popular globally and sometimes used as a contest against Nigerian Jollof rice. Ghana Jollof rice can be used as a gimmick and Nigerian Jollof rice as a mimic to attract people to these countries to taste this delicacy. There has been debate on which of these two countries prepare the best Jollof rice. To heighten the euphoria surround­ing this special meal a contest can be held annually between the two countries to ascertain the originality and lusciousness of Jollof rice from any of these countries. This contest can be used to attract people from all over the world in the name of culture.

Culture can only gain prominence when the people believe in it. People must love and adore their culture. Two of the countries that stand out when it comes to culture are Nigeria and India who revere their values and traditions to the highest level. Saree and Dhoti Kurta are dresses that are synonymous with the Indian People whilst Agbada and Gele are inextrica­ble linked to the people of Nigeria.

Music brings harmonious melody to the body and soul. It encapsulates the whole summation of man’s body chemistry, entrenching the lyrical rhythm in the subconscious mind. The power of music can accentuate a whole cultural adventure perme­ating the fabric of society, spiraling throughout the world.

Ghana’s Highlife music epitomises rich afro-centric sensual rhythmic lyr­ics and tunes. As a nation we should not allow this rich part of our heri­tage to die off. We should encourage our youth and upcoming talented musicians to compose highlife music. Highlife music traditionally defines who we are as a people because the music is authentic, original and pecu­liar to the people of Ghana.

Leaders have sacred obligation to promote culture in their countries. It is undeniable fact that African Pres­idents are not making frantic efforts to promote culture in their respective countries. During African Union (AU) Conferences which is one of the biggest platforms to showcase African heritage you witness most of the Presidents (with the exception of few countries like Nigeria) clad in suits instead of traditional attires. Instead of portraying the African culture on an African stage these leaders will be promoting western culture. The analogy is not to stop wearing suit entirely but ideally one’s culture must gain prominence over other cultures. If we embrace other cultures and negate our culture we lose our identity.

Education

Education, over many years, in many parts of the world including Africa has been traditionally skewed or limited to acquisition of knowl­edge to attest to the term “knowl­edge is power”. But time has proven that knowledge can only uphold the supremacy of power depending on how education is formulated, devel­oped, structured, culturally oriented, targeted, disseminated, taught and understood. Education is the bedrock of any successful economy or coun­try. Education should be done in and outside the classrooms. Education must go beyond just academic work. From my perspective education is the training of the mind to have an impact on humanity and achieve greatness.

Why is Africa lacking behind? My firm belief is that education in Africa has failed to train the mind of Afri­cans of the great potential in their African identity. This is the message that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah was trying to spread throughout Africa and the black community. The message of the African being capable of handling his own affair and put­ting his destiny into his own hands was an attempt by Kwame Nkrumah to obliterate any form of brainwash­ing from the tenets of colonialism and imperialism. As Pan-Africanist and an intellectual Kwame Nkru­mah believed in a system that will unite the whole of Africa politically, economically and socially which was embedded in his statement, Ghana’s Independence is meaningless without the total liberation of Africa. As an intellectual Kwame Nkrumah was pragmatic and impactful and did not rely on academic theories to propa­gate his message.

In simple terms the kind of moti­vational messages Kwame Nkrumah gave on the African greatness are the kind of things we should be teaching our kids in the classroom. Kwame Nkrumah himself epitomised through essence of greatness with an African identity. We should train the minds of our future generation on greatness espousing the unique, stalwart, extraordinary lives of prominent personalities like Profes­sor Francis Allotey (Great scientist), Professor Evans Atta Mills (Great lecturer and statesman), Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Man­dela, Kofi Annan, Azumah Nelson, Abedi Pele, Roger Milla, and Julius Nyerere.

Although academic theories and principles are very relevant, these theories will not achieve the desired results if the mind is not oriented to­wards adopting a practical approach to greatness. Education must be impactful and have synergistic and multiplier effect. It must be infec­tious and spiral through the core of society.

Education must not be limited to the classrooms or lecture halls. Parents have responsibility to educate their children through counselling and mentoring. This approach is very effective because of the close family bond, emotional ties and high physical contact between parents and their children. A number of success­ful people relate their achievements to their parents who have been the cornerstone of their successes. That umbilical connection must be exploit­ed and traverse through the entire upbringing of the child to ensure that s(he) achieves maximum potential.

Healthcare

Health care is a critical pillar in nation building. People who are sick physically, emotionally, mentally can­not be in the right state of mind or condition to help develop a nation. It is imperative for governments, organisations and institutions to put in the right structures to address the different facets of healthcare.

Ironically in a number of countries and organisations, especially in devel­oping countries governments focus their policies on building hospitals and providing the logistics to deal with the physical ailments of its pop­ulace. Although this is an important step in healthcare, there are a number of people suffering from emotional traumas that sometimes degenerate into severe ailments and physical dis­order. Most governments focus more on ailments such as malaria, typhoid fever, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney, liver malfunctions and pay little attention to serious health issues such Post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive disorders and anxiety disorders..

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) around 70% of people globally will experience a potentially traumatic event during their lifetime and an estimated 3.9% of world population has experienced post-traumatic disorder. According to the report only 1in 4 people in the low middle income countries report for treatment. This is due to lack of awareness, lack of availability of mental health services, trained mental health personnel and social stigma.

There are many people walking around looking normal but have serious PTSD, depressive and anxiety disorders due to encounters with war, natural disasters, accidents domes­tic violence, sexual violence. They physically and emotionally try to contain and suppress these disorders but sometimes things get out of hand. The precarious nature of these disorders is that they can lead to sui­cide. This beleaguered, acrimonious situation can be curtailed by clinical psychologist cited in communities who can provide mentoring and counselling sessions to victims who are bedeviled with these distasteful mental disorders. Governments must have a policy where every organ­isation and institution will have a psychologists to provide preventive and curative antidotes on disorders for staff.

The mental state of the mind of a human being is very important since it has impact on productivity, family life, work place engagements, social interaction and life span. The mind is a very important component of the human framework and its susceptibil­ity to unguarded dangerous external stimuli can undermine the proper function of the whole body chem­istry.

The true mental and psychological state of the human being must be the heartbeat of every government health policy especially in Africa where there are several barriers to proper healthcare.

Social tolerance and cohesion

This is a very important pillar because the other six pillars hinges on this pillar. Most countries have become cosmopolitan and multira­cial. The diverse cultures, languages, lifestyle, beliefs requires a certain level of adaptability and coherence. Countries that have become very cosmopolitan achieve this status due to large immigrant population. Countries such as United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Switzerland, France and Belgium have high immigrant population. Belgium for example accommodates about 184 nationals. Africa can also boast of very diverse countries such as Ugan­da, Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Madagascar.

Some of these countries have become successful because of how they have integrated large migrants into the fabric of society, respecting their values, traditions and harnessing their intellectual capabilities to the benefit of society. America is consid­ered as a country where “dreams are realised” irrespective of nationality or racial background. Barrack Obama, a Kenyan became the President of the United States of America.

Although in a cosmopolitan or multiracial countries there might be some infractions or violation of hu­man rights based on nationality, race or ethnicity, the whole concept of so­cial tolerance and cohesion is to unite and bring people together under one common vision despite these infrac­tions and violations. The benchmark is to provide the environment and opportunity for anyone (irrespective of background) to succeed in any field of endeavour.

The dignity of man must be im­bibed in country’s moral and cultural principle. As Jesus Christ said in Matthew 22:39, “you shall love your neighbor as thyself” (the second greatest commandment), this must be revered as sacrosanct where it becomes a national duty to love one another. In a country where society is structured to benefit a certain class of people, gender, family, colour, race, tribe or religion this can de­generate into a “hate society” where people feel marginalised, suppressed, disrespected and not loved. This development can lead to wars as ex­perienced in Rwanda which emanated from a long running dispute between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. In the same vein the Liberian war was attributed to ethnic conflicts between the Krahn, Gio and Mano. Although there were some underlying political and economic reasons for the war in Liberia ethnicity played a very key role in the war.

A nation that wants to enjoy stabil­ity must provide equal opportunities for citizens and ensure a high level of tolerance for all. In Ghana the two major religious groups, Christians and Moslems have lived together very well. This has contributed enor­mously to the peace in the country. As a nation it is important to respect the values and traditions of differ­ent religions to help promote social tolerance and cohesion.

Good governance and anti-cor­ruption stance are key ingredients in ensuring social justice and national cohesion. Good governance and incorruptible government generate trust, respect and credibility between the government and the governed. If these practices are negated it brings political and social unrest, kills the moral fibre of the country and retards progress in national develop­ment.

In conclusion for nation building to become successful it is import­ant for the government in power to always balance the equation between the rich and the poor, the religious and non-religious, the learned and unlearned, the indigenous people and immigrants, right wing ideology against left wing ideology, the gov­ernment itself and the governed.

The writer is a Chartered Marketer with about 25 years’ experience in industry, media and academia

alfredk001@yahoo.com

BY ALFRED KOOMSON