Going to ‘Aborikyir’ 2

I realise I am plough­ing to craft in others which I find pertinent to the former Chief Jus­tice’s huge reminders to a befuddled country at a highly poignant junction, poised to the polls described as augur­ing ill forebodings, unprecedent­ed. [My small relative comments from historical perspective only, is that we, also hindsight have collectively put ourselves in ha­bitual scares with “doomsday”— prophecy et al from elections to another throughout the life span of this Fourth Republic 1992].

Last but one before I am run out, I shall turn to the impact of short-term thinking on Ghana’s economic progress: one of the most pressing issues Sophie identifies albeit indirectly, is the prevalent short-term mindful­ness of only populist realities rather than enduring long-term term benefits, irrespective of politics in Ghana. This mental­ity, often summarised as “I and my stomach” (party latterly), reflects a focus on immediate personal gains rather than long term to community and national progress. Such attitudes foster a cycle of self interest, sabotage and lost opportunities for collec­tive growth of an economy with enormous odds staked against it.

What she did not state are culture and education, above all. I had in an immediate column here to this presently, education among a number. I am excerpt­ing education and culture as sine qua non to her complaint or directly her observations. I like to link hers with the two. The level and near stupor of the system has apparently, perhaps unanticipated by planners is the pile of free schooling chaps ‘’unbissed’’—un-employed, not really employable. [We learned the term as a teaser growing up in our day; couple it now with the quick fix or quick money-no­tion. That is unemployed. [In our growing this was the short­hand [teaser—‘UNBISS’].

With a sense history, the regu­lar missed-factor in hers gener­ally at discourses, is fostering a culture of integrity and collec­tive responsibility, or indeed how to partisan-exiled embracing a balanced perspective for Gha­na’s future. The intervention on the behalf of the country’s youth entrepreneurship land­scape reflects real testing. That very reality could blur the full picture, or may tend to down even to cameo. I have pitched in my own either to enlarge point omissions explanatorily without detracting her central very right majors. Actually, I imagine she has only lifted sideway, the lid on a daunting issue.

My voluntary benediction is: to fully realise Ghana’s potential, a broader national mindset-shift is needed –one that encourages young people to hard work and resilience while expecting long term rewards rather than instant success. It is well-timed atten­tion to draw—neatly articulated what makes her sleepless, she said.

We ought to log this gigan­tic problem as an ‘’unfinished business in handing over notes in a pending Tray whatever hap­pens from the elections whose campaigns could be summed up under three Heads: real sub­stantive debates were shifted aside by counter denials, EC’s mistakes,[admitted, fobbed or si­lenced] and the roles each of us played, especially as regards the Judiciary. I would not state the campaigns lacked lustre because there wasn’t any. The EC made its politics worst off trying to limit access to the press.

Country and media criti­cism protests could have been handled through tete-a-tete with the National Media Commission [NMC], a statutory institution with the specific mandate as earliest than belated which hard­ened and infuriated to top up the EC’s own standing baggage of public trust-deficit. The justice delivery system might have crossed or not the Rubicon in possible good faith, argued as glossing over an unfortunate ages-long legacy public suspi­cions, of a politically–down-the- middle split-country. Here, the belief usually aligns court verdicts to favour the political party which is in power (govern­ment) at the time.

The EC’s second troubled faux pas is the print, re-print and the unexplained shortages of ballot papers to four constitu­encies in the Volta Region. The area had constantly been compa­rable, or cancelled out the NPP’s dominance in Ashanti. This comes on top of whole sequenc­es of official EC denials that the EC was either in collusion, or doing the bid of government since long. I am writing this as ought contemporaneously, as a historical account for develop­ment(s) to appropriately add on in another slot for the narrative of the era for posterity, the home of our archives in our country’s self-tortured odyssey since independence 1957.

There is a history to tag on the earlier dot, dot on the Judiciary’s credibility gap. Public distrust of judgments, dates ante-I957 throughout from 1951–the CPP reign. Post-putsch, 1966, the military junta NLC shared that kind of public ‘’belief ’’ against the courts then. Politi­cally, the Opposition made electoral or populist mileage from that public concern. The NLC constituted a backup civilian exec­utive council from known polit­ical adversaries. The Junta and the Council decided to cleanse the Judiciary. They failed.

Succeeding civilian Second Republic led by Prime Minister Prof Kofi Busiah’s Progress Par­ty [PP] the ruling NPP’s imme­diate predecessor, disabled itself. A succession of military and constitutional regimes showed severe to benign clampdown of sorts, in reacting to perceived hostile critics; or, indeed political Opponents. The Juntas exhibit­ed that sense as well, except that they had achieved the silencing through the scare of the military might but more often, the presence or fear of Squealers or voluntary [for ultimate favours] or planted agents Our politics has refined both professions. None of the brands escapes all kinds of harrowing allegations about consequences to and for victims to date.

If in the course of this script I appear to have accused the elections campaign was bereft of real contesting debates and I have not even mentioned details of a necessity to throw in an urgent re-examination of the present bunkom to switch for real education, the rationale is that we may see some refreshed unfurling of policy. For the mo­ment, the obnoxious rumoured reports suggest huge corrup­tions going on with placements. Why don’t we restore the term system and ‘Common Entrance’ and allow excellence than the di­lution for having gone to school ‘’keke’’? What prevails is not satisfactory.

But, I confess that the de­railment of education in this country started 1958. [Kojo Botsio was Minister for Educa­tion. We have, it seems, return to what the country rejected— omnibus passage of promotions to the next class; and gradual withdrawal of State support for private education from the Kindergarten. It had happened to GBC, the nation’s Broadcast­er, turning 90 on 31 July 2025. (It was a political ‘blackmail’ to make the GBC subservient to governmental control, despite the NMC. That also has its his­torical stories to write, ‘‘daakye’’ –some-day] .

I had previously described the former Chief Justice’s remarks as not profound; and I had constructed mine and com­ments. Overall and for want of right word, I shall concede ‘’implied’ alert to us as a nation and the group we would install next. They inherit a Juggernaut to consciously like Lee Kuan Yew Singapore or India’s Prime Minister Modi’s to navigate going to Aborikyir. Aboard are justifiably impatient people after unprecedented stoic’s hard labour. Theirs ad interim, is not great Caesar’s heirs—at all.

[Concluded].

By Prof Nana Essilfie-Con­duah.