What hope beckons us?

We have control over our actions but not the results or the outcomes. Every human being or nation counts on the days ahead for better times. Every new year comes with hope and expectations that things would be better than before. In situations where things went reasonably well in the year gone by, the expectation would be that there would be an improvement in the year ahead.

In the case that things went so bad, it is also the expectation that the ensuing year would see better conditions. Where situations did not meet our expectations, serious self- introspection into the previous year on policies fashioned out, targets that were set, how those policies were implemented and what external challenges affected the attainment of those goals and objectives is very critical, going into the future.

As Ghanaians we tend to always blame external challenges for our failures rather than accepting our own faults, the poor decisions we might have made, the reckless manner in which we used our scarce resources, and in some cases not even planning at all for the future. The typical Ghanaian never takes responsibility for his/her failures. There is always an evil spirit somewhere which is responsible for our situation. A man drinks excessive mahogany bitters and messes up his life and turns around to blame the devil for his condition.

People commit crimes and once they are caught, they blame it on the devil. Many Ghanaians also do not take credit for their own efforts so they can become role models for others to emulate. Their successes are hinged on the benevolence of a certain spirit and not their own hard work and discipline. Meanwhile even among their siblings, life might be so tough for many of them. This attitude of attributing the good, the bad and the ugly to some unseen spiritual forces is what has crystallised into a national belief and way of life, including governance. It is so common for successful thieves of public funds to give thanks and glory to God for perhaps having guided them safely through the dark alley of stealing without being caught.

Governments wake up in the morning without any plans for this nation. All the leadership has to do is capitalise on the spiritual gullibility of the people and assure them of God's intervention in having solutions to their problems, and the resounding response is 'ameeeen oooooooooooo'. The President and his people then go to sleep and the people fold their arms, fasting and praying for God's intervention which never comes. While the leaders of other nations think, fashion out implementable programmes to solve problems confronting their nations, we choose to pray, create a day of National Prayers and continue to live in our difficulties.

The people of this country on March 6, 1957 promised themselves, or were promised by the political leadership at the time that we were going to prove to the world that 'after all the black man is capable of managing his own affairs'. The great Kwame Nkrumah who said this, if he were alive today, would surely have withdrawn the statement. It is increasingly becoming clearer that the black man is incapable of managing his own affairs. The dawn of Ghana's independence came as a joyous moment to end what had been perceived as endless servitude to the colonial master.

Those hopes and aspirations of Ghanaians soared, as many of our forefathers regarded the sky as just the limit. But alas, almost 58 years later, majority of Ghanaians are painfully crippled by the manacles of poverty, hunger, diseases, homelessness and the chains of hopelessness and helplessness perpetually hang on their necks. It is very obvious that Ghana, as it stands today, has defaulted in the promissory note it issued to its citizenry some 58 years back, as far as their state and the living standards of the people are concerned.

Each year is met by promises of a better future ahead, but the year ends with misery and uncertainty among the majority of the people. A few weeks from now, President Mahama will come before Parliament and issue cheques of good things to come, but those cheques as usual cannot be honoured. His Minister for Finance and Economic Planning will follow subsequently with a fiscal and monetary policy just good for the records but not meant to alleviate the suffering of the citizenry. If anything at all, they will further aggravate the unbearable conditions of our people.

While the citizenry gnash their teeth and genuinely complain about the situation they find themselves in, some of the people who manage or mismanage our resources heap insults on them. The other time it was someone who needed to be elevated, delivered from demons and cured of his myopia for daring to speak the truth. Today, when crude oil prices are at their lowest in about 15 years and Ghanaians are genuinely asking for commensurate reduction in ex-pump prices, we are told that if we cannot afford we should be riding bikes.

Do we deserve this disrespect? I said last week that the biggest problem confronting President Mahama is not the mismanagement of the economy but the way his people talk down to us and how he himself is carried by emotions and insults us sometimes. Eei, do the people in government today believe they will never exit office one day, and that they will continue to hold this nation hostage till the end of time? Have we not witnessed the sometimes very brutal end of leaders who until their end thought their nations were in their palms like eggs?

Can we as a people be satisfied when our collective resources are not being used for our collective good? Can we be satisfied when the basic social needs bequeathed to us by previous governments are being destroyed without an alternative better replacement? We can never be satisfied as long as our children's education is in danger. We can never be satisfied when unemployment among the youth is rising daily, and with it, mounting crime among the youth. We can never be satisfied when our sons and daughters' uncertain future pushes them into drugs, a life that means nothing to them except living for today.

Ghana is whole today because quite a number of us believe that one day, this nation will rise again and live up to its beliefs and aspiration to attain freedom and justice, equal opportunities for all, a nation united by our common destiny and not a common belief in political ideology. It is the responsibility of government to keep this hope alive through its policies aimed at fulfilling its social contract with the citizenry. This can only be assured when even in times of difficulties, whether externally induced or internally manufactured, government's actions move slowly towards addressing the challenges confronting us.

Insults, blatant display of arrogance, unadulterated lies and wilful exhibition of disrespect for the citizenry do not excite hope and optimism. While the basic needs of this country are becoming scarce commodities, government prides itself in 'mega' projects. President Mahama is interested in super-structures while the sub-bases are either weak or non-existent. A nation finds itself in darkness continuously for close to four years, an indication that a sector so critical to the economic growth of this country—electricity—has defied solution. Yet our President, instead of thinking of pragmatic ways of nipping the problem in the bud, joins the rest of us in praying for an end to the crisis. Why did we elect a President in Mahama then?

If prayers are what we need to address our critical challenges, then we should have elected the Duncan Williamses and the Obinims as President and Vice President respectively. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of our situation at this moment by burying our sorrows in spirituality when those who have to think for solutions are asleep. Mahama issues promissory notes that are irredeemable, he issues cheques that bounce, and he gives out cash that is counterfeit. There is no hope for the future. I am trying to do away with my bitters, but circumstances are forcing me to cut some two tots.

Kb2014gh@gmail.com