Politics in Ghana has been driven to such a bizarre extent that no day passes without partisan politics brought into national discourse. Every day is politics day; every day is politics day, why? And to make matters very gloomy, everything is discussed from the negative point of view. For every step that our leader takes, there are several people undercutting him. Why? How can we develop this country this way?
You may have observed that since the very day President Nana Akufo Addo was sworn into office on January 7, 2017 no action taken by him or his government has been seen with non-partisan political lenses.
Refrain
And in almost all cases, the refrain has been: ‘It’s not possible, it cannot be done.’ This is what I call ‘It-is-not-possible mindset.’ This is such a negative mindset that if a Ghanaian President is not focused on what he is bent on doing or achieving for this country, he may give up along the way.
Fortunately for Ghanaians, we have a President who is well focused and is in a hurry too to make things work for the ordinary people of Ghana. Therein lies our luck as citizens, otherwise we would have a huge problem on our hands. The pull-him-down strategy is so overwhelming that one has to have a very thick skin before one can succeed in our milieu.
If management of the country during the past NDC regime had been bad leading to a state of nothing-is-possible as entrenched by the political elite then, nothing today shows that we should continue to lower the socio-economic bar in our expectations. We should strive forward.
Singapore
Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam (even after a fierce war with the US), don’t have extra-ordinary human beings and yet they have made it to the first world status while we continue singing ‘it’s-not-possible’ hymns and remain third world.
We started the independence journey with them in the late 1950s and they have managed to leave us far behind. This is all because of our negative mindset; it’s ruining this country.
2016 polls
You may recall before the polls in 2016, how many people openly said that ‘it’s not possible for Nana Addo to be President of Ghana.’ For a person like Hon Collins Dauda, it was a real supplication to Allah to prevent Nana Addo from becoming the President of Ghana. Said he on several occasions on radio:- ‘Nana Addo can never be President; it’s impossible; no, from what we have done for the people they will vote for us, for sure. They say they want road, we have provided it; they say they want school we have provided it; they say they want water we have provided it; no, Nana Akufo Addo can never be President. Besides, he’s too short; Ghanaians don’t like short presidents.’
Collins Dauda’s evil wish was not the wish of Allah and good judgment has prevailed and we thank Allah for that– Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is now the President of the republic of Ghana.
So, the first ‘it’s not possible’ became ‘it’s possible’ and opponents were put to shame. They were proved wrong. Nana Addo won and pledged to fulfill his free SHS policy for the children of Ghana.
Opponents
But his opponents said such a policy was not possible and sustainable and that it would crash on landing. Fortunately, we are about to enter the third term of the free SHS policy and things are rather getting better and not worse.
Frankly, this negative mindset that we have, especially by politicians, if not jettisoned soonest, can ruin this country. When a Ghanaian dreams of something fantastic and lay it bare, the first utterance that comes from within and without is: ‘It is too ambitious, it can’t be done, it’s not possible.’
And yet that’s how come the Bill Gates, the Steve Jobs, the Zuckenbergs and others of our time have been able to break through for the benefit of all of us in this modern world. You have to think big and make it realizable later.
Inventors
Who would have thought that one day humans would fly in the air like birds do? Who would have thought that we would have electricity in our homes and factories to do what we want to do with power? Who would have thought that it would be possible to locate oil fields wherever they are, even under the deepest ocean to drill? Who would have thought that horse-driven wagons would be motor-driven one day?
All these and many, many others were invented by people who were thinking positively and had the confidence of realizing their dreams. Yet, over here in Ghana, people talk of their dreams and the first refrain is: ‘It’s not possible, it can’t be done.’
Negativity
Let’s come off that; let’s come off the negativity; let’s think positively for this country. Government says it will use drones to deliver medications to areas that are ordinarily difficult to access. The first person to comment on this was Mr. Asiedu Nketia, the NDC general secretary.
What did he have to say on this? He said this was a political gimmick to deceive the people and that it’s not possible and not doable. Yet, countries, even in Africa, are using drones for several things including dispatching medicines to remote areas. So, why is it not doable in Ghana? Are we inferior human beings when it comes to use of technology? Don’t we also have brains just like other human beings in other parts of the world?
A man of God
Here comes a supposed man-of God. Like many, many others, he says he is a pastor; he even calls himself a prophet and a bishop at that. What does he have to say positively about Ghana?
No, he doesn’t have anything positive to say about Ghana because he also has the ‘it’s not possible’ mindset. He says the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ concept is not possible and cannot be achieved. In the same breadth however, he says Ghana abounds in rich mineral resources but all the same this concept cannot be achieved.
He did not however give reasons why he believes ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ is not achievable. But I was wondering: How come a supposed man of God will leave the realm of winning souls for Jesus the Christ and concentrate rather on a concept of a governing political party and pronounce whether the concept is doable or not?
Not surprised
I was not surprised therefore, when he later said that majority of Ghanaians have regretted voting for Nana Addo. So soon? Has he done any research to come to the conclusion that 17 months after Nana Addo assumed office majority of Ghanaians have regretted the way they voted? I doubt very much.
Other statements by this supposed man of God reveal where he is coming from with this negative mind-set of his. Everything shows that after all, he’s not a man of God but a politician.
Nation Builders’ Corps
The President inaugurated the Nation Builders’ Corps last week and almost immediately opponents say it’s a bad policy.
Honestly, I think we have a problem in this country. Not very long ago, many teachers worked for 24 months and the then government paid them for only 3 months and told them they could go to hell. Nurses and allied professionals finished their courses and were made to sit at home for months without any work.
Many graduates from tertiary institutions were roaming about the streets for months without any work and depending once again on their parents for survival.
Now, a government comes into office and says roll onto this programme and I will give you Ghc700 a month while you look for a job elsewhere. This also is a crime?
Look, we better change our attitude in this country and think positively for the progress of mother Ghana. Today, in this world, everything is possible including changing a man into a woman and vice-versa.
Dr Thomas Mensah
Check out on Dr Thomas Mensah, the inventor of fibre optics; check out on Mr. Anokye, the IT specialist, who is now the CEO of NCA; check out on scores of Ghanaians working at Silicon Valley, California; check out on Ghanaian aero Engineers in Germany and other places; check out on Ghanaians in the US and British armies who are doing great things in their fields of endeavour and come and tell us your findings.
Come off this negative mindset of ‘it’s not possible, it can’t be done.’ I say to you ‘It’s possible, it can be done.’ Anything that Nana Addo wants to do while a President of the republic of Ghana can be done. What do we have brains for?
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