My heart bleeds for this great nation. It bleeds so much because the leadership of this country is selfish, visionless and uninspiring. Oblivious of where we are going, my compatriots applaud with delight as our leaders gradually lead us into damnation.
Indeed, the destination of a blind person leading his kind is nowhere but the bottomless pit.
When ex-President Jerry Boom proclaimed that President Agya Ofuntuo had surrounded himself with greedy bastards and mediocre ministers, many people, yours truly inclusive, thought it was just the ranting of a frustrated party founder. But with the fruits they are bearing now, one cannot help but concede that Jerry was very right.
Inflation, we are told, is in the single digits, isn�t it? What this means is that the prices of goods and services are now relatively stable than when inflation was in the double digits.
Even with my voodoo economics, I understand clearly that item X, which cost 10 cowries when inflation was in the double digits, cannot appreciate by 200% when inflation is reduced to a single digit. If anything at all, the price of X should stabilize or appreciate by not more than 40%. How then can they justify the cost of a six-classroom block today being 2.4 billion old cowries, when it was only 800 million old cowries exactly 30 moons ago? Tell me it is greedy bastards sipping �nkwan de-e wa� and I would not disagree.
Visionless leadership is when ministers of state hop from one radio station to the other propagating voodoo theories, instead of churning out policies that would improve the standard of living of their compatriots. Nobody cares whether an opposition politician wears a pajamas or a leafy suit to a national event. What we care about is how those wielding political power use the country�s precious resource to better our lives. So when a deputy minister, who eats, drinks, sleeps, dresses and rides at the state�s expense, uses our precious time in questioning the fashion sense of his political opponents, one is compelled to conclude that such a minister is visionless. One can also say it is a manifestation of the mediocrity Dr. Boom talked about.
What first comes to mind at the mention of Paragliding Festival is the name Ferdinand Ayim, one-time special assistant to Jake Obetsebi Lamptey. Brother Ferdinand was a dreamer who believed in the can-do spirit of the Asomdwekromanian. Although he is now late, his memory still lives on because the country continues to reap the fruits of the tree he planted. Rest in peace, my compatriot!
As I watched excerpts of the 2011 Paragliding Festival in Kwahu on television, I wondered how many more innovations Brother Ferdinand would have churned out if his life had not been cut short. But the Tourism Minister, Akua Sena Dansua, and her deputy, James Agyenim Boateng, seem content with what they came to meet. They are content with attending and giving speeches at seminars and chairing functions.
Do I blame them? No, I don�t. I do not blame them because they are mediocre minds who have only been burdened with responsibilities they cannot shoulder. Who do you blame: A class one pupil given a B.E.C.E question to solve, or the irresponsible teacher who gave him the assignment?
The tourism industry is one very dear to my heart because it has the potential of becoming the leading foreign exchange earner for this country. From the sandy beaches to the attractive Savanna grassland, the country abounds in tourism potential which could be developed to attract both international and local tourists. But what do we see? Some of our beaches have become toilets for people to free their bowels, while others have become death traps for holidaymakers. Don�t you think this country deserves better, Abusuapanin?
The situation isn�t any better in the other sectors of our life. Take the energy sector for instance. The only constant in the actions of the Electricity Company of Asomdwekrom (ECA) is the constant erratic supply of power. Consumers are consistently made to roast under severe atmospheric heat, and yet members of the ECA consistently tell us they are doing their best. They take solace in the fact that they are doing better than Nigeria�s Never Expect Power Always (NEPA) and the Energy Minister pats them on the back. If this isn�t mediocrity, then I wonder what it is.
At this stage that our leaders are impressing upon us to applaud them for digging boreholes and building KVIPs, they themselves drink imported water, use water closet (WC) toilets and �chop� our cowries nyafu-nyafu. To lampoon a senior colleague, our cowries are going into mansions, cheeks and the special hole between the legs of daughters of Eve.
We are told Agya Ofuntuo has brought a new style of leadership in the country�s governance. I look around and I wonder what the new style is. Is it the surprise visits to some government agencies which have yielded practically nothing, or the �Commissioner of Projects� the President has conferred upon himself? Please tell me, where is the new leadership style?
It is said that small minds discuss people, good minds discuss events and great minds discuss ideas. Just take a critical look at the ministers we have on parade and tell me the group they belong to. I have already done that and I can say without any fear of contradiction that our ministers have small minds. They have small minds because they discuss people instead of ideas. Do not be deceived by the fact that some of them have accumulated degrees; because accumulating degrees do not mean having a great mind. It�s what one uses the degrees to achieve that determines one�s greatness or otherwise.
Indeed, I�m not surprised at all that all the small minds have congregated under the eagle-headed Umbrella. For has it not been said that �Birds of the same feathers flock together?�
Verily I say unto you; unless we boot these myopic, visionless and uninspiring lot from the corridors of power as soon as possible, which is 2012, then weep not when this country plunges into the abyss. Do not say my �okro-pen� did not pinch you. A word to the wise����..!
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