We have to make it a sustainable process on the part of the
individuals themselves.”
So what really is the problem? Why is leadership capacity and
effectiveness such an elusive virtue at levels of our social and political
life? How do we begin the process of reform that could be embedded into all
relevant aspects of our national experience? I have wrestled with these
fundamental questions, given its far reaching implications for public policy,
quality of governance and the soundness of our collective psyche as a people
searching for true freedom and economic advancement. This article therefore, is
an invitation to a place of solemn introspection in order to challenge the
state of the Ghanaian mind as reflected in our political leadership, the
materialistic church, the dysfunctional university system and a youth
demographic that is slipping fast into an abyss of moral decadence and social
media addiction. In the wake of deep factionalism in the New Patriotic Party
(NPP), policy credibility issues with government, and the proliferation of
churches without commensurate social transformation, it is a critical
imperative to have this discussion now, in order to provoke a renewal of
commitment to growth and collective responsibility. For the purpose of this
article, I find it quite useful, the trait-based approach to leadership
definition since it provides insight into the attitude and behavioral component
of leadership. Within a democratic context, essential leadership qualities
needed for good governance may include, but not limited to - responsibility,
strength of character and emotional maturity. Fiscal discipline, timely policy
adjustments and human rights protection are all under girded by these essential
competencies.
Cultural and Cognitive Gaps
Part of conducting any root
cause analysis of a problem, is to start from the symptoms and trace back to
the roots by following or using the why-why fish bone approach. It is a
well-known principle in psychology that our words and actions betrays our
belief and assumptions about important aspects of life. In subsequent
paragraphs, I have recapped some views of certain highly placed personalities
who I deem to have sufficient decision-making authority in their respective
fields of endeavor. My goal in rehashing such publicly reported views, is to
demonstrate this claim of words and actions expressing belief and assumptions,
as a basis for making an argument for change. The theme of my argument clearly
suggests linkage between the state of Ghana’s socio-economic progress and
the pattern of thought that has influenced public policy in Ghana within the
last fifty-seven years.
The subsequent comments are expression of views on a broad range
of policy issues:
While plying the motorway on the Accra-Tema side of traffic one
Monday morning, I flipped through radio channels searching for inspiration in
order to change the texture of what was clearly threatening to be a morning of
blues and stone-cold lethargy. Many things had happened leading to the week ending
August 22nd 2014 that had power to evoke a spectrum of emotions in any
attentive observer; emotions that ranged from bewilderment and amusement to
confusion and hopelessness. As I continued my scanning spree, fate will have my
restless misery rewarded with yet another news item of the Vice President of
Ghana, putting boots on the ground to champion a charge against garbage dump
sites from Agbobloshie to Kokomlemle. “Lord Jesus, please give me good news
today”, I desperately pleaded, all the while contemplating the nexus between my
private stress and public policy. The discussants, bawling through my radio
frequency were debating whether Vice President Amissah Arthur’s action were to
be interpreted as micromanagement, leadership by example or just another
example of leadership failure at all levels; the political executive, local
government, the church, traditional leaders and at community level. Being a
student of critical thinking, my thoughts raced to inquire of all known
theories and models in a bid to contribute intelligently to this important
policy debate. In the wake of cholera outbreak, sanitation seemed to be the
immediate flash point of this debate, however, upon deeper inquiry, other
development gaps that have erupted throughout our national experience in the
area of education, energy sufficiency, and food security amongst many, seem to
provide an inkling into a curious phenomenon that I have termed, leadership
bankruptcy.
The Leadership Lacuna
Leadership has become yet
another platitude of management literature that is bandied around with little
appreciation for its true character as a complex construct and strong catalyst
for political change, economic transformation and social progress. One hardly
needs to closely examine our civic interactions at any level to draw a
conclusion consistent with the refrain that “our attitude as a nation needs to
change.” Indeed the Vice President was reported by the Daily Guide’s online
news on August 6th 2014 as having affirmed that view point, asserting that “as a people, we have to
manage ourselves and our sanitation. Attitudinal change is required On Government Succession
Former President J.J Rawlings is reported to have made the
following comments during the launch of Nsawam Food Cannery that was bought by
Carridem Development Company (CDC), a limited liability company, for 2.9
billion cedis in 2000.
“Had the government continued from where we left off in 2000,
quite frankly, I don’t think Ghana will be in the condition she is today.”
On WASSCE Results for 2014
CITI FM through their online portal reports…, “A Deputy Minister
for Education in-charge of tertiary, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has described the
28.11 percent pass rate in the West African Senior School Certificate
Examination WASSCE as one of the best performances by Ghanaian candidates in
the last decade.”
… “meanwhile, the Acting Director of the Ghana Education Service,
Charles Aheto Tsegah also told Citi News that it is not automatic that all
students who graduate from the Senior High School (SHS) would make it to the
university.”
On Intra-party Conflict
The Crusading Guide newspaper reported on August 22, 2014 that Dr.
Arthur Kennedy, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, blamed Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo Addo for the current trend of in-fighting the party was
experiencing. According to Dr. Arthur Kennedy, “It is obvious, upon reflection
that these hooligans – from [President] Kufuor’s house, through Tamale to the
party headquarters are being organized, encouraged, inspired and motivated by
or on behalf of the 2012 Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.”
There are many more instances of such views, skewed in my view,
from academia, religious circles and regular folks, which essentially point to
gaps in thought patterns and character weaknesses which are inconsistent with
the pre-requisites of good leadership.
So what is the Problem, Really?
In all of the aforementioned instances, there may be arguments to
support their validity or even the speaker’s democratic rights to take those
positions, and yet all of these instances, without exception have done very
little to provide sustainable solutions as a way of addressing the policy
questions that they sought to comment on. That, essentially is a common
denominator of leadership purpose; problem solving. A common thread in all of
these comments (essentially policy-related) is the woeful lack of personal
responsibility being taken for events and situations, be they crises,
ill-conditions, losses and the like. Competitive pressure and fear of ceding
ground to opposition are few of the destructive influences that is re-defining
responsibility as democratic virtue into a strategic nonsense. In order words,
there is no virtue in taking responsibility if it devalues one’s political
power, dents your credibility and compromise your electoral fortunes. I am
truly convinced, that every one of these examples presented a unique
opportunity to demonstrate remarkable leadership by accepting responsibility
and saying “yes, government has not done well in this area, but we have
recognized our gaps and limitations and have renewed our commitment to solving
this problem by taking these specific steps; a, b and c.
President Kufuor’s administration, notwithstanding the remarkable
performance record, missed it on corruption. Former President Rawlings,
notwithstanding his record on national security and rural development, I will
argue, also missed it on the same count and more. The policy response of
current political administration to exchange rate depreciation, fiscal deficit
and political governance, to name a few, is suggestive of the proposition that
the lessons of Rawlings, Kufuor and the Mills administration has not found its
way into the policy cycle. The urgent imperative for a new kind of leadership
in our politics cannot be overemphasized.
In The Next Issue …
Contrary to the popular refrain, that too much politics in Ghana
is our problem, I am persuaded beyond any shred of doubts, that politics is the
solution. My reasoning is simple; politics is a higher order discipline and
practice, out of which social order, secular peace and economic opportunities
evolve. A rational and growth-centred political philosophy is a major step in
creating a free and just society. If our politics is right, all else will fall
in place. But our politics cannot be right, if civil society actors refuse to,
or are lukewarm about engaging the political establishment to demand reforms
and the exercise of Godly values and responsible leadership in the
administration of our common wealth.
In the next edition, a sequel to this piece, I shall attempt to
analyze the work of the Constitutional Review Commission and how its seminal
effort to engender structural alignment would help correct some of the
hindrances to governance and the exercise of proper leadership in our current
political dispensation
