Sometimes, I believe nature and circumstances presents us the opportunity to take a second look at our worldview and our ways of life.
I can’t count the number of times I hear people embark on pilgrimage to Mecca and Israel for ‘prayers’, ‘blessings’ and ‘miracles’. But guess what, nature, in the form of coronavirus, (may be) is immune to prayers.
The nations ‘we’ look up to for ‘salvation’ were not spared this calamity. Accordingly, masses are being cancelled, churches are being closed down with others postponing their activities.
Clearly, nature have brought great nations to their knees.
But what does this teach us? What does this make of our worldview as ‘people of faith’?
We live in a world (Country) where we place faith above common sense. We live in a time where we have failed absolutely to doing the needful as a people and as a nation.
We have sat aloof, and watched our colleagues leave us far behind with younger nations passing us by. For decades, we seem ignorant of our future needs, feeding our bottomless bellies, eating up the future of our young and pilling up debt upon debt for future generations.
A few days ago, on Ghana 63rd Independence day, I chanced by several images of how Ghana was like before. Images of our culture, food, transportation, education, fashion, markets and many others. As true as it may be that, ‘well’, we have come far, those images broke my heart. As many of the images looked very funny but also suggested to me that clearly, we have lost on every opportunity to get us belonged. Every opportunity to challenge ourselves to pursue greatness.
Considering all these, it thus does not surprise me at all that many decades after independence, we are still completely under the mercy of the West and the East. Yes, I say this because, the images I saw portrayed a failed generation who were not interested in building up a future for us. They were so okay with their state of society. I confidently say this because around that same time, nations like Malaysia, Singapore, the Koreas, China, UAE and now Rwanda were busily building up a future; a life for their children unborn. Today, they live to reap of the toil of their forefathers.
Annoyingly, we have politicised our ineptitude. We fight over things of the past and lose focus on the needful. We have hidden our laziness under the shelters of our Mosques and Temples. I see a people dance and merry in their sleeping state. We have lost touch on reality. As we do all these, serious minded nations are channelling their critical resource (TIME) on critical thinking in their laboratories, farms, Boardrooms and schools, identifying future problems and creating solutions for them before time.
I sat and watched us display our short-sightedness on our 63rd Independence Day Anniversary. Oh how sad it was, that we were making merry of those things. Goodness!! ( I said) Clearly this is a nation so lost in mediocre. Nations are busily building technologies for goodness sake. People are building up empires and storing up great reservoirs of resources for Defense, Health, Housing, Education, Tourism etc. Here we were, dancing and making merry of absolute things that do not even cross a decade.
Moving forward, I believe this whole of Corona should teach us a lesson, that nature is no respecter of person and that we need to put our God given brains (mind) to work. Our clergymen, rather than collecting unnecessary money from the congregation in return for some blessings from ‘God’ should admonish their followers and the state to invest those resources to seek for knowledge that solves human challenges not only in the short term but particularly long term solutions.
We must take up the challenge to face the world and hold the bull by its horn. We must begin to, as a matter of urgency’ aspire to build our own world, our destiny and our own society. I believe we can. We can especially with one accord. We can make this nation a better place if we will put our heads to work to change this narrative.
MAY THIS TEACH US THE NEEDED LESSONS WE REQUIRE TO BUILDING A BETTER GHANA FOR ALL.
O. HAVILAH KEKELI BRIGHT.
PRESIDENT, ECHO OF LEADERSHIP AFRICA – GIJ
2020 GIJ-SRC PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL