A friend sent me a wacky joke through WhatsApp a couple of
days ago. It was about a group of politicians who were attending a rally. But
unfortunately, their plane suffered a technical hitch and fell into a farmland.
The farmer apparently called the police and reported the accident but was quick to add that he had interred all of them.
Surprised by this answer, the police asked the farmer
whether all the politicians died instantly.
The farmer gave rib-cracking answer that “some of them were shouting and
crying, help me! help me! we are not dead yet, but you know politicians, they
can’t be trusted, so I buried them.”
As funny as this joke may seem, it projects some level of perception
that many people hold about politicians. Today, many technocrats and
well-grounded people who could contribute meaningful to solve many of our
problems are dragging their feet to venture into politics. This is as a result of
the negative perceptions that have come to be associated with politics.
As the sages of old advice, do we blame the vulture for perching
on the carcass? If the demeanour of our politicians seem to support the view
that politics is a game of loot and share why would men of integrity dabble in
this game?
But is this assertion entirely true?
Maybe not! The story of one of Africa's greatest Pan-African, Thomas
Sakara, gives a contrary view of this assertion.
His story stands parallel to former Ghana's president, Jerry Rawlings. Apart from their military background and their sometime iron fist on power, they both were charismatic leaders who identified
themselves with the common people and wouldn’t mind descending into the gutters
whenever it mattered.
The difference between these two men is that
Sakara got betrayed by his bosom friend Blaise Compaore who connived with the
French government and overthrew him while Rawlings enjoyed a longer term in
office.
The other difference between these men is the different economic policies and political directions that each of them trekked. Sakara came into power through a widely supported revolution
in the former Upper Volta. When he came to power, he changed the name "Upper
Volta" to "Burkisna Faso", meaning “land of upright men”. The charismatic leader transformed the desert-threatened nation
with his sometime harsh yet result-driven economic policies.
To promote economic equalities, he removed all privileges
enjoyed by his ministers and reduced their salaries drastically. He ensured his
minister flew in economy class instead of the luxurious but expensive first
class. Ministers were forced to ride in mercedes cars instead of the expensive
chauffeur-driven convoys.
But his best policy, which is by far the best policy
by an African leader, is his introduction of local fabric as official wear for
public servants which became known as “Faso Dani Fani”. That boosted the local fabric
industry and reduced importation. He paid unannounced visits to public
institutions to ensure that the local fabric was worn.
Sakara was not a Harvard trained development economist nor was he an expert in governance but he brought hope to his people.That single policy and many others changed the economic fortunes of the desert-stricken country into a nation blossoming with hope until he was overthrown and assassinated in a coup d'état led by the French-backed Blaise Compaoré on October 15, 1987.
Sakara was not a Harvard trained development economist nor was he an expert in governance but he brought hope to his people.That single policy and many others changed the economic fortunes of the desert-stricken country into a nation blossoming with hope until he was overthrown and assassinated in a coup d'état led by the French-backed Blaise Compaoré on October 15, 1987.
A week before his murder, he declared: "While
revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas". And
indeed his ideas still lingers on many years after his death.
Many years down the lane, most African leaders have not learnt
a clue from this leader. Instead, they preside over political enterprises with
bankrollers and have turned politics into a commercial venture. Their aim is to
make money for themselves at the neglect of the suffering masses.
Almost all Africa economies find it difficult to maintain
their currencies’ strength against the dollar. But the reason for this trend
does not require a sophisticated economic diagram to explain. Africa is
basically an import driven economy. Almost everything is imported from outside
the continent. This has resulted not only in the weakening of our currencies but
has also exacerbated unemployment on the continent.
Ghana for instance, has suffered a weak performing currency
for years now and successive governments have embarked on various interventions
to boost export while encouraging people to patronize locally produced
products but to no avail.
However, our efforts can be equated to giving paracetamol to
a malaria patient. It will only give temporaryrespite to the patient but it cannot certainly cure the malaria.The only way we can boost our currencies is to add value to
our export. This will help us create more jobs for the teeming youth as well as
increase our export. All Africa leaders would tell you they know these ideas already. If so, Why are we not developing?
If our governments are serious about strengthening our
currencies, then we must consume what we produce. As Africans, we have cottage
industries specialised in the production of kente, tie and dye, batik,fugu and even in some cases textile industries.
What Africa need is strict legislations which would ensure that our local fabrics are used as
official wear by all public and even private sector employees. This will help us revive our textile industries which are folding up because of our insatiable demand for "broniwawu" or so-called designer wears.
The China we see today developed out of its culture. A
Chinese man will choose the Chinese traditional stick for eating over cutlery. Have we ever
imagined the number of employment that the Chinese eating stick industry creates and
the revenue it contributes to China’s economy?
Just recently, African leaders returned from a begging tour, in what has been euphemistically called Indian-African Summit. Very soon you will see them in China or Europe, but the hard truth is that these countries developed out of their culture!
Just recently, African leaders returned from a begging tour, in what has been euphemistically called Indian-African Summit. Very soon you will see them in China or Europe, but the hard truth is that these countries developed out of their culture!
The solutions to our problems are not far to fetch. It only
requires strong leadership to ensure our forwards move. If we don’t curtail our
penchant for foreign products, we can implement all the best economic policies
but we will achieve nothing!
Ghana has witnessed strike upon strike for some time now. Sometimes,
one thought some those strikes were politically motivated, but no! If you
live in a country were a minister’s wardrobe allowance is fatter than graduate
teacher’s salary which is sometimes unpaid for months, then, you don’t need a
rocket scientist to tell you we are creating a fertile ground for corruption.After all, a hungry man is an angry man.
Some people are are born greed but some too become thieves
because of some harsh realities. If the
gap between the salary of the teacher in parliament and the teacher in the
classroom becomes reasonable, the teacher in the classroom will see the need to
be patriotic.
When
doctors in Ghana went on strike recently to demand conditions of service, I listened to the
president of the Ghana Medical Association, Dr Opoku Adu-Sei and he referred to
a particular circulation on social media which was said to be the salary and benefits of our
MP’s and minister. He then questioned why doctors didn’t deserve a similar
salivating package. Obviously, he was comparing their condition of service with that of ministers
and saw no point to be believe that our purse were empty.
Here's a quote from the FAO:
"Poverty cannot be eradicated without addressing the pervasive
inequalities in incomes and economic opportunities between and within
countries, between rural and urban areas, and between men and women. Reducing
such inequalities will need to start with improving access for the poor to
productive resources, basic services and social protection."
If we want to develop, let's walk the talk!
Writer: Abdul-Karim Mohammed Awaf
National Service Person