Coming from a Ghanaian, this may just pass for enthusiastic patriotism, but it’s not. It is a statement of fact.
On Wednesday, November 9, 2016, the overwhelming majority of Americans elected one of their very best among several others to represent their past, present and future and to boldly use his superior intelligence to relate with other nations across the world in the best interest of 325 million Americans.
Yet Donald Trump, the president-elect of America, will certainly trail behind any of the candidates that the major political parties in Ghana are holding up to lead this country.
It will be very difficult to match the personal integrity, discipline, speech, condor, personality, family life, leadership, experience and political competence of Donald Trump to the NDC’s
John Dramani MAHAMA, PPP’s Doctor Papa Kwasi Ndum and NPP’s Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo. These are men made of steel and equally refined as leaders. Their political experience is one built solidly on competence and from a humble beginning.
Donald Trump is reputably very rich financially. But that is not what it takes to be president, not least build a country.
Presidents, like parents, are neither financiers nor businessmen.
Money is just one of the least requirements that a parent must have to be successful in building the character, discipline, lifestyle, multifaceted developmental faces of a child, including the ability to be inspired to live lifestyles for the greatest good for all.
Indeed such is the testimony of Dr Ben Curson, a world renowned surgeon whose very poor mother led him in every facet of his life to become one of the best human beings on earth. She had no money yet she had leadership, that which brings hope out of hopelessness.
Such was the leadership traits of Mathin Luthur King Junior, who broke the back of black subjugation in White minority America, paving the way for a black president in Obama several years later.
We cannot ignore Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and the many others who moulded the character of their nations.
What is Donald Trump bringing to America at a time its foreign policy is in a mess, at a time its morality and character of the America is destroyed? What is Donald Trump presenting to the many nations which look up to America for leadership? These are things money can’t buy. Money is as helpless here as it was to Steve Jobs, whose billions could not wrench him from the firm grips of cancer.
Ghana has the clearest opportunity now than ever to lead the world, especially when leadership is most scarce and unavailable. We must not emulate America to glorify money.
Whilst we respect our hardworking rich businessmen and women, we must encourage them to remain businessmen and businesswomen, and leave the parenting of the country to those gifted in that area.
Ghana’s leaders must sell our rich family system to the rest of the world at this time when family is not working especially in the west. We must be proud Africans. We must sell discipline of the individual and respect for the aged to the world at a time such has broken down in our world. We must be proud Africans.
We must showcase our communal labour system and interdependency on one another. We must be proud Africans.
We must market our religious nature. We don’t have to abandon it despite its few challenges especially at a time the world is giving up on God. We must be proud Africans.
We must honour those who sacrifice a life of comfort to help everybody, as well as our decent language, and friendship, and hospitality especially at the time the west is threatening hostility and isolation from those who seek their space and help. We must be proud Africans.
Ghana is not Ghana without these.
America just lost what gave them their past glory by electing money over everything else. And Ghana must fill the vacuum immediately.
Whoever loses the December 7 elections must be consoled by the fact that he remains better than the American president-elect only that in the contest of many good choices only one can lead at a time.
PEACEFUL ELECTIONS, GHANA WINS.GODWIN
By: Akyena Brantuo Benjamin| Broadcast Journalist, Ahotor Fm
