There is a Big Problem With Setting Priorities In Ghana

At this point talking about the state our beloved country has been plunged into seems hardly worth the effort anymore. You should know how bad things have become when ‘things are hard in Ghana’ has assumed the mantle of a cliché, but every time you think we cannot hit another low this government of ours surprises us in a whole new way.

Through all the hardship, incompetence and corruption one thing I have noticed is that there is a big problem with misplaced priorities in this country. It manifests in so many ways, but every time there is a problem facing us, you can be sure we would be looking at the option least likely to bring a lasting solution.

I wish I could say it is limited to those in authority, but sadly it isn’t. We see it in the ordinary Ghanaian as well, in our haste to apply spiritual connotations to every little setback, in our stubborn reliance on divine intervention, in our love of shortcuts that in the end cause five problems way bigger than the initial one.

The worst manifestation of this problem, which led me to pen this piece, is when we have problems staring us right in the face but then ignore them and attempt bigger plans which frankly are folly if the initial problem is not solved yet.

Exhibit A: John Dramani Mahama during his recent visit to the US, somehow found the platform to tell the world Ghana plans to export electricity to Nigeria and other countries within the sub-region.

I don’t know whether it is a problem of delusion or obliviousness, but the notion that Ghana has the capacity to handle its electricity needs and those of any other countries in addition is extremely laughable.

We are all witness to the cluelessness of the Electricity Company of Ghana; you couple that with this current government and the only time this crazy notion put forth by the President would occur is at the good old occasion of NEVER!

To think that a country riddled with so many energy problems and currently embroiled in its worst ever power crisis would have leaders who would make such a pronouncement is almost impossible to believe, but most of what is happening in Ghana these days you have to be really here to believe such things can actually occur.

This segues nicely into this stupid delusion: that hosting the African Cup of Nations next year is a good idea. Even without the threat of Ebola, we have so many problems that spending the money to host a football tournament looks extremely myopic right now. Add in the threat of the virus, and the whole idea is a no-brainer that no sane country would entertain.

But no, not Ghana; Youth and Sports Minister Mahama Ayariga insists we have the capability to host the tournament. Morocco and South Africa have both run in the opposite direction from this needless responsibility, and either of those two countries has more resources and is better run than Ghana.

If our leaders had half a brain, they wouldn’t even countenance the suggestion from the Confederation of African Football.

This all boils down to the misplaced priorities problem I pointed out earlier. If we had our priorities in order, spending millions of cedis to host a tournament would be way down the list behind the very real problems Ghanaians are forced to deal with every day.

There has to be at least one level headed person in a position to influence things within this government, because it’s almost like the wishes of the ordinary Ghanaian are ignored all the time, and that speaks to a certain disconnect from the top to the bottom.

Let’s get our priorities back in order, because you cannot be aspiring to fly when you can barely crawl satisfactorily.