As I ponder over corruption in our part of the world which has become a canker eating deep into the fabrics of our country, I murmured curses on politicians considering SUBA, ISOFOTON, WOYOME, ASONTABA, METRO BUS rebranding et al.
But there is something I would like to point out to all of us as good people of Ghana which is more deadly and alarming than corrupt politicians. I blame the existence of corrupt leaders/politicians on our same society that seem to be always complaining about the problem.
The question that borders almost everybody’s mind is, “so what is it at the top there that get almost everyone inhuman the moment they get there?”
My brothers and sisters, there is no monster up there that coherse leaders to toll that way, the canker is right down here with you and I.
Have we forgotten that before our politicians reach their apex up there, they are already victims and graduates of the already existing stinking rot in the society? Remember they are victims of that trotro mate who charges a pesewa more than the required amount because it is half past 6:00pm and the worse of it is, the trotro has overloaded the passengers. They are also victims of that hall management in Commonwealth Hall or Legon Hall who upon all their salaries would like to tactically deny students of their ‘refundable’ which most would like to use for transportation. Have we forgotten the market woman who buys a box of tomatoes for 10 cedis and sells to get 40 cedis, which is more than 300% profit? What about the sachet water seller in traffic who intentionally delays the balance of a customer in a moving vehicle in order to ‘lick’ that individual of his/her 10p or 90p change.
I hope we have not forgotten that sobolo seller who due to greediness and wickedness goes to the extent of using hazardous colourful substances in preparing sobolo for sale instead of the natural medicinal hibiscus plant.
What about the criminal who burns cushion, mix it with sugar and sells it as honey, exchanging human lives for money. This person looks very innocent but is more evil and perilous than Adolf Hitler. Just to mention a few.
Fellow citizens of Ghana, let’s be the change we seek rather than point fingers, refusing to tackle the remote cause of this canker.
If we abhor greediness and cheating, we would not be cheated, If we change our attitudes towards the society, the society will definitely give to us back what we deserve. Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO), what we put into the society is what we receive from others cos it is the same society we build that shape the people that come to lead us as politicians, they are not aliens from Mars or Jupiter. They are what they are today,because we made them so, right from infancy through adolescence to adulthood. We are our own enemies. We cause our own ailments, we cause our own deaths, we cause our own social vices and we turn around and hypocritically complain bitterly and point fingers.
Those who are easily changed by the things around them, cannot easily cause change to the society. The change we seek rests on us as people, let’s do unto the people exactly what we expect from the people and our country would be a better place to live.
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Agyapong Philip Adu
(Holy P)
University of Ghana