Page 9 - Nile Explorer Issue 006
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others of different cultural background wealth legitimately or not, it is not ought to be: Do African countries have a
system and at that point in time by the turn can be ascribed to human factor and recognise the rights and existence uncommon to see them, for example, critical mass of true citizens within the
government of the first Prime Minister decay. By human factor decay, I refer to of others, minorities or not, is the prob- buy flashy and expensive cars and build population as a whole and among the
and President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. what Adjibolosoo describes as negative lem. The problem with such people is mansions worth millions of dollars leadership in particular? The answer is
Kwame Nkrumah. The dictum, I human personality traits and attitudes one of tribalism and/or racism, which when millions of their kinds are home- apparent given the persistent challenges
suppose, was, “Catch them young when which undermine relationships, societal invariably breeds hatred, fear, social less and/or dying of preventable diseas- that have plagued the continent for
the mind is still fresh” if the country was progress and nation building. Examples exclusion, sexism, divisionism, conflicts es and poverty. decades and arrested the development
to build a civil society. of such negative characteristics are and tensions in society, particularly in process, e.g., lack of infrastructure,
selfishness, nepotism, corruption, the realm of contestations for power Apparently, the Greeks valorised intra- and inter-national conflicts,
Today, whether the introduction of the dishonesty, greed and lack of trust, and resources. citizenship as a sine qua non for devel- corruption, unemployment, pervasive
subject can be justified in terms of the responsibility, accountability, loyalty oping a civilised society, and by that poverty and growing inequality, poor
intended and/or real outcomes is a and discipline. Not too dissimilar is the third category they did not distinguish between “good” leadership and phoney sovereignty.
moot point but that is not necessarily of people in all societies, which the and “bad” citizens, as construed in the The presence of a critical mass of true
the direct subject matter of this article. The notion and import of citizenship in Greeks referred to as “idiots”. From the modern sense. For them the term citizens would, doubtless, make a signif-
Still fresh in my mind, though, is the relation to nation building is not new; it Greek’s viewpoint, idiots are not neces- “citizen” had only a positive connota- icant impact towards the rapid develop-
True citizenship distinction between “good citizen” and dates back to the Ancient Greeks who sarily unintelligent, unskilled or unedu- tion, but it is not farfetched to perceive ment of the continent. Thus far, the
cated people. They are people who may what passes as “bad citizen” today as the continent is far short of the optimal
and nation building “bad citizen”, and now, my reflections acknowledged it in their classification be knowledgeable but are essentially equivalence of the Greeks’ “tribesmen” level of true citizenship and the gap has
of people into three categories: Citizens,
lay bare their implications in the trajec-
in Africa tory of nation building. tribesmen and idiots. The Greeks driven by self-centredness, selfishness and “idiots”, both of which have negative not been given the attention it deserves.
referred to citizens as the type of people and greed. They consider their interest connotations in the context of To say that it is high time it was priori-
By Kwame Owusu-Ampomah Apparently, Ghana’s first Prime Minis- who do not only recognise their rights as the only thing that matters; the inter- nation-building. In this context the tised would be an understatement. The
Centre for Human Excellence and ter and President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, but also the rights of other people. In est of others and society at large is question that may be asked is: Are there “How” is not the problem – institutions
Development in Africa (CHEDA) a visionary leader, knew the calibre of other words citizens recognise the immaterial. In this frame of mind the true citizens in African countries; and to exist, and/or can be created within the
Durban, South Africa people his newly-independent nation rights of others as much as theirs, and idiots treat social norms, laws and regu- what extent are the leaders “true” respective educational systems and
map.owusu@gmail.com needed to build not only a prosperous are prepared not only to concede, when lations with careless abandon; have no citizens? Certainly, there are true political structures for the requisite
A s a thirteen-year old boy several and happy nation but also a civil society. necessary to do so, but also to ensure respect for the rights of others and do citizens in African countries and some social engineering towards true citizen-
not hesitate to plunder state resources, of the leaders can be described as true ship development. The question is
that others are able to exercise their
By the calibre of people I mean people
decades ago, I recall with nostal-
gia, my generation and those immedi- with good character or “good citizens”, rights just as much as they do. Appar- betray their country or engage in any citizens. The issue therefore is not “When?”, and whether there is a political
form of malfeasance to acquire wealth. whether there are true citizens or not will?
as I understood the concept then and
ently such people are not selfish or
ately before and after me were intro- now: Citizens who do not only have and self-centred, greedy or mean; rather They have a penchant for ostentatious within the populations as a whole and
duced to politics as a discipline in the exercise their socio-cultural, political they are people-centred, kind and lifestyle, and whether they acquire their among the leadership. The question
form of a subject called Civics at school. and economic rights but also, and loving; and are prepared to make sacri-
At that young age concepts like nation, perhaps more importantly, acknowl- fices for the sake of fostering good
government, parliament, judiciary, edge and adhere to their duties and relationships and neighbourliness. For
citizen, rights, duties, election, voting, responsibilities towards their country this category of people, the public cause
constitution, independence etc., seemed and fellow human beings. takes precedence over or, at worst, is as
like magical words, just like “abracadab- much significant as the individual’s, a
ra”, which we learnt and “poured” While this is always expected of all principle which enables one to exercise
(reproduced) when asked to do so in persons who not only define themselves the one’s rights as well as perform their
examinations. Many of us did not but are also defined by law to be citizens duties and responsibilities to the one’s
understand what the concepts and the of any country such as Ghana or South fellow beings and society. This principle
subject itself really meant and why we Sudan, it is not uncommon for people to is underscored by the African ethical
were being made to study them. We fervently demand their rights but negate imperative of Ubuntu: “I am because
took them as part of the education on their duties and responsibilities. This you are”, which is indispensable in
rituals that as young people we had to go tendency among the general population, building a civil society.
through, whether it made sense to us or and particularly the political elite, is
not. antithetical for the progress of any In contrast to citizen, being tribesmen
country; and is a source for great in the Greeks’ philosophical context is
Reflecting on those concepts, especially concern in Africa. The concern derives not necessarily abominable; it is accept-
“citizen”, several decades later, I have from the plethora of perennial social, able to belong to a tribe/an ethnic group
come to appreciate the wisdom in the political and economic problems on the or a social group. However the inability
introduction of the subject in the school continent, justifiably and significantly to think beyond one’s ethnicity/group
curriculum at that level of the educa- attributed to poor leadership, which in and/or accept diversity; work with
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