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SEARCHING FOR A GHANAIAN
PROPHETIC VISION
N. B. Andrews
December 21, 2015
A maddening, muddling, mediocrity is now present at the core
of Ghanaian public life.
It has destroyed our environment, broken our bodies and bent
our spirit. It may well annhilate us.
For a long time a nagging suspicion has persisted that a
severe pervasive cognitive deficit among our public
officials has been a contributory factor. The recent public
confabulation by a high ranking member of our august
parliament on the Ameri deal lends further credence to this.
Of course we have not forgotten the pronouncements from many
in that same grand body on the Ebola vaccine trial. We can
understand why many observers on that day wondered (due to
lack of understanding of basic knowledge concepts exhibited)
if a public high school was missing students who had not
been excused.
Part of the problem must be our current unfamiliarity with
the written word.
Across board, we have difficulty committing our thoughts and
concepts to paper- either in a proposal or as a critique.
The "drive by" comments on some of our most popular news
websites provide a very good example of this challenge.
Another example is the lack of written analytic material
from almost all our "veteran journalists"- they talk on air
and hardly ever write anything at all. The cut and thrust of
the palavar tree is their forte; not the written word.
They are best heard on weekly or daily radio programs- often
with Twi titles; always engaged in a partisan verbal slug
fest with one upmanship as the prize.
The problem has been worsened further by the "presenters".
They ask flippant questions of their guests; often times
engage in outlier behavior and the undiscerning public
parley all that into according them celebrity status- this
then culminates in their contesting a parliamentary
seat,.......easy!
These presenters never demonstrate that they have read or
are reading anything of importance.
A couple of years on air (and perhaps a Masters Degree from
where?.......GIMPA!) and that equips them imminently to make
laws and scrutinize policy for over twenty five million
people who are already significantly disadvantaged in
education, health and industry.
On the flip side, we are often uncomfortable when people
communicate with us in writing. Notice here the discomfiture
of public officials when a written complaint is forwarded to
them.
"You know me, why did you not come and discuss it with me?
Did you have to write? that is not good".
That is the usual whining response before the public officer
recipient proceeds to obfuscate, delay and bury the
complaint in our byzantine do nothing bureaucracy and
officialdom.
And of course, we hardly read anything of value on our own
volition. Certainly, those "how to" paperbacks from the
purveyors of warped theology in the lawless churches and the
motivational speakers do not count.
In short, we lack a useful cache of cogent information and
exposure that will provide us with a prophetic vision. And
it shows.
A retort that these observations pander to a Eurocentric
vision of literacy is itself founded on the exact shortfalls
that have been enumerated; it cannot stand the light of
thorough enquiry and evidence. We have become deluged by
talkers devoid of basic knowledge and rudimentary
scholarship.
Now, let us be clear; Israelis are different from
Israelites- the two are not to be confused. Likewise a
prophetic vision is not the prerogative of our self-styled
charismatic prophets or pastors or bishops.
In the Abrahamic tradition, prophets are called by God to
advocate for the poor and vulnerable while decrying
unrighteousness and battling injustice. Prophets speak God's
words on earth.
Michael Dyson writing in the New Republic explains, "They
remind us of the full measure of God’s love for the weak and
unprotected, especially in an era when prophecy has been
co-opted, turned into a bland cultural commodity, and
marketed as the basis for enterprising exploits of major
corporations or for political gain."
For Ghana, a prophetic vision will result from the thorough
dissection of the cumulative written output of our public
intellectuals for the latter are the true prophets of our
age. It is only then that we can begin to harness what
is nearest to the truth with respect to our current dire
situation and then begin to chart a workable way forward.
Nii B. Andrews
December 21, 2015
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