Political leaders dictate the pace of every country’s development. They have the right and power to provide the enabling environment for economic, social, religious and cultural progress including conscience revolution in our continent. Ghana is no exception.
In other countries outside our African continent, election is a very serious business especially for the youth – not for the fun of it or for the desire of getting monetary gains or any immediate benefit from elections but for the sole consciousness of seeing political leadership to be of great relevance and as such pays keen attention on what has to be done by these leaders and what their political leaders want to offer them in the subsequent years in seeking political power.
In any serious country, the youth decides how their political leaders must act and how they want their country to be run since they are of the conviction that the progress of every country lies on the policies that are implemented by their current leaders who manage and steer the affairs of their country.
It is then interesting to come to our country Ghana to find majority of our youth uninterested in what and how the outcome of this year’s elections would be.
You will meet people and ask them their take on elections 2016 and what they will tell you is that “Chaley am not into politics”.
Is it not surprising that this very same people who cry over bad conditions of the country feel the need to be uninterested in national issues and who leads them as their political leaders?
Ghanaian youth would rather talk about foreign politics. The ” Brexit” and the upcoming elections of the United State of America, is a direct example and epitomization of this very concern. The fever of trump and Clinton is far more than the Nana Addo and John Mahama fever.
Ghanaian youth will rather show much care and concern towards foreign politics and little or no attention when it comes to our local politics and governance.
Our youth will rather spend their time chatting on WhatsApp groups, “wastefully”‘ than to sit behind their radio and television to watch Presidential and Parliamentary debates.
They will rather watch cartoons than to listen to the state of the nation address by their President.
Don’t we think our elected leaders misbehave and act unconcerned towards our needs because of our apathy towards their governance and how things are done in this country?
In Ghana we look up to our government and political leaders for the development of our communities but how can these leaders of ours work well and take us serious when we are not concerned about how and what things are done for us?
Experience tells us that the majority of people do not react spontaneously unless they are incited to do so.
Sociology and Psychology confirm that the majority of the masses are preoccupied by subconscious considerations.
They aspire to satisfy their basic needs and to live a quiet life so long as they are not incited to take action.
This comes only from revolutionary forces and as such it’s always good to have revolutionary leaders and so, the youth much act as revolutionists.
Leaders act with much care, consciousness and desperation when they know that their followers look keenly up to them to succeed and fulfill their promises made during the electioneering period.
Lessons from the past few years of Democratic governance have shown that apathy towards government and political issues have serious repercussions on the general development of developing countries.
The future belongs to the youth but it’s up to the youth to decide the type of future they wish to have.
They can have a suitable environment devoid of numerous challenges depending on how they handle current governance issues which have effect on their future or they can continually look unconcerned with how things ought to be done and allow things to continue normally as its done or to decide otherwise depending on how concerned they are vociferously and radically towards issues of the future.
Let’s arise Ghana youth.
Let’s be agent of Change.
Written by Tinkaro Asare ,former NUGS President for University of Ghana