SERVE GHANA MORE THAN YOU WANT TO BE SERVED (PAGE 23, JAN 19, 2011)

AS Ghanaians formulate and adopt their New Year resolutions, one of Ghana’s elderly statesmen, Lawyer Ibrahim Mahama, recommends that each Ghanaian makes room for a collective national resolution.
What is the resolution? That every Ghanaian should resolve to serve the country more than they wanted to be served!
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Tamale, Lawyer Mahama noted that the New Year would remain same like previous ones, unless citizens were more willing to sacrifice and deliver in their respective roles.
He said the challenges facing this country were not the lack of resources and expertise, but the lack of personal drive on the part of leaders and the people to transform the nation, irrespective of monetary gains.
“It appears most people are only prepared to give their best if the nation can pay them highly, but that is not the mark of a loyal citizen,” he stated.
The former minister noted that countries such as the US, France and Germany had attained a high level of development because “once upon a time, some citizens of these countries like coal mine workers toiled to build their countries to the present level.”
“Ghana is not far from being the Utopian society that we all want it to be, but that can only be possible if we look beyond our individual interests and work towards the greater interest of the nation,” he added.
Lawyer Mahama mentioned that the New Year could hold better prospects for the country if citizens were willing to change their attitudes.
“We need to change the way we do politics and the way we approach our responsibilities. We can not move this nation into a middle-income country if we waste productive hours doing unproductive things,” he added.
Commenting on the electioneering season that would kick-start in 2011, the one-time presidential campaigner stressed the need for politicians to avoid ‘hitting below the belt’.
“As for campaigning for votes, it is unavoidable. But we can avoid the insults and the verbal blows that raise the temperature of the political climate,” he mentioned.
Lawyer Mahama defended President Mills’ indulgence in prayer, explaining that “without God’s favour and mercy, all what we humans would do would amount to nothing.”
“It is God alone who grants life, prosperity and happiness and so we need to draw much closer to him by eschewing vices, such as corruption, violence and petty bickering,” he further stated.