Nana’s latest write-up evoked within me nostalgic memories of growing up in Ghana in the 80s and 90s. Oh! How I miss Secondary School days with all the crappy food we were served in the dining halls; the gari, shito and sardines; and the continuous molestations one received at the hands of our seniors. One of the things that personally struck me reading the book is the impasse we seem to have put ourselves in and accepted as a nation in hackneyed personality politics rather than concrete policies based on strong ethical and ideological foundations. Nana echoes this point when he argues, “Ghana still cannot distinguish and differentiate between personalities and policies, when issues that demand rigorous debate come up. The Ghanaian @52 practises ‘Stomach Direction’ with issues – we flog one issue until another comes along and then the previous issue is left unresolved, forever!”
Again, he captures the imperative paradigm of our time of the need for a new generation of THINKERS who will transform this ‘parched’ land called Ghana from the perennial quagmire of poverty and under-development to one in which opportunities exist for all regardless of one’s creed, tribe or party affiliation. This Nana eloquently sums in the following statement: “our generation is the game-changing generation for our country and continent. We cannot join in the chant of our predecessors; we cannot THINK at the same level, we cannot go at the same pace. We are the generation with the greatest exposure to what better conditions can be like – let’s replicate it here.”
I Speak of Ghana carries a powerful message: that of the rallying call for change across our social strata in Ghana and Africa. It beautifully and humorously tells the Ghanaian story and as well captures our hopes, dreams and aspirations of nationhood for the next half century.
Nana’s book is available to buy on Amazon ebook store