The “fix” must start from the top

E. Ablorh-Odjidja

May 21, 2021

The country is in the grip of a big “fix-it” movement. We know the overall concern of the trend; the corruption that is poisoning our existence as a sane society.

But where to begin the fix is the question. Some say the quest must start with the individual. Others claim we should look first at the leadership rung. 

I am for the latter opinion.  Every responsible society looks to its leadership for better examples. So, the place to look to start the “fix,” if we are truly dissatisfied with our current state, must then be at the top.  

There is a saying that is purported to have come from Prof. PLO Lumumba.  It says:

“If you vote for a hyena to take care of your goats, don’t complain when the goats are being eaten.”

This folk wisdom ought to be enough to lend direction to our effort to “fix the nation’s” problems; namely, the point at which to start or to bring the most pressure to bear with the “fix-it” initiative.  We know where to look.  With the proper will and outlook, laypeople can pick those who are good enough to be left in leadership positions in our country.

This is not to deny that the laypeople are part of our failings and that there is enough blame to wrap around the entire society.  But to pursue “the fix” via such a universal approach will be too nebulous.  A narrow surgical perspective is needed for sufficient effort concentration and impact for a cure.

And no category in this approach is worthy of a first look than the leadership class.  Even from a cursory look, we already know that this class is very corrupt.  And some of these already corrupt leaders show constantly an unsatiable thirst for more corruption. 

Unfortunately, these are those in whom the people have vested the power and the trust for change; the change to make good or bad things happen for society.  So, when they cry “fix the country,” they must have known already where to look to get to run the fix.

An insincere attempt will be to ask the collective, in their individualistic limited capacity, for self-examination and to put on this collective the primary responsibility for an attitude adjustment, as I have heard some offer for a solution. 

And indeed, in this corrupt state of ours, the above collective approach can only provide those who are most culpable at the top the excuse to drag the corruption on and to continue to gloat in the irresponsibility that has so far characterized their stewardships.

So, the most natural sphere to put pressure on for “the fix” starts at the top, the presidency, parliamentarians, and those with ministerial stewardships

The next rung would be found in leadership positions in administrative positions in our chieftaincies, churches, armed forces, the police, and educational institutions. These positions must be healed and made relevant for discipline’s sake if leadership in the country were to matter.

Time was when there was a belief in the “talented tenth,” as inspired by our own W. E. B. Dubois.

His idea was that having the right leadership would provide a solution to “The Negro Problem.”

The “Negro” at the time of Dubois’ concept (1903) was not a pejorative word.  It was about Africans in the Diaspora, otherwise known as African or Black Americans.

The same “talented tenth,” the concept that spouted the African-American aspiration for advancement in America, can be used to attack the very problem we are experiencing in our society today. 

We must have the “talented tenth” in our society, starting with the presidency, chiefs, pastors, ministers, police, and generals in the armed forces.  These positions are the targets for the “fix it” initiative and the perspective that must be sought.

They are the personalities who are most likely to be the drivers of change – good or bad – for the very problems facing us as a society.  The responsibility of the citizen is to bring attention to them, at least to signal to them that a positive change in their attitudes is desirable. 

We must watch for their accomplishments in office constantly. Finance Ministers that can’t balance the books and constantly run budget deficits must go down with each deficit. 

Public hospitals that do not provide service as must be reasonably expected cannot be run by their current chief executives.  The same goes for all at the top rung in the running of the affairs of our country.

If necessary, we must learn to impeach and remove our presidents, finance ministers, and judges from office.

We know the “hyena” in our towns and villages.  As the legend demands, he or she must not be selected as the watchdog of the goat farm. 

Enough with the do-nothing, know-nothing politician we select from our villages, who does nothing but show off at funerals to flaunt newly gained wealth.  This type must not be the parliamentarian.  He must be recalled.

The lay public lives in the same communities as the corrupt officials.  And they must see to it that such people are not allowed to remain in office.

The pastor who falsely calls himself the man of God, with a fake doctorate in theology but is a certified and known thief, should not be in or heading the church you attend.

The traditional chief on whose land the “Galamsey” craters are found should not be occupying the ancestral stool. He must be destooled.

The spread for this “fix-it” effort, if sufficiently focused will encompass less than 0.005% of the general population.  But in this narrow area reside the “hyenas,” those we’ve put in charge to run affairs and who must be cured or taken out of power.

The power to do so is already in the hands of the lay public, if only it had the will to use it.  But a relevant “fix,” in my view, must start from the top.

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Publisher www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, May 21, 2021.

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