Unity is strength

The world as we know consti­tutes one huge unit but is made up of different countries, each with its own culture and tradition, aimed at pursuing different forms of agenda with the aim of achieving their respective national objectives.

Each of the countries of the world seeks to achieve peace and unity in order to realise its own pe­culiar economic and developmental agenda. As each country succeeds in attaining its developmental agenda, the world as a whole attains devel­opment. This is because all parts of the country begin to attain devel­opment at the same time or even at different times, making the world attain a certain level of develop­ment in totality.

When we take Ghana as a unit of the globe, we begin to realise that, as a country, Ghana has its own developmental agenda. The devel­opmental agenda can be attained when all parts of the country known as Ghana come together in unity for the attainment of a common pur­pose of economic development. This economic development cannot come about easily, but within a framework of unity that will see to it that the productive parts of the different sections of the country are maxi­mised in output so that, in totality, a higher standard of living can be achieved.

As of now, Ghana is made up of 16 regions, each of which is very important as far as the develop­mental agenda is concerned. The regions have their own resources, which, when harnessed very well, can go a long way toward promoting economic growth and development for all Ghanaians. What this means is that every part of the country is very important and ought to contribute to the totality of the agenda for nation­al development.

None of the 16 regions can stand alone on their own, so all resources will have to be put together and blended in a manner that will lead to nothing but rapid growth.

For example, new iron deposits have been discovered in the Oti Re­gion, and these deposits are prom­ising in the sense that they are of the highest quality for transaction. Such deposits can contribute to the construction industry in the country and elsewhere.

Even though it is found in the Oti Region, it is meant to help in the total development of the entire country. Proceeds from these iron deposits can be used for the devel­opment of not only the people of Oti but all Ghanaians in the country.

It is for this reason that each of the regions of Ghana constitutes an important unit that must join all other regions and contribute to the welfare of all Ghanaians. For exam­ple, the bauxite, manganese, gold, diamond, oil, and other essential deposits found in various parts of the country are used to develop not only a section of the country but, indeed, all parts of the entity known as Ghana. This explains why nation­al elections are organised for the entire country from time to time to empower qualified residents to vote and make choices for the leader of the country, for the parliamentarians who represent them, and also for all levels of leadership that are brought into being through elections for the smooth governance of the entire country.

The essential point to note here is that we need to pursue aggressive national unity that will help promote all essential economic dimensions to fulfill the needs and aspirations of the country. It is important to keep this in mind, so we cannot run away from this fact.

All Ghanaians have their econom­ic and social needs at various levels of their lives, and all these needs ought to be met in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of every­one in this noble country.

When the country becomes di­vided, as we see from time to time in our national politics, it does not help matters much because it slows down progress. Every Ghanaian needs rapid socioeconomic devel­opment, so we need to think about making the right choices politically so as to commit ourselves to the smooth process of development.

The vigorous nature with which threats are issued to people in par­liament on national developmental issues has become a major issue of concern to peace-loving people in the country.

The decision of a section of our parliamentarians to flex their muscles at one another, particular­ly political opponents, threatening mayhem and brimstone of fire, is mind-boggling.

The devel­oped countries of the world did not emerge in their present status instantly but had to go through a hard process of struggle before getting to their present stage. Progress cannot be made easily, so we should always bear this in mind, irre­spective of whether our preferred politi­cal party is in power or not.

Various administrations in this country since independence have contributed their lot to the national developmental agenda. What the Convention Peoples Party achieved immediately after independence is meant for all Ghanaians, so we need to recognise things as such.

Even the military governments that we have had in this country have contributed in some way, in spite of their lapses. However, we have learnt a lot from the lapses of these governments.

What this means is that, hav­ing gone through various forms of political and economic experiences, we now know what is good for us, so once we decide that a certain government should be put in place to govern this country, we need to give it the needed support so that they can fly the flag of Ghana to a very high level of development. Today, the leader of the country, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is a Christian, while the Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia is a Moslem. Similarly, Parliament is also made up of people of different faiths, but together we are moving forward as a people, encouraging one another to achieve the ultimate. This is what we need in this country.

Thus, threats of mayhem from political opponents and the desire to run down certain groups of people in this country because of political differences do not augur well for the entire country. Ghana is made up of different kinds of people in terms of religion, ethnicity, cul­tural practices, and so on, but we all need to recognise one another as important and move on in life. The free SHS and promotion of free Technical Vocational Education and Training are very good, so we should not find ways of running them down. In the same way, the reorganisation of the banking sector has helped to increase confidence in that sector. Even though this is good, certain people are looking at it through their political lenses and falsely claiming that they are not good simply because some of their friends and cronies dishonestly went for as­sistance from the Bank of Ghana to falsely support what they described as their banking services.

The banking reforms resulted in the consolidation and amalga­mation of some of the banks, with some people being laid off to ensure efficiency. These are the results of the banking reforms, so we need to acknowledge this and support pun­ishment for all those who helped to bring about this mess.

In essence, we need national uni­ty in this country for the promotion of our national economic agenda so that what is good for us all can be enhanced for the good of each of us. Without unity, the economic agenda cannot be vigorously pursued, and this is why we all need to come to­gether in spite of our differences to pursue our common national socio­economic agenda.

May God help us in the attain­ment of our national aspiration in line with our National Pledge and National Anthem for the economic good of the country.

Email address/whatsApp number of author:

Pradmat201@gmail.com (0553318911)

By Dr. Kofi Amponsah-Bediako