Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey-Tetteh, Vice President of Data Bank Ghana, on Thursday called on Ghanaians to rectify the country’s entrenched political polarisation to ensure progress.

He said if Ghanaians accepted that the country was bigger than any political party, best brains from all political divides could be tapped in resolving the current challenges confronting the country.

Rev. Ogbarmey-Tetteh, who is also the General Overseer of the New Creation Chapel International, was speaking at the 138th Founder’s Day Celebration of Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast, on the theme: “Ghana at Crossroads; Need to Adopt the Ideals of the Mfantsipim Heritage”.

The celebration brought together board and administrative members, old students, past headmasters, teaching and non-teaching staff and current students of the school, the first secondary school in Ghana, founded on April 3, 1876.

Rev. Ogbarmey-Tetteh, an old boy, said the depreciation of the cedi, the rising inflation and its push effect on interest rates and effective planning coupled with unemployment, was indicative that the nation was at crossroads, but instead of focusing on the course of actions that would lead to the desired destination, precious time was being spent on issues that were pedestrian.

“We need to deal frontally with issues rather than be skittish about them,” he said.

He said when the experience of Malaysia, which also had its independence in the same year, was juxtaposed with that of Ghana, it was evident that Ghana had a huge catch-up to do; adding that, though there were some areas where the country was making progress, there was a need to guard against complacency.

He said there were several calls for the patronage of made-in-Ghana products, but the country was still hooked onto importing foreign goods; adding that it was the huge import bill that had currently mounted pressure on the local currency.

“Is it the reliance on imports because of an acquired taste or because we don’t have local substitutes in terms of reliability in quality and quantity?” He asked.

Rev. Ogbarmey-Tetteh said; “... At long last, the battle is ended, Ghana our motherland is free forever,” the famous independence day speech of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah which had virtually become a ritual in every independence day celebration should not lull the country into a false sense of accomplishment and security, but serve as a wake-up call.

He said the natural and human resources, and relative success of democratic governance was indicative that the country still had the opportunity to make the right move though it had been at the crossroads for some time.

He said the country’s infrastructure deficit was an important trigger to economic growth which called for a better approach and that the country had every opportunity to progress beyond the crossroads with respect to dealing with the economic challenges, educational standards, energy, water and all others.

He said the heritage of Mfantsipim, especially that of the “Faithful Eight” and the founding fathers who achieved great things in spite of constraints, spoke volumes of the fact that a group of people could produce far reaching results if they put their minds to it.

Rev. Ogbarmey-Tetteh said one of the highlights of the Mfantsipim heritage was producing individuals who were patriotic, rising above partisanship and exudes selfless leadership to render service to the community.

He paid glowing tribute to the founding fathers of Mfantsipim saying the long list of products of the school who had shaped events from the corporate to national and global levels vindicated the Mfantsipim vision and that many great people would have been lost in the maze if Mfantsipim had remained a pipe dream.

Rev. Emmanuel Ansah, Senior Associate Pastor of Covenant Family Community Church, who presided, said the inspiring history of Mfantsipim Faithful Eight, the “Dwen Hwe Kan” Motto of the school, the vision of the founding fathers, the positive fighting spirit in the school hymn among other things, raised a spirit of courage, loyalty and dedication in every Mfantsipim student.

Mr. Kofi Esson, Chief of Staff, Tullow Ghana Limited, which is sponsoring the school’s science laboratory renovation project, described “Mfantsipim products” as having mental capacity, mental honesty, moral courage and moral discipline, a rare and formidable combination.

The Mfantsipim Old Boys Association 1984 presented a cheque for GH?100,000.00 towards the school’s infirmary expansion project while the 1978 year group donated 20 flat screen computers for the ICT centre.

A delegation of the Board and Administration, Old Boys and sponsoring year group for 2014 later paid a courtesy call on Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, Paramount Chief of Cape Coast and the family of John Mensah Sarbah, one of the founding members of Mfantsipim.