Accra, May 10 GNA - Professor Kwame Gyekye, Coordinator of the Ghana Golden Jubilee Lecture Series, on Thursday called for a national orientation based on cultural values towards the inspiration of national character and identity of Ghanaians.

He said the evolutionary disconnection between the cultural values of the people and national orientation could be traced to disregard for indigenous culture in favour of European ethics and institutions during the colonial era.

Prof. Gyekye was delivering the fourth Golden Jubilee lecture as part of activities marking Ghana's 50th Anniversary in Accra. The topic:" Our cultural values and National orientation" was chosen to help in comparing the past traditional settings with the role of contemporary Ghanaian in nation building. Prof Gyekye called for re-evaluation of certain cultural values which were worth maintaining for the building of national institutions adding "This is the way to deal with the evolutionary disconnect I talked about."

He also bemoaned adversarial and excessive partisan politics which he said was emerging on the country's political landscape that was negatively affecting national development. Prof. Gyekye asked rulers and members of government not be dogmatic but to ac cept criticism and truth from other people or the wider community.

He said a sound democracy towards achieving a common objective for the nation as well as providing social, economic and political rights to promote fundamental goals or interest, essential to human existence were necessary.

Prof. Gyekye lamented that Ghanaians were over-depending on government for development, which according to him was threatening nation building.

He said the contemporary Ghanaian should orientated to enable him or her live independently of government and advocated a social system that would appreciate the values of the society. He noted "We should not lose our sense of community and concern for others, for it will profit us nothing if we gain the whole technological world and lose the essence of our humanity,"