Hiplife artiste Bice Osei-Kuffour aka Obour has urged all Ghanaians to stop viewing musicians as mere entertainers, but rather as social activists who can incite serious change in the development of the country.

The hiplife artiste, in an interview with Beatwaves on Tuesday, said music holds the key to unlocking economic wealth and that it can be used as a tool for social change.

“That is why musicians should not be underestimated as mere entertainers and concert people,” he said.

Osei-Kuffour, a success in the hiplife and music industry, believes that limiting music to the status of mere entertainment could be suicidal.

He noted that it is not enough to just be an icon, but that one should use their iconic status to champion social change and fight for the cause of the vulnerable in society.

“When we therefore see something going wrong and raise our voice, we should not be mocked or ridiculed but rather listened to,” he said.

Obour’s passion for change lies in the forgotten potential of Ghana’s youth, who he says represent the raw manpower and human resource base of this country.

He worries that the youth are not being given the needed attention anticipating the challenges and opportunities of globalization and its impact on youth.

Too much apathy and despair among the rank and file of the youth, he said, calls for something to be done on the medium to long term to insulate the frustrations of young people.

He pointed out that as an artiste, he could readily use his youthful energy coupled with his iconic status to drum home the cry of youth.

He said many young Ghanaians have lost faith in the system and would readily leave the shores of Ghana given the opportunity.

“Visit foreign embassies here in Ghana in the mornings and you would appreciate what I am talking about.”

The sad aspect of it, Obour said, is that the majority of those young people vacating the shores of Ghana are trained youth who could contribute to national development.

“I strongly believe that if a call was made for people to voluntarily travel out of Ghana with visas secured, there would hardly be a young blood left in Ghana,” he said.

He said the exodus of youth has been going on for more than three decades and the nation seems to lack the willpower to curtail it by creating more opportunities.

He suggested that there must be a national non-partisan forum charged with the responsibility of developing a policy blue-print, clearly directing the way forward for youth development that would be binding on all governments irrespective of their philosophy.

He said we must find creative ways of engaging the energies of the youth by equipping them with appropriate skills and competencies in order to ensure their competitiveness.

Jamaica is a country that is making huge economic gains through music, and Obour said he thinks Ghana could learn some lessons from that.

He said with the general elections around the corner, the plight of the youth would get worse when certain undesirable elements and selfish politicians start engaging them by perpetrating crime and fomenting conflict, adding that he feels even more challenged to do something in the days ahead to promote peace during elections.