by Elorm Kojo Ntumy

It is my belief that Ghanaians have forgotten what excellence is. We have become a nation prepared to praise and award the mediocre. Politicians in the country have noticed this phenomenon and exploit it to the best of their advantage. However the question is can you entirely blame them? After all they are only giving the people what they ask for

It always amuses and irks me to see almost an entire village out in force with politicians who have probably driven halfway across the country with an entourage of media men to inaugurate a single bore hole in some remote part of the country. Ghanaians are quick to make a ceremony out of everything, the people have been supressed and tricked into believing they are receiving a favour when it is actually an entitlement

Everyone agrees that it is pointless to praise someone for taking care of their children, for staying out of jail or doing something they are supposed to as part of their everyday work. Why then are we ready to sing the praise of politicians for providing us with simple creature comforts such as schools, hospitals, portable water and electricity? Such amenities and social interventions are not a privilege; they are the right of every Ghanaian to have. However a single street light or a school, whose only renovation it has seen in fifty years is a new coat of paint applied, being inaugurated is enough cause for a celebration or state durbar in our country. Considering the alternative of living in constant darkness or drinking water infested with guinea worm that is probably the reason we are always exceedingly thankful to our political overlords for being so generous as to lavish us with such fine “gifts”. How blessed we are.

No elected official is doing Ghanaians a favour by being in office, it’s not like Ghanaians begged them from their jobs to become public servants. So if they cannot serve the public to the best of their ability without expecting to be treated like God’s gift to humanity they should choose the simple option and just quit and go back to their so called well-paying jobs. To aggravate matters, the “gifts” provided are often hand me downs from donors and are mostly subpar and of poor quality.

I am not advocating that we just shrug our shoulders and walk away but true accolades should be reserved to those who have achieved something out of the ordinary. Praising everything and nothing only serves to cheapen the praise and make politicians feel good about themselves.

Praising people for the little things makes them complacent and prevents them from taking pragmatic steps to solve the innumerable problems we have in our country. So next time you think of heaping praise on some politician for one “good deed” or the other please ask yourself are you praising excellence or mediocrity. Blog:inmyglasshouse.wordpress.com