It was rather exciting watching the Euro Vision contest over the weekend.

What are the benefits to member’s countries? As I was clued to my TV and watching the contest in Belgrade one could connect to the unity transcending throughout the participating countries. There appeared to be a form of unity, which was generating within the European Union despite its problems in the past.

On the contrary, in Africa we seem to have missed the boat in finding ways and means of unifying ourselves except for football and other sporting activities. Our weapon of success are wars, fighting against each other and inflicting traumatic experiences on our neighbours which have a direct impact on children and families. Africa must unite and so that we too can be performing on equal level as our European counterparts.

Africa has so many good initiatives that the Western societies are now thinking of trying out. For example our polyclinics Ghana in particular is now being tested out in the U.K. The Western world is learning from us everyday of our approaches we take for granted. The West is learning from us with their trial test of implementing on the polyclinics as a way of health care delivery. Africa has it all however yet we lack the administrative expertise if I should put this right. I am open for others to correct me or add things on along these lines. African must not be fooled at all. We lack that resilience to move on to be Maslow hierarchy of needs top-level self-actualisation. This is our shortcoming and must be fully acknowledge before nay real development would kick off in Africa.

Ghana and the rest of Africa must seriously identify our strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Our main area of weakness is that although African is very friendly to foreigners we still lack the expertise’s customer care approach. We love to please others without even considering the benefits that goes with excellent customer care. Would it be an area for investment perhaps?

African countries, however focusing on Ghana, must invest in customer care training in all our institutions in order to have a standard for an acceptable customer care approach. This could be monitored through evidence all our hospitals, markets, streets, banks, and other significant areas. Nursery, secondary and higher education should embrace and have a civil training days or better still incorporate these civil training days within our school cirriculum.

Our educational system should encourage students to spend at least two weeks in a different region to experience other regions ways of living etc. All these initiatives would help us to appreciate each and begin to respect other people background regardless their financial stand in life. Such initiatives would accelerate the facilitation of Africans in performing and achieving greater aspiration similar to the performance of the European union thus moving on to unifying other African countries. What I see from the angle I am is that if we don’t want to be innovative then Ghana and the rest of Africa will always be known as the poverty stricken countries needing to be pitied with aid, loans and etc.

Ghana has it all and has no excuse. Fellow Ghanaians let us not waste time and efforts but rather concentrate on a new chapter of learning from each region’s different ways of living conditions. Some African leaders must also stop being so greedy and instead foster a climate throughout the African countries that would stimulate development and innovation. Africa have got many developmental initiative however we need to build on and at the same time emulating what we perceive as best practice from the Western block. The Euro vision contest has been going for 53 years Africa have not been smart to cash in on the benefits such a contest would do for Africa countries. Why is there no Africa vision contest! Why are we wasting opportunities and rather focusing on aid and loans for our development? What a shame!

It is rather sickening seeing a wealthy continent as Africa blessed with all natural exotic elements suffer in abject poverty. Africa must unite if we want to be seen and heard for there is no tomorrow.