BY MERCY ANAGLO
I must say it has been too long as a country to still remain in the darkest mindset of believing that everything that comes from Africa, particularly Ghana, is inferior. The mentality of Ghanaians in accepting that anything made in Ghana is inferior is greatly depriving the country of development. Since Ghana’s independence in 1957, factories in Ghana have struggled to survive due to the mindset of the people. The most current situation is with Kantanka Automobile. Most Ghanaians believe it’s not safe to ride in a Kantanka vehicle because it’s simply made by a Ghanaian. I personally experienced this sometime ago when I walked along with a friend who wanted to buy a box of matches at a store nearby. She bought a box of matches without specifying any brand as we usually do here in Ghana
As we got home, she lit the match and realized the brown head started wearing off. The only thin she could say was, “I’m sure the match is made in Ghana”. I looked at her in disappointment while I walked closer to her and told her to learn to trust our abilities.
One of the things that Ghanaians see as authentic in Ghana is the food that is being made. We brag every day about how special and irresponsible our local delicacies are. Foods such as banku, kokonte, apkle, and the almighty jollof are on the A-List. Research reveals that most developed countries believe in their abilities, and this belief is reflected in their economic success as a country.
History proves that Ghanaians value foreign materials more than their own materials. Our ancestors exchanged slaves for chocolate, salt and mirrors. This mentality has been tattooed on the minds of Ghanaians. Even today, we all wish to travel outside the country to have the best of everything we ever dreamt of. The million dollar question is, “Why not make our own better? Why not attract people to our own country? “ Most countries today have stable economies because of foreigners moving in and out of their countries to do business because they have believed and improved upon their abilities.
Just like Eleanor Roosevelt said, « no one can make you feel inferior without your consent ». If we ghanaians underestimate our abilities how can a foreigner value us. Productivity in the country is very low because goods produced by Ghanaians are tagged as inferior. I believe we can do amazing things with the beautiful things we have here in Ghana. There are lots of resources in Ghana that developed countries wish they had, gold, cocoa, kente,amazing talents in the music and art field, technonlogical innovations, just to mention a few. If not, why would they even want to come into our country to invest?
I believe Ghana has a lot of goodies that we can develop for exportation to other countries. If we don’t patronize our own, how will foreigners have confidence in the quality of our produce and then import it into their countries.
Jesus once told his disciples that if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they would be able to move mountains. This literally means we will be able to do great things as Ghanaians if we believe in the little that we have and support it immensely. When we say Support, it should not only come from people in high positions, but should evaporate from the lowest degree of our relationships or living. Most people are doing well in our communities and country as a whole, but they just need a little push to be able to move from the grassroots to the greatest heights. This all boils down to changing our perception of Ghanaian abilities. Lets believe in each other’s abilities because no one can do that for us.
