The Ghanaian Dream is Empty

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In every country, there is a dream accepted by the whole nation. In the United States, they call it the American dream. In that part of the world, one standout reason why presidents are voted into power is to make sure this dream is achieved by a lot of the inhabitants.

Photo credit: Gheventplus

In Ghana, we have two of the so-called dreams ¾ the ‘abrokyire’ dream and the Ghanaian dream. ‘Aburokyire’ is a local word for ‘abroad.’ When someone travels abroad, the person’s goal and standard towards achieving success is different from a local person.

So what is the Ghanaian dream? Simple, look closely at the man or woman who is respected by a lot of people for their achievements in your neighbourhood, church, etc. The Ghanaian dream is to have a decent job, marry a respected person (well, apart from Catholic priests and nuns), build a house from the ground up, buy an above average car, ensure one’s offspring attain good education, and be capable to take care of parents.

These points look attractive, but in real life it’s very hard to achieve. Actually, a few people are able to mark all the above mentioned on their checklist. Hence, once someone is able to accomplish all these, we automatically see them as role models and raise them to fill leadership positions.

The reality is, the system has been set up in a way that the larger percentage cannot achieve these, especially being an entrepreneur or a small business owner. Thus we have a lot of white collar job workers who do a regular 9-5. It’s easy to overlook the negative side of this situation because if everyone is to realize this Ghanaian dream with a 9-5 then each person would reach self-actualization by our terms.

If this persists, we as a nation are shooting ourselves in the leg. We’d be embracing a motionless country. If we’re content with this, no new jobs shall be created, we wouldn’t improve upon our lives, we wouldn’t challenge ourselves with life-changing innovations, then we’d miss the whole point of our existence. What would life then be about? Spending 20+ years in school to earn a qualification (mostly degree and diploma), landing a job, working to survive all your active ages, and waiting to die after pension?

Let’s take a good look at this. We’re here for a higher purpose. We’re here to advance our lives and make a mark. People are to delve into inventions, revolution and modernization. Let’s change the status quo. Let’s fill up the empty Ghanaian dream with rich aspirations.

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