A National Critical Thinking Programme: For Real Change

I have been told by friends that the change through the election outcome has positive implications for all facets of Ghanaian endeavours. Whether they stated that in jest or in seriousness, I have not yet fathomed. I am not very old, but I know that change, conditioned upon critical perspective and positive actions only, yields real difference. Therefore, a mere change in government does not mean there will be real changes for improvement in the state, unless change is actually targeted.

However, the contemporary Ghanaian society has been subjected to so much disregard for hard work, order and discipline that one wonders how it can manage the intellectual adjustment critical for the hoped for change. That goes beyond exchanging one political party for another, or making certain drastic moves in national structures. It is about mobilizing a citizenry conscientious enough to place humanity first. If leadership and followers would be motivated by community interests rather than selfish gains, if the residents would work for long-term benefits rather than for immediate stomach needs, if we collectively grasped that the deliberate errors against the nation and environment we commit today would confront us in our old age and continue for centuries after we have left this world, we would actually pursue diligence, honesty, justice, frugality, patience, environmental protection, sustainable development, to name eight agencies that can dictate positive change.

I am often labelled an idealist, but even I never delude myself into believing that there is perfection in this world. I only insist that we all refrain from compromising the principles that constitute the moral fibre of our society. And that we can do. If we did that, the magnitude of our errors would not be so overwhelming as to submerge our entire society in the quagmire of primitive behaviour, as it pertains in the current lawless environment. To inch our way out of the quagmire, we need a national critical thinking programme.

We do not have – nor desire – perfect people in this country, but we have brave personalities – analytical professionals, objective in outlook, appreciably disciplined personalities – who can spearhead such a programme to the most desirable levels. Handlers of that programme should be among those pillars of personalities who work assiduously to nurture human potential for the nation. They should not only be intelligent elders, but they should have that refreshing ability to wield a double-edged sword with which they constructively critique, compliment, correct and recommend all agencies for good works. I know Ghanaians who fit that bill to perfection.

Let me reiterate that a national critical thinking programme would not need to feature perfect individuals. Rather, it would need personalities who have led exemplary lives. Those who practice what they preach. They can admit that they are wrong and make amends. They empathise. They fear God, believe in and respect fellow human beings. Above all, they are impartial, human focused, community-oriented. In other words, we still have conscientious ones among us, even if they constitute a minority. Due to that minority, this nation has not completely sunk into an abyss of utter decadence. Let me explain a bit.

The week after elections, I listened to a radio programme on campaign promises and what possibly motivated Ghanaians to vote the way they did. When the point about tax cuts was raised, one of the panellists, a popular journalist, a political activist, or may be a sycophant, a member of a pressure group and a host of a talk show declared nonchalantly that the elected party promised tax cuts, so we are waiting to see how they would achieve that feat. Another panellist from the ruling party took a similar stand. In other words, they are not involved; it’s the others’ duty.

More often than not, the average Ghanaian attitude towards issues pertaining to the nation is not based on rational assessment or long-term societal benefits. Rather, it is determined by a person’s religious, cultural, socio-political affiliations, to mention these. Religion and politics have blinded the ordinary Ghanaian so much that horrible atrocities are swept under the carpet by misplaced kindness. Complicity is the order of the day.

I have been taught that societal structures are established per operational rules and regulations in order that society can function. Residents make the rules and regulations operational so that normalcy can reign. Following that logic, our national dilemma begins where such rules are flouted with impunity, mostly, by the very agencies that ought to ensure the implementation of the regulations. For example, students do not want to study, yet they want top marks. What is worse, unscrupulous teachers are willing to dash marks in order to pacify such misguided students.   

Our work force has become a jungle where primitive behaviour – sheer aggression, tardiness, waste and cheating are endorsed by key personalities, and emulated by the young. Those who have oversight responsibilities are terrified of rewarding good performance and penalising wrong doing. In fact, quite often those who do the right thing become pariah, but individuals and groups who indulge in great misdeeds are respected. Such conduct has permeated the whole society, so the nation has become a jungle.

Sycophancy has completely besieged our society, so non-performing officers are honourable personalities. Instead of serving the masses, leaders are rather worshipped. The latter cannot be wrong. Regardless of their actions or inactions, they will be fanatically supported by a cross-section of society. I am not implying that Ghanaians have monopolised sycophancy; I am stressing that we have deliberately encouraged such outrageous behaviour to the most nauseous levels. And it all boils down to sating immediate needs, while utterly sacrificing future benefits.

Through the current misdeeds of the average citizenry, we are collectively negating our very humanity. Intelligent human beings do things to benefit themselves, yet we are engaging in works that harm us and our environment. We waste or divert resources and heighten hunger, poverty and diseases in the country. We bypass regulations and destroy the environment. We flout rules and endanger lives, only to turn and blame others. Amidst such a perfidious environment, we are hoping for a change, from one person.

A national critical thinking programme can heighten awareness of the destructive path we have been treading. It would sensitize residents to the treachery we stand to reap. It would showcase good works and demonstrate how such can be replicated. Yes, let us sound the strongest alarm that we are the only collective agents that can turn things in the right direction. Indeed, we cannot change every Ghanaian, but we can motivate the misled to turn to good works. I am initiating this programme. Collaborators?

Technology in Polls & National Identification

I wrote that technology would not win the 2016 elections, but wisdom and intelligence would. That presupposed that the human intelligence behind technology makes the difference. The stories explaining how the side that won the election utilised Information Communication Technology (ICT) on December 7, 2016 are simply fascinating. I like to get my facts right before I spread information, so I have been gathering bits and pieces of information from all angles, not just from party-faithful. The communication network set up by the victorious party was so tight, so well inter-connected, sofast and accurate that by 11pm that evening, they knew they had won, were sure enough of their position to announce at 2am on December 8, 2016 that they had won the election. I missed that announcement, because I never lose sleep over vote counting. I look for the results the following morning, from the very media I don’t trust, ha! The media is a destroyer cum benefactor. So I a very detached follower of politics, but I am digressing.

Guess what. In spite of the opponents’ anger and labelling of the announcement as premature and irresponsible, the figures didn’t change much till the Commissioner announced the results endorsing the premature announcement. Yes, the results trickled in even past the required 72 hours for declaring outcome, but the decisive electoral results were secured within six hours of vote counting. I remember that in 2008 when this victorious side lost, and it played the same game, trying to restrain the then Commissioner from declaring the results, because they had not received the full complement of the votes, the latter countered that considering the bulk results that had been received, and the difference in the percentage of votes by each side, even if the complaining side won the rest of the yet to be received votes, they would never cover the gap, based upon which logic, he declared the ruling party victorious. Politicians have such selective memory!

In an age when electronic communication can be delivered across the globe in nanoseconds, with appreciable security and precision, why will a political group not utilise that channel for effective, and authentic communication. We live in fascinating times indeed. If Mr. Barow of the Gambia had anticipated Mr. Yaya Jammeh’s unsavoury old trick, he might have aligned himself with the technology-savvy team used by the elected party in Ghana.

For six hours between 5pm December 7 and 2am December 8, Ghana was located in the 21^st Century, through ICT. In 2009, an IBM group from the US was engaged by my Institution, to computerise our system. Whilst working with them to formulate a curriculum, they told me that we were 20 years behind the US in ICT. I would even take us farther back to the Eighteenth Century.  Let me substantiate that.

I have had five different biometric registrations since 2012, in this country, by agencies owned by one employer – Ghana Government. The Electoral Commission (EC) changed from manual to biometric. I was under the impression that it would release the results for the other government agencies, as done elsewhere. So imagine my surprise when the Controller and Accountant General Department showed up months later to biometrically register government employees. I asked one officer why they didn’t contact the EC for the data. I don’t remember the response.

However, just before the elections when the EC opened the voter’s register for the voter confirmation exercise, I asked a female officer why they did not release the information into a national database for utilisation by other government agencies. She told me that if any of the agencies requested, they would release the data. I countered that communities elsewhere cut cost through biometric registration, because the EC would feed other agencies with such data. But there is more.

The Driving & Licensing Authority (DVLA) also changed its system, so I did another registration in 2014 for a driver’s licence. When I had to renew my passport in 2015, I underwent a biometric registration by the Ghana Immigration Service. Sometime this year, The Social Security and National Insurance Trust announced that it had started registering contributors biometrically. We all had to undergo physical registration for the process. In all the instances, fingerprints and all the hocus-pocus of the biometric process were repeated. What a system.

My national health insurance has expired and the system has also gone biometric, so another registration awaits me. Meanwhile, the gallant policemen who are ever present on our roads are firmly stuck in the manual operation mode. Last year, when I was travelling to the Ashanti Region, I was stopped for over speeding. They asked for my license, which they were going to keep to ensure that I appeared in court. I asked them why they would send me to court for over speeding instead of giving me a ticket. They laughed. I also asked them why they needed to keep my licence, because I was on their database, they have a forensic laboratory, so tracing me should pose no problem for them. They smirked and shrugged that they knew not about any forensic lab. How strange! When the lab was opened, it was featured in primetime news on national TV. That is Ghana for you, as my students often tell me. Amidst such bizarre implementation of technology, a political party summoned a team that actually utilised technology.

I have a plea for the elected party. Let this same team complete the national identification programme started in 2008 and abandoned due to change of government. It doesn’t have invent the wheel. It simply has to pull data from all the fragmented government databases. Getting people in the public sector would be quite easy, since they are paid through the same agencies. Through the DVLA and the National Health Scheme and EC, about 70-80 % of the private sector could be captured. I am sure that the team could be innovative about capturing those who would be floating elements.

I am pleading that the IT team be used because if it were left to any local agency, it would allocate a contract to a business entity, so that the awarding agency can get a 5 or 10 % cut, as they have it in local parlance, and they wouldn’t even do a clean job. Please, New Government, move this country forward through a national identification system, which would also be a solid foundation for an authentic national intelligence system, for better social services. Using the IT team would be a frugal way to establish a costly national legacy.

Make National Identification a national priority, please!

Technology in 2016 Polls

Since my last posting, I have been accused of self-righteousness by no other person than the Chairman of the National Media Commission, Mr. Kwasi Gyan Apenteng. It is understandable that he should be upset, after all, I am skeptical about the intended collaboration of NMC and telecommunication companies to check social abuse on election day. However, not only do I remain unrepentant but have even strengthened my position since the alleged hacking of the US election process by some Russian hackers. If the almighty US system could be hacked during election, possibly influencing the results, then what cannot be done to ravish an already tottering Ghanaian IT system?

By the way, I am puzzled by Mr. Donald Trump’s silence over the hacking issue, because if the tables had turned, he would have gone ballistics and asked for a revoting. In retrospect, all the time that he was crying that the system was rigging the electoral process for Mrs. Clinton, what if he was actually saying I am going to rig the elections? Until the hacking allegation was raised, all accepted the election results, which situation Donald Trump likely anticipated, and could have capitalised on, if he had anything to do with the alleged technological manipulation, but I have digressed.  

I really am apprehensive about IT manipulation since there were rumours that the Ghanaian fax system for transmitting election results to the collating room in the 2012 elections was manipulated. The rumour traced the fax line to somewhere in Dzorwulu, Accra. Apparently, the results being transmitted to the collating room in Accra were changed there. The rumour linked Chinese with the hacking technology. I do not know if that rumour was investigated, but I have been telling friends that stakeholders must pay particular attention to the railway lines being laid in the Western Region, because it is being laid by Chinese, and it is an underground system, both operational factors in the rumoured reroute in 2012, but I have digressed again.

It is Monday, December 5, 2016, two days before elections, yet the political pairings go on, even by the national TV. Why does the NMC not begin by stopping those political pairings? Studios ought to be directed to air objective dialogues by seeking expert opinions on issues. Yes, everyone is subjective in perception, but true communicators can lead discussions by exploring claims by politicians, pragmatic implications of campaign promises, exposing falsehood, to mention these. Of course, this would be possible with a real investigative media front.

On Saturday, December 3, 2016, I was flipping channels for quality news. I stopped at Joy Prime because Mr. Kwaku Baako was a panelist on the newsfile programme. As usual, the politicians were there, but with Mr. Baako on the panel, I knew I would get analysis. I did. NPP and NDC did their usual thing. The NDC person was worryingly entertaining; the body language and utterings bespoke mere youthful exuberance. I was happy when Mr. Baako hinted that he would need to learn and grow on the job. I wholeheartedly hoped that the young Felix got the message, or did he? After the politicians spoke, Mr. Baako came in with documents and thorough analysis through which he exposed the shallowness of the political perspective. May be the Chairman of the NMC watched the programme, but then he and I agree on the analytical and objective stance of both Messrs. Baako and Duodu, so I don’t even know why he is upset with me.

His other point was that the length of my article was inappropriate for a social media platform. To be fair to him, I was surprised myself at the length, because I started by wanting to be brief. I told him I had to let off steam, among other reasons. But the Chairman should know that there is no hard and fast rule regarding the length of articles posted on social media platforms. Yes, the channel is usually explored for brief messages, and most Ghanaians don’t read, but nothing prevents us from posting long, serious articles. I promise to be brief this time.

The point I have been making is that we ought to be serious as a people and explore academic and pragmatic approaches to national issues. We can do that through legitimate research. I advocate that policy makers should take academia seriously and challenge the latter to serious research and make workable recommendations to government and industry. Research is the only path that would make this country progress. Since we do not have that, politicians destroy education, exploit Ghanaians through lies and embezzlement, then buy their votes come election time.

This past weekend, political parties have been entertaining my community through carnival. Yes, get them to dance and walk long distances till the point of exhaustion, fete them and let them go home to sleep. The youth enjoy themselves; the greedy ones move from one camp to another, their way of counter exploiting cheating political entities. A great way to interrogate governing policies, manifestoes, and national development infrastructure or lack of such.

The Chairman can be upset with me all he can, but even he cannot run away from the harsh realities of this nation. When we fertilise the environment with everything partisan, we cannot expect to wake up on December 8, 2016, and hope to monitor social media platforms in order to avoid chaos. It does not take a day to create trouble. Events build up to a climax, and we are dutifully creating events. IT doesn’t solve problems; humans explore IT intelligently to solve human issues, but we all know that. Ooops, did I promise to be brief!

I still believe in the discernment of fellow Ghanaians, their intelligence and desire for peace. We are not completely devoid of decency. I reiterate that these qualities will take us through peaceful election. One of the nations with the best data security system has allegedly fallen victim to IT hacking. I repeat: How does Ghana’s fragile system fare? I would love to be proved wrong, so Chairman, I am holding you to the challenge: Mobilise the communication media to check hooliganism on election day.

Ooops, I did promise to be brief!

NMC Alliance with Telecommunication Companies over Social Media Abuse

I read with a great deal of cynicism the announcement by the Chairman of the National Media Commission, Mr. Kwasi Gyan Apenteng, regarding the proposed collaboration between the Commission and telecommunication companies to check social media abuse on election day. My cynicism is borne on the fact that neither of these two agencies have played significant roles in safeguarding the rights of ordinary Ghanaians.

About 90 % of the time, our airwaves are saturated with mere political talk, which actually constitute exploitation of decent Ghanaians. Media houses fail to refresh the public with real news. Mostly, they bring personalities from the NPP and NDC camps, setting them up to argue. The argument is usually not geared towards any constructive analysis of issues but ridiculous verbal wrangling of what one party has done or has not done. After torturing listeners with baseless debate, they open their phone lines so that uninformed callers can prolong the torture for poor listeners. Occasionally, one gets Mr. Kwaku Baako or Mr. Cameron Duodu and a few such insightful ones to give us analytical perspectives. I do not remember the NMC doing anything to sanitise the airwaves, and the media houses have continued to dope listeners with vulgar politics.

The only beneficiaries in this environment are the telecommunication companies, because the calls help their business. These companies who fail woefully to honour their primary responsibilities are helped in business by media houses. The former perform social responsibilities instead of honouring their primary responsibilities of providing communication services. The NMC and National Communications Authority (NCA) have never sanctioned any service provider for poor or disservice to customers. In fact, even if all subscribers stopped their subscription, the media houses will still keep telecommunication agencies in business.

Majority of Ghanaians have become multiple subscribers due to appalling services from communication service providers. The airwaves are perpetually jammed, creating inconvenience for subscribers. Seven years ago, I labelled MTN MUN – most useless network – and switched to Tigo. At the time, I would not receive phone calls for three days, colleagues, students, family would accuse me of turning off my phone, though as a rule, I do not. When I had enough of MTN’s bogus service, I switched.

When I switched, Tigo was a communication service provider – clear lines, fair charges, smooth traffic. Currently, I am looking for an apt label for the provider, because it has almost surpassed MTN in terrible services. Currently, one of my favourite pastimes is to hold a Tigo line in one hand and call on another Tigo line, only to be told the line I am “trying to reach is either switched off  or out of coverage area”. I make calls which do not go through, yet Tigo would inform me that an amount has been deducted from my account for the duration I spoke. Now, instead of providing us with communication service, Tigo has specialised in selling phone equipment as well as insurance. The sad reality is that all the companies cheat subscribers.

Airtel has not been in business for very long, yet it has joined the bandwagon for poor service. Already, the modem I purchased from them is now a white elephant, because I cannot access the Internet with it. Once I was in their main office in Kumasi, but their Internet service was not accessible. I decided to stick with good old Vodafone simply because I need the Internet for my work. Currently, the new treat Vodafone is dishing out to subscribers is that one bundles a monthly package, but after twenty-four hours, all the data is exhausted. In November, I had to bundle a monthly package twice. I have since heard other customers lamenting about similar treatment.

I have been receiving messages from DSTV that I could pay my subscription fee through phone companies. Tigo is one of them. In September, I paid my bill through yours truly. Every now and then, DSTV interrupts my service to inform me that it did not receive my September payment. Even though Tigo’s system acknowledged the payment and sent me a transmission code, the amount was not forwarded to DSTV. Now, I have to follow up to ensure that Tigo either refunds the money to me or it forwards it to DSTV. Two media bodies strike up a deal, yet they have not designed their network to smoothen transactions, and subscribers suffer. Poor communication service provision is the order of the day in Ghana.

Amidst such woeful performance, the NMC is linking up with these telecommunication companies to check abuse on social media on election day. Jehovah save us! Ghana is in dire straits indeed. Due to cheap popularity, the media houses will not stop the political pairing. God forbids the eventuality, but even if chaos erupts, these houses will still push the political buttons in their studio, just to know who gets the most patronage. Can the intended alliance be reliable?

The biggest challenge comes from the IT systems over which the communication service providers do not have the required mastery. Dell has a remote control service which enables its technicians to handle product issues remotely. When I could not successfully install my Office 2013 on my new Dell machine, I e-mailed Support Services and an Agent responded. She switched to remote service and helped me to fix the problem. There was an incompatibility problem, and she fixed it.

I had the machine in front of me in Ghana, and she accessed it remotely from Canada. When and where necessary, she would instruct me on what to do. When I saw activity I did not understand, I would inquire, and it would be her activity. Now, if such a system told me that it would filter data from subscribers to ensure decency and political correctness before releasing it to public platforms, I would have no qualms about its competency in enforcing that. But this system of ours where DSTV and Tigo cannot ensure a smooth transfer of funds from one to the other, and where all service providers cannot even tell when a subscriber is beyond reach, how and where on earth are they going to be able to develop this sophisticated system which would enable them to filter all messages and ensure that only the ones that would not incite others to destructive acts reach public domain? 

  

I have not an aorta of trust in the communication system of this country, simply because I have been subjected to so much corporate exploitation from the agencies. The conduct of the media houses, their general insensitivity to quality programming offer me no reason to trust in their ability to safeguard the rights of citizens and nation. The NMC and NCA have been complicit in the dubiousness of communication service providers so much that they have eroded my confidence in them.

Yes, I am cynical about all the agencies I have referred to so cannot rely on them to pre-empt chaos on election day, at least, not through technology. But I trust firmly that decent Ghanaian can reach deep down within themselves and gather the strength and willpower required to resist all destructive forces and counter extreme provocation, hooliganism, and destabilising acts with self-control, civilised dialogue and disciplined interaction, because we are intelligent human beings. I firmly believe that we will be able to let our humane tendencies override our bestial inclinations and behave rationally.

In the end, it is not technology but our sense of justice, balanced perception of power and our quest for fairness that will motivate decent acts on election day. Even people who do stomach politics can reason that they need to live and breathe the free air before they can fill their stomachs.

May it happen that we use our heads, our reasoning powers on election day! Let humanity prevail.

May my prayers be answered!