Nduom Tells Youth Not to Be Slaves of Ideology

Public Agenda (Accra)

By: Basiru Adam

Dr. Paa Kwasi Nduom, CPP presidential candidate for election 2008, has advised the youth of Africa to open their eyes to the realities of the trend of global economic development and not to be "slaves to ideology."

Dr. Nduom’s argument was that nowhere in the history of developed nations did their governments abdicate their part of the responsibility to the private sector. Speaking at IMANI’s 2009 seminar, Dr. Nduom charged the youth to "read and understand the history of the development of the world."

Indeed, almost all the speakers at this year’s residential academy for students and young professionals sought to awaken the youth to the fact that they have the greatest opportunity in today’s globalised world to change their destinies and that of the African continent for the better.

In a rather controversial but thought provoking presentation, Major (Rtd) Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Ghana’s immediate past Health Minister, said colonialism did not only put chains on the hands and legs of Africans but their minds as well. As such, he advised the participants that, "you need to understand that there is something practically wrong with your society."

He thus urged the youth to read and understand the machinations that have perpetually held back their own and work towards reversing the trend. "I don’t hate them," he said of the West, "I like them for being smart. You also have to be smarter."

Another speaker whose account of his life and challenges sent participants nodding and clapping every now and then was a man the BBC referred to as "Africa’s Bill Gate" – Herman Chinery Hesse, founder of SOFT tribe, "the largest software company in Ghana and possibly West Africa.

Chinery Hesse used his life to demonstrate to the young Africans that one does not necessarily need to be brilliant in school to be able to make a change in the world around them. Indeed, for him, school makes one think "in the box" and that much as educational qualifications are necessary it takes personal resolve to be able to "think outside the box" and make a difference.

He said instead of running away, the youth must see Africa as the best place that offers them the opportunity to explore their potential and come up with solutions to the plethora of challenges facing the continent.

Speaking to Public Agenda, a number of the participants noted that they were glad to have been part of the programme and that they were going back to their various countries with a renewed sense of duty.

Mbasekei Martin Obono is a Nigerian participant and the founder of Youth Against Cybercrimes in Nigeria. He spoke well of the seminar, saying it had helped him network and meet people to learn from their experiences.

Benjamin Akyena of Ghana also said he had learned a lot from the seminar and the "tried and tested faculty" and that he was going back "with a renewed appetite and desire to make things happen."

The Students and Young Professionals African Liberty Academy (SYPALA 2009) brought together participants from Ghana and other West African countries to listen to the success stories and hurdles of great Africans.

The week long programme was put together by IMANI Centre for Policy and Education and the speakers were drawn from various fields of human endeavour including business, politics, academia, media and ICT.

According to IMANI, the answer to the advancement of freedom and the creative application of knowledge on society to solve problems "lies in bright, curious talented students who are interested in the potential of freedom…"

The Executive Director of IMANI Franklin Cudjoe, told participants in his opening address that "we provide opportunities such as this seminar for intellectually curious young people to explore the ideas of human freedom and their application to today’s problems. We are focused on these seminar series because we are convinced that ideas have consequences."

He further assured participants that the seminar faculty was not to twist their arm to adopt a particular perspective. "They have knowledge to share, and questions to explore with you. You will find that this intellectual perspective has many strands- sometimes multiple route to similar answers, sometimes divergent answers to the challenge at hand, so wherever you are coming from, there should be much here – and beyond – that challenges you to think about things differently and to try new ideas. How much you take from this experience is up to you, but we hope the seminar is either a beginning or a renewal…"