BROKEN DREAMS/NEW REGIME

I have followed with keen interest the issues concerning the admission brouhaha of two young boys with dreadlocks to Achimota school. As with most social justice issues in Ghana, the arguments have ranged from the rational to the extreme irrational.

One of the strong arguments in support of the decision by the authorities of Achimota school, to deny these young boys’ admission unless they ‘cut off’ their dreadlocks, is based on a notion of discipline and conformity. In paragraph three of a statement issued by the Parents-Teacher Association of the school, it read, “…this age-old rule has prevented unnecessary attention and time wasting with ‘non-school hairdos. Any exceptions to this rule on religious grounds would open the floodgates for all types of hairstyles and breed indiscipline”.

I am forced to ask, how exactly does hairdo breed indiscipline? The nature of the hairstyles of our students takes nothing away from the strive to achieving academic excellence. Such fears are irrational. The problems facing our educational sector and the general breakdown of discipline in our society has absolutely nothing to do with hairdos, I am afraid to say. The idea that conformity is synonymous with discipline is quite frankly nonsensical. It must also be said that respecting the rights of minorities won’t suddenly lead to the breakdown of the moral fibre of our society as we know it. I simply cannot wrap my mind around why a state-funded school will discriminate against any student on the basis of his religion.

 The question of the “sanctity” of the hair is a central tenet of the Rastafari faith and must not be equated in any way to questions of fashion or simply artistic expression. The ultimate focus of our education must be on developing the boundless potential of our youths, moored on a deep sense of duty to others. We cannot still be judging the cerebral capacity of our young ones based on antiquated ideas of what socially conforms with our biases.

 I say with profound sadness that it is not the world around us that is changing rapidly but our own prejudice and conservativeness that is disconnecting us from the realities of the world we are confronted with now. Majority in our society have for so long carried the burden of historical prejudice and opinions, not grounded in facts, and unconsciously passed down over the ages. It is time we vigorously confront some of these legacies.

 Identity has always been a multidimensional concept and as long as we develop democratically, we must begin to make space for accommodating the various identities that richly define our society. The resistance to tolerance and respect of the rights of social and culturally marginalized groups is on the wrong side of history and won’t stand the test of time. In the broader scheme of things, it is in the interest of the survival of society itself to engage with these marginalized groups in order to assuage the growing anger of the many sinfully, impoverished youths outside the establishment circles of our elites. Social justice is a matter of both morality and law, and we must strive to be on the right side of history. The dilly-dally by the Ghana Education Service on this matter must cease and they must be seen providing leadership on the matter to bring finality to the issue.

The decision of the management of the Ghana Institute of Journalism beggars belief. The decision was appalling and despicable. The perverse nature of the directive was justifiably met with the indignation it deserved from the general public. I am glad the management of the school has back-pedaled on the initial directive and has come to the common sensical position.

The Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) ordered all students who paid their fees after the deadline for registration had passed to defer the academic year. This directive was given in the course of the week, just few days before the students were expected to sit for their end of semester examinations. Outraged by the directive of the school authorities, the students staged a mini protest on the campus of the school after the story broke on social media.

A friend of mine sent me a video of a young lady, supposedly a student of the GIJ, recounting her experience and the trouble she had to go through in order to pay her school fees. The young lady was simply asking the authorities of the school to ‘listen to her voice’. She was calling for dialogue on the issue. I felt sorrowful watching her shed tears in that interview.

On top of my sorrow, I felt a great shame. It is a sad reflection on our state that we should cause young citizens like the lady in that video to almost a place of complete despair. This country has a way of causing permanent bitterness in the hearts of its citizens. It is a sad and dangerous spectacle we must be working assiduously on banishing.

The authoritarian tendencies of leadership at all levels of the Ghanaian society must start giving way to modernist, consultative forms of leadership. Our institutions seem orientated to make life for the average citizen as miserable as possible. It is intriguing observing the level of uninspiring leadership we are saddled with in most critical sectors of the state. We must hesitate, refocus, and rethink our concepts of leadership and power dynamics in this country. Too often, sadly, it appears authority is deployed against defenseless citizens whilst many of us stand by quietly or even overtly support the oppression.

Despite the constant heavy-handedness of authority in dealing with the average Ghanaian, there has never been a groundswell broad-based movement to challenge the political establishment on the political direction of the country. We have seen glimpses of partisan agitations once one of the major parties is out of power, but I am yet to witness a cross-party opposition to the establishment from the youths of this country.

I read with nostalgia the exploits of the National Union of Ghana Students and various youth groups in the 1970/80s against the military dictatorship. Where is the desire of the Ghanaian youth of today to challenge the system? Are we (the youth) refusing to face reality? Are we holding onto a misplaced, ill-founded optimism that things will work out in the end? Or we are just waiting for our turn to rape the nation when the current old ruling classes phase out?

I’m tempted to believe the latter. Under this fourth republic, there is the real possibility that this country could make its peace with the mediocrity and failure of its political leadership. It is a prospect I dread but increasingly become real to me. Try and have a conversation with the average young person on the street. No sense of hope! No sense of patriotism! Just finding ways to navigate the ‘system’. This is not a criticism of the youth. I share in that frustration, but I believe we should rise beyond the anger and pain of yesterday to build a better tomorrow for our children.

Our disillusioned generation is the generation with the most to lose if this country degenerates into an abyss of lawlessness and state failure. We must have the courage to act, to demand better from our political parties, demand better from the government. We must inspire bravery to fight and not give up such that if we do not even succeed in changing this country, we will pass on that light and hope to the next generation to do more and never give up. We must dare to dream of the potential of what our country could become. We must channel that hope to do more…