Individual and institutional moral and ethical attitudes are the causes of our socio-cultural and political-economic problems; The ethical and moral attitudes of individual parents, teachers, civil servants, judges, journalist, public servants, bankers, lawyers, accountants, engineers, professionals, academics, businessmen and businesswomen, contractors, entrepreneurs, preachers, leaders, clergy, employees, employees, husbands, wives, brethren, etc. are directly linked to the growing and irreversible trend of corruption and human rights deficiency we are suffering as a nation.
The ethical and moral attitudes and defects of institutions, departments, courts, churches, media houses, internal control units, audit service, valuation and quantity Survey, procurement office, back offices, banks, CSOs, traditional councils, families, schools, universities, research institutions, CBOs, mosques, etc. are emboldened in the exacerbating and aggravating corruption and human rights problems we are facing in this country.
As a result, LAADI CENTRE FOR PEACE BUILDING AND SECURITY ANALYSIS (LACPSA-GHANA) send out this piece to NCCE, GES, Christian Council, Office of the National Chief Immam, the Media, Schools and Universities, Ahamadia Movement, Charismatic and Pentecostal Council, House of Chiefs etc. to seek, insist, persist, secure, ensure and insure moral living and ethical behaviour among their respective members, followers, clientele, customers and the citizenry.
Now a lot of us are advocating for social and economic justice, human rights and human dignity protection; all of us have our moral convictions and concerns, and we so often unrealistically and unfairly limit our conviction and concerns to those linked to government and public officials, institutions and politicians. All of us have been loudly silent about our individual and institutional ethical and moral ills that grossly feed into and collectively net up to the corruption, injustice, human right abuses, violence and all the social and economic problems we blame on government and the politicians. This is misleading extremists today to advocate for coups, which is the worst of all political actions; coups or military rule have never helped any country: in our own experience as a country, they have been the worst enemy to our social and economic progress since independence.
Everybody is complaining about governments in power and keep on criticising persons holding positions for social and economic problems we are facing, but refuse/fail to appreciate the fact that each and every one of us has some power to contribute toward ensuring that the right thing is done. Journalists criticise politicians, but most of them still take money from politicians to promote their interests or justify their wrongs; traditional rulers accuse politicians and government officials, meanwhile most traditional rulers conspire and/or look on politicians to facilitate foreigners creepily acquiring and exploiting our natural resources for personal benefit.
Professionals, experts and technocrats always criticise/blame the politicians, but they operate the grand-schemed systems politicians ride on to commit the corruption, injustice and human rights abuses; The youth blame politicians, government officials and leaders, but youth are used to create all the security and social problems in our communities and around the country; clergy and religious people are blaming government and politicians, but fail to promote the ideal of moral living and ethical lifestyle in their personal lifestyles and within the religious institutions they lead; The ordinary Ghanaian blames government, politicians and our leaders, but the same ordinary Ghanaians pay bribes, collect bribes, evade tax, antagonise others, steal property and use public property for personal benefits, etc.
Evidently, everyone is now focused on doing anything to leverage power – political, economic and social – and no one seems to care about morals, ethics and/or the interests of society. There is nothing wrong with power – if power is acquired and used correctly and ethically for the common benefit of society. But the mindset of virtually each and every one of us has eventually shifted off-base. The citizenry’s responsibility to love country and countryman is completely abandoned, and people use power without love for the nation and its people.
The greatest problem we currently face in this country is that the concept of love and power has been contrasted as polar- opposites – opposite to the extent that where there is power love is non-existent or warmth is discriminatory; and were love shows its face, power to exercise it resigns or is denied. Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is merely anaemic sentimentalism. Ideally, power in every individual and institution, at its best, must be love implementing the demands of Justice; and Justice, at its best, should be power being used to correct everything that stands against the love for country and countrymen. We have had it wrong, being ugly and confused in our beloved country – and this has resulted in individual citizens seeking their goals through power devoid of love and conscience.
Accordingly, this letter is soliciting commitment from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Christian Council, National House of Chiefs, National Chief Imams Office, Ahamadia Movement, Charismatic and Pentecostal Council, Ghana Education Service and others relevant to developing and implementing programmes that will functionalise religiosity; spread and drum home the alarming, mushrooming and snowballing of negative ethical and moral attitudes and the social-effects they have on our dear nation. This must be done to the understanding and appreciation of all Ghanaians – to hopefully convert individuals and institutions in Ghana to take on ethical characters and moral living that will eradicate the collision of immoral power with powerless morality which constitutes the crisis of our country.
LACPSA-GHANA calls for attitudinal change to improve our beloved country Ghana, now! We want the Ghanaian people, you and us, to know that our motherland Ghana will only develop if we change our attitude from being villainously nefarious and promiscuously unvirtuous to high-minded and pure-hearted for good and all-oriented – not when we change government or political party. We must belay and desist from the following negative and villainous attitudes we exhibit that are adversely affecting our nation: Converting and exploiting the vulnerable and public resources; embezzlement and misappropriation of state funds; mismanagement of state resources; vigilantism; bribery and corruption; careless driving leading to road accidents; improper disposal of waste; victimisation, armed-robbery, kidnapping and tribalism, to mention a few. These and many other social cankers, when eschewed, will pave the way for massive development. It only takes attitudinal change, not change of government or changing party.
The nature of problems we are facing in this country indicate that our emphasis must be two-fold: We must create moral Ghanaian institutions. We must convert and develop individuals commitment to being consensually awake to morality and ethics in everything they do; and further ensure public policies, laws and institutional regulations are marketed and explained to them so they appreciate and strictly apply them.
Indeed, corruption among governments and politicians will diminish if individuals and institutions take on morality and moral living. It is very obvious that coups and military rule have never contributed any social and/or economic progress to any country, and the usual symbolic street protests do not provide any solution to problems. They only create unnecessary tension in society and maybe put government and society in some panic and fear, while serving the interests of some characters whose past and current activities have serious ethical and moral concerns.
This is not the time for those romantic illusions and empty philosophical debate, as well as those dramatically mischievous and conspiracy theory base broadcast in the media and on our streets. It is time for everybody to live by example. Whoever that is blaming government, politician and our leaders should first do the right thing. Those problems the government or the politician is blamed for will be over if the individuals and institution commit to doing the right thing and resist the evil temptations of doing every to leverage personal wealth, comfort, luxury and relationship.
What is actually needed now, which LACPSA-GHANA propose, is a strategy for change of mindset and attitude of the Ghanaian towards moral living; a tactical program that will make the Ghanaian individual and institution repent, convert and take on morality and ethics as a core/principal priority as against personal gain, as quick as possible.
In an honest and realistic personal assessment and individual evaluation, each and every one of us knows the multiplicity of corrupt, immoral and unethical actions and inactions we take that solely or contributory feed in the problems of this country. But we are not willing to repent and do the right thing by ourselves first; we are rather attacking, crisping and blaming others, when our own actions amount to same, if not, worse evils. We must appreciate that the thing we have near absolute control over is our own behaviour, and if we are not able to change our own character to doing the right thing, all the activities we engage or participate in demands for socio-economic reforms and changes will remain solutions that do not solve, answers that do not answer and explanations that do not explain.
Indeed all the symbolic and shambolic activities by people pretending to be fighting corruption, injustice and human rights and human dignity abuses, whose individual and institutional life are purely and practically corrupt and unjust, cannot be accepted as change oriented advocacies and their messages cannot be taken serious by anybody; they are and best described as mischievous corruption and social economic injustice entrepreneurs, who found and niche in propagating and sharing stories on corruption and human right abuses to create personal wealth for themselves.
We honestly face the fact that, even most individuals and institutions whose mandates are to secure the interests of the ordinary Ghanaian, including our Members of Parliament (MPs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Media networks in Ghana must address themselves to the questions of ethical and moral concerns in our Society. Why is it that some CSO and media leaders and members are living in excessive luxury, which can’t be justified by their salaries, yet those persons question politicians and businessmen luxurious lifestyles? Why is it that an MP can own a fleed of more than three luxurious cars, which monthly serving can drill several boreholes or build several classrooms while most of his constituents do not have portable water to drink or classrooms for their children; yet those individuals and their institutions are busy criticizing and pointing fingers at government officials? A clergy or traditional leader will use the resource or the society she/he represent to live in excessive luxury while the subjects or congregation members lack basic social amenities; yet the clergy or leader has the face to criticize government or politicians? Obviously, we don’t need a revolution or a coup; all we need is change of our individual characters and lifestyles. If all the business persons contractors, professionals, technocrats, agents, and agencies who do the deals with government and government officials begin to live and act morally, practicing ethical behaviour the politician or government official cannot commit any social injustice or corruption.
What we are saying is that it is not about change of governments, change of constitution, making of more laws etc that matter; What actually matters is for all of us, as individuals and institutions, to repent and return to our natural and constitutional moral lifes. What we are saying is that we must stop the pretense in making it look like the problems of corruption, injustice, human rights and human dignity abuse is limited to the politicians and government/party in power. In fact, we take this opportunity to question the whole society on the respective roles members of society play in the problems of economic exploitation, corruption, war/violence, human rights and human dignity abuse of the nation.
We herein discuss the individual and institutional ethical and moral concerns in Ghana and the social economic problems it poses;
The fluid international conditions caught with ideological tensions and political games in the public domain in today’s Ghana demand a fresh pragmatic approach to our social and economic philosophy, with emphasis on the ideals of moral living and ethical practice in delivering Justice, good governance, and protecting human dignity and human rights.
Moral living and ethical practice refer to a system or, human behaviour that reflect pure sense of right and wrong, virtue and vice, as well as goodness and badness of action together with the motives and consequences of these actions. It is the consciously pure standard that chooses righteous instead of evil, right instead of wrong, just instead of unjust, honest instead of mischievous. Ethical and moral requirements in politics and business do not differ from generally accepted norms, values and doctrines on good and bad (virtue and vice) practice in natural, social, religious and cultural settings. If corruption, dishonesty and unethical deals are (considered) immoral in political and business society then dishonesty and unethical deals in religious, traditional leadership and professional services are also immoral and unnatural. If enforcing the laws and ensuring the dignity, security, safety and welfare of the country citizens and society are considered ethical, legal and moral responsibilities of government and its entities, then obeying the laws, strictly complying with ethical standard and respecting the rights of other human being and society members are ethical and moral responsibilities of every citizen.
Notably, the individual in every society is influenced by three repositories that usually contain unique systems of values that exert varying degrees of control over the individuals and institutions. These three repositories are; Religion, Culture and Law.
Religion is one of the oldest sources of ethical inspiration. More than 100,000 different religions exist across the globe, and nearly one hundred percent (100%) of Ghanaians have their respective faith tired to some of the religions. The major religions, including Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion, which majority of Ghanaians practice, converge on the belief that ethics is an expression of divine will that reveal the nature of right and wrong in all walks of life. The great leaders of the religions are ordained to preach the necessity for a morally upright and ethical practical society, and orderly social system; and emphasize social responsibility with an objective to contribute to the general welfare of humanity and common benefit of society. Unfortunately, most clergy members in our dear country have completely abandoned this ordained responsibility. They focus their sermons and messages on prosperity, without teachings on the ethical and moral responsibility in the journey to prosperity. This has resulted in members of these religions doing anything and everything to attain prosperity, ignoring and or manipulating ethical standards and moral requirements in pursued of prosperity and luxury.
Culture refers to a set of values, rules and standards transmitted among generations, and are aimed at modeling behaviours so that they fall within acceptable limits. These rules and standards always play an important part in determining values because individual anchor their conduct in the culture of the group in which they belong. Regrettable, most Ghanaians have completely ignored their morally endowed cultural values in pretense of civilization and or Internationalization of lifestyles and standard of living. Traditional leaders, even tribal leaders, clan heads and aboriginals who are supposed to exemplarily live by the morally endowed and ethically pure cultures they inherited, and teach their community members to live by same, have all abandoned their cultures; and have now sung, neck-deep, in immorality and unethical practices, engaging in everything unethical, including disposal of assets and heritage that they receive from previous generations for their personal and immediate family benefits. Instead of keeping to their cultures in what they eat, wear, etc, they go after western stuff, which compel and impel them to commit all kinds of corrupt and unethical activities to raise funds for such western luxurious lifestyles. This has resulted in the average Ghanaian now doing everything anticultural, immoral and unethical to achieve a so-called civilized, western or international lifestyle. Meanwhile, civilization itself is a cumulative cultural experience in which people have passed through distinct phases of moral codifications. It is never such drama of one abandoning his culture and jump after another person’s culture; like the Ghanaian wanting to be everything American or European. Civilization is actually about dynamically building your system based on your culture; as the Japanese, the Chinese did and other successful nations and their citizenry did.
Laws are rules of conduct approved by legislatures that guide human behaviour in any society. They codify ethical expectations and changes when new evils emerge. But laws are not able to cover all ethical expectations in society. Laws are to be obeyed to ensure an orderly and progressive society; And it takes consciousness of ethical and moral responsibility for a person to obey and comply with a law. The social and economic problems we face as a country is not because we don’t have enough laws; it is because the leaders as well as the citizenry as a whole lack the morals and ethical characteristics to obey and apply the laws to the benefits of the society and the ordinary (other) Ghanaian. Individuals and institutions in Ghana manipulate, bend and sometimes, break the law to serve personal or party interests; which resulted in the heightening socio-economic injustice, corruption, violence, human dignity and human rights abuses.
Instead of governing under the natural democratic principal of “Rule of Law”, where everyone, regardless of class or affiliation, is equal before the constitution and other laws of the country; we now leave in a system that is governing under a creative unethical principal called “Rule by Law”, where the constitutional provisions and or other Laws of the land are manipulated and mischievously interpreted to benefit the powerful and run down(ruin) the powerless. Law breaking and law manipulation is so common in the Ghanaian society nowadays because individuals and institutions do not consciencially and emotionally feel responsible and bound to adhere to the rules, since obeying the law is presumed to be ethical behaviour which will not earn the luxury and wealth, they desperately desire. The absence of moral aptitude and ethical characteristics in our entities has resulted in the wide spread of lawlessness and law breaking in government, in parliament, among executive officials, in the judiciary, in civil and public service, in business, amongst CSOs and the general society. Hence, killing, stealing, corruption, tax evasion, telling lies, extortion, fraud, etc. are all over and virtually everyone is a culprit and the Ghanaian society is the victim of socio-economic problems and their consequences.
The ethical and moral responsibilities of individuals and institution as represented in the three repositories must be advocated and preached to every individual and institution in this country.
Virtually everyone belongs to a religion; and therefore, preachers and leaders of the various religions must make it a point to preach on the strict standard compliance of morality and ethical behaviour as part of daily sermons. They must design, develop and review sermons that clearly and practically address the individual and institutional ethical and moral concerns in Ghana today. They must live examples of morality and ethical practice; openly condemning unethical behaviour and immorality without fear or favour, while praising and rewarding outstanding ethical performance.
Every citizen has an ethnicity and for that matter a cultural group s/he belongs. Our chiefs, tribal leaders, herdsmen, and elders must recover, document and deliver purposeful initiation of members to the ethics and moral principles of their respective cultures. They must also leave as examples or morality and ethical behaviour in to heir walks of life; openly condemning, naming and shaming cultural law breakers, and rewarding outstanding ethical performances.
The NCCE, GES, etc have the mandate for civic education and general educations respectively. The NCCE must develop, employment, and sustain a nationwide, all inclusive, education on the ethical and moral behavioral requirements for individuals and institutions as presented in the constitution and the various laws of Ghana. They must advocate particularly on common acts individuals and institutions, like paying bribe, receiving bribe, lying, playing mischief for personal benefit, fraud, conversion of public property-community or family property for personal benefit etc, which now look normal in our morally decorated society; repeatedly advocating for the individuals and institutions to stop those behaviours. The GES must make it as part of our school/education system at all levels. Morality and ethical behave must be a subject or a course at every stage, taught in everything term/semester as a compulsory subject/course for all pupils, students and scholars from basic one to doctorate degree and beyond.
The next chapters will deal with some of the specific ethical and moral concerns identifiable with the various classes of individuals and institutions. This will provide clues and exposures of core areas and clues for individuals and institution specific management and controls programs and strategies. It will provide specific moral and ethical concerns areas that will be elaborated in assessment and evaluation documents, kits, devices and systems that must be developed, deployed and reviewed for sustained used in engaging and ensuring morality and ethical practice of the various individuals and institutions. There must be a monthly internal/department, institutional and individual ethical and morality compliance audit and a quarterly external audit for all persons and institutions of both the public and private sectors.
The NCCE must not stop advocating until the last Ghanaian understand, accept and strictly apply moral living at home, work leadership, place of worship and everywhere. The GES and NCCE must continue developing and rolling out new programs, courses and subjects in moral and ethical issues until the last citizen, and or student understand, practice and teach morality and good ethical behaviour at home, work, School, research, industry etc. The clergy must not stop preaching about pure morality and strict ethical behaviour until the last member understand, practice and also preach good moral conduct and ethical behaviour everywhere.
When the citizens, ordinary people professionals and technocrats of Ghana begin to consciously and conscientiously adapt and practice moral living and affirm strict ethical behaviour no politician or leader can use them to commit corruption, violence, injustice or any other socio-economic problem against the nation and its people. We must all understand that the realistic way to push for change is to first adapt and practice it, so that others can learn and live from the examples; since the only thing we have near absolute control over is ourselves. Each and every one has the open choice to take on moral living and resist immorality or to sucum to the environmental temptations of immorality and evil, which breed the rapidly growing, widely spreading and endemically infectious corruption, injustice, violence and other socio-economic problems across the country. To this end it is our understanding, and that is of fact, that the individuals and institutions in Ghana failure to adhere to morality and ethical rules is the remote cause of all our socio-economic crisis.
There is so much fear, confusion and problems in the world because we have relied on the gods of science, pleasure and money instead of adhering to the ethical rules of the Omnipotent Supreme God of nature. We depend on the god of science which is not able to control the destructive effects of its own products like, missiles, bomb, poisons, chemicals and lab born diseases like HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. We lustfully rush to the god of pleasure only to discover that thrills play out and sensation are short-lived. We cherish the god of money only to realize that there are things like, love, friendship trust and even live itself that money cannot buy. The world over, investment problems, business crisis, market crashes and depressions make money an uncertain deity.
It is high time we all appreciate the natural fact that science, pleasure, money and all the other transitory gods we worship in this world are not able to save us from the problems of this world and bring and ensure happiness to human heart without absolutely trust, faith and compliance in the morality of God Almighty, the Supreme God of nature. Until we all understand that our individual and institutional morality and ethical behaviour in everything we do in all walks of life matter most, all our efforts at adverting the socioeconomic problems we face as a country will always turned to ashes and our sunrise black out into darkest night.
Without individual and institutional morality and ethical behaviour, all the demonstrations and theories in the media and on our streets will continue to be meaningless drama without decisive scenes. With individual and institutional morality and ethical behaviour, we shall be able to rise from the depression to Joy; and from despair to hope social justice and economic development. If individuals and institutions act morally and ethically, we will earn freedom from fear and receive clear vision on the purpose of God for our beloved country. With morality and ethical behaviour by individuals and institutions, we will be able to consciencially live the length and breadth of life; and practice true love for our individual self and our neighbors, by being morally conscious, ethically rational and with clear focus on doing things that keep us holistically (bodily, souly and spiritually) healthy and alive. Ethical behaviour and morality will also enable us apply the law of ‘loving a neighbour as self’, by pursuing efforts aimed at protecting the dignity, safety and joy of other persons and not mere material prosperity, standard of living and or comfort for self, without or with only scant respect for human or social value.
If we the Ghanaian individuals and institutions repent and assume moral living and ethical behaviour, they will thereafter truly love the nation, our beloved country, with all hearts and all soul and my minds, by dedicating and entrusting everything they do or have or do to the benefit of society and glory of God Almighty. In fact, if individuals and institutions become good and morally conscious citizens they will do and commit everything with prime priority to national interest, and only do or use that which is necessary for the benefit of the country and its society. This will usher the growth in country wealth to the benefit of the ordinary Ghanaian.
Let’s note that the focus of patriotism or nationalism, just like Godliness is moral living and ethical behaviour. Without morality and ethical behaviour we will continue to hear growth in our economy, while we practically suffer deteriorating poverty and other social problems. Without morality and ethical behaviour, investigations of science, discoveries and exploration of resources, and even gains from entrepreneurship and expanded enterprising cannot be channeled and applied to the welfare of mankind; it will be converted and hoarded by individuals. And without morality and ethical behaviour, wisdom from God knowledge from science and inherently power in the hands of a politician, professional or academic or even an entrepreneur or wealthy person is more dangerous than atomic bomb in the hands of a terrorist or suicide bomber. In fact, the absence of religiosity, Godly and natural ethical values and moral living in practice in the Ghanaian society has pushed the science and art of our systems into the marsh of obsolete materialism, crippling irrationalism, paralyzing hope and endemic socio-economic and political crises.
Any believe that the leaders and the politicians are the only persons who require morality and ethical behaviour to ensure good governance and social congruence without contributory or supplementary and primary moral aptitude and ethical behaviour of individuals and institutions is as untenable as any believe that the individuals and institutions can do everything for themselves without leaders and government. The former its irresponsibility and the latter is lack of leadership. Ordinary citizenry, individuals and institutions must take full responsibility for the morality and ethical behavioural requirements in all walks of life, under all circumstances and in all times, and leaders and government must put the interests of the nation and the benefit of society on top of everything they do. In any case however, as citizens, institutions and individuals can only be able to be effectually and justifiably pressure and push government and leaders for accountability and good governance if the individuals and institutions on their part are able to live morally and behaviour ethically, committing to morality and ethical behaviour and resisting any temptation to serve the interest of bad leaders, business persons and politicians for personal gains.
Every human being has been endowed with a talent responsibility to contribute to development of society and social congruence, with a core responsibility to act and act morally and ethically pluralize and societal benefit. And no excuses or reasons are tenable or justifiable to God of nature for one’s failure to morally and ethically invest his talent and works for the benefit of any society she/he belongs. Not even being in a harsh and restrictive environment as an ordinary citizen or even as a prison should limit anyone from putting out moral character and ethical behaviour.
Every Ghanaian institution and individual must work morally, ethically, passionately and indefatigably to bridge the yawning gap between a scientific, social-economic and political progress on one hand, and progress in morality and ethicality in our society as well as economic freedom, social justice, development, upliftment and enrichment of human life and others. The greatest problem of our dear nation that lead to masses of living in violence, insecurity, agony, poverty, despair, anxiety, fear, frustration, desperation, and other evils of crime is not lack of natural resources, human capital or scientific tools and technology; it has absolutely more to do with poverty of the spirit, the absence of moral living and ethical attitude among individuals and institutions, as well as the evils of politicians and sociocultural leaders/including some Christian leaders) and dishonesty of professionals, academicians, persons with discretionary powers, etc, which stands in glaring contrast to our resource, scientific and technological abundance. It is pathetic to note that the richer, more powerful and more influential we have become socially and economically, the poorer we become morally and ethically; and shamefully individuals and institutions do not consider morality and ethical standards when doing things for friends, party, relationship or wealth.
The writer is an Analyst; Security & Climate Change
