Up the down escalator is how I see it; and that frightens me a lot more than down the up escalator. It’s about a Gatwick Airport experience, flying to North Africa. I found the gradient of the escalators at that airport too steep for my liking. Being acrophobic, I suffer serious giddiness at heights. But looking up a steep escalator frightens me less than looking down an escalator of similar gradient. Thus, I’d rather look up an escalator than look down one.
Looking down an escalator is trickle-down economics long preached by Uncle Sam. ‘My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has never worked.’ These words were spoken on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, by the overlord of Bretton-Woods, of trickle-down land. From that base, trickle-down apostles have been evangelising it as the only path to national development and prosperity, the elixir and panacea for curing underdevelopment. Let’s note, though, Kufuornomics practised it much human-faced.
In trickle-down workings, as diagnosed in Kwame Nkrumah’s ‘Class Struggle in Africa,’ a comprador class of the schooled (not interchangeable with the educated) professionals, businesspeople, military and traditional leaders, facilitates the operations of the foreign exploiter of their own compatriots. To that class Sir Sam and poor me belong, oiling the exploitation of the exploited by the exploiters who develop because we underdevelop.
To Sir, the missing piece in our development effort puzzle is dealing with ‘compradorism,’ whereby everything economy is foreign controlled. Kutu tried and failed to ‘capture the ‘commanding heights of the economy.’ The AFRC attempt to check the Leventine stranglehold fizzled out during the PNDC reign. Ɔsono almost traded a presidential palace meal of pottage for foreign control of the retail merchandise trade. Now, it’s bauxite for Sinohydro.
Apparently, the formation of a critical mass of a progressive middle class was gravely obstructed by the coups of 1966, 1972 and 1981. Self-exile pushed out many of those elements out of the motherland. Such elements would return with no fold to reengage or not return at all. Thus, the comprador role has been strengthened rather than being lessened for a transformative bourgeoisie.
Without that ‘matriotic’ critical mass of a middle class, then, opting for a bottom-up approach has come to mean ‘ateyie’ (living well) suicide for us ‘compradoring.’ Top-down trickle-down works by deceptive peaceful mouse-like bite and sniff tactics. The bottom-up works in deluge surge, through violent societal upheaval. It usually comes about through a revolution. As upstream flow, it requires huge wave push. That is the kind of wave that often sweeps along with it of name and wealth Sir, and only by name, my type.
Our dear motherland has experienced it all. From 1951-1966, it was a movement of the masses that speedily developed the motherland at a rate far ahead of her peers. It was only truncated by a comprador that cared more about the liberty of the individual than an accompanying economic liberation. Next was 1981-2000 which was squandered by a sloganeering comprador.
Call the nine-page Sam Jonah expression expose, ranting, or lamentations, as suits you. His most ardent critics may even want to say by ‘escalator’ he actually meant ‘excavator,’ since his career had been more associated with the latter. Mainly and by the audience type, though, as by his own preference, it’s about ‘reflections.’
His ‘Down the up escalator: Reflections on Ghana’s future by a Senior Citizen, Sam K. Jonah,’ for Rotarians, has succeeded in provoking the debate he must have hoped for. And in my humble view, whichever way one may see it, it’s been a national service and not the disservice some prefer it to be. I am a little perplexed, though. I’m unsure whether by ‘down the up’, Sir is advocating bottom-up or he’s saying we are stuck at the bottom and therefore, there’s a need to move up.
In our motherland political discourse, sadly in my view, often, what gets noticed is the reaction to the outrageous provoking punches thrown by congresspeople. (I’m not implying Sir is a congressperson) That is why I am convinced that, for as long as congress elements have some power in this motherland, the motherland cannot be hastened anywhere towards the good life and living conditions called development.
What the Sam Jonah ‘fuss’ shows is that there are at least two sides to national issues: the congress view and the ɔsono view. In-between, maybe tilting a bit towards the ɔsono view, though, must be the view beneficial to the motherland; especially where the two agree to chop chop. And there is a lot of agreement between the two in ripping off the motherland as in no assets declaration, ex-gratia for MPs every four years and collecting double salary as ministers and MPs.
To touch on just a bit of Sir’s submission, we can easily broaden schooling as education to make teaching and upbringing more purposeful. Let us teach the sciences and technical subjects in our own language. I have been struggling with completing a small book for years because ‘me brɔfo asa’ (my English vocabulary is exhausted). Why that torture? And let the outcome be that EVERY high school graduate will have some functional artisanal skills; that is, upping the schooling and work nexus, to provide citizens with the proper education for life and living.
You must have guessed right that I am silent on the ‘culture of silence.’ Well, it’s because I have written about it before. You may google and read it if you so wish. If you did that, you would find what I think it is and how much of it is happening or not happening now.
If we are back at PNDC culture of silence, this motherland has no future. Because that would mean if you are not NDC you must always do right, be perfect. The motherland expects the right to be done. Pay no, or less, attention or care about congress’ provocateur first punch throwing. That’s not possible.
Yes, if you’re a #FixTheCountry, by all means talk about ɔsono flaws. But in fairness, take a critical view of the fixing that is going on, because it’s considerable. Roads, free SHS and RAILWAYS. Functioning 76 factories mean 14 per year by the current government. We have improved from one USD35 million white elephant factory. Sir and #FixTheCountry would not be complaining about manufacturing jobs if from January 7, 1993 governments would have been completing 14 factories per year.
Let all beware, though, you’re not canvassing congress return to power. ‘Sɛ wo annma wani annsɔ nea wo wɔ a, ne nyinaa hwere wo’ (Without some appreciation, you risk losing everything.’ That is not mediocrity; it is recognising real progress to inspire greater effort. If we need something more than ɔsono to fix the motherland, let us look for that in, and not create opportunity for another congress government. Congress must disappear for the motherland to develop; otherwise, forget this motherland’s quick acceleration to the development that was envisioned and contemplated in 1951.
By Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh