<<Print>>

While the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, is drawing the curtain down on his presidency, Akufo-Addo is just getting started. Both leaders rode on a campaign slogan of “CHANGE”. While Obama said “change we can believe in”, Akufo-Addo touted “Vote for change”.  “Change” may mean different connotations for different people; for some, it may be good and others bad.

The triumph of Obama brought along renewed hopes for many African-Americans and Black people at large. This was perhaps because Obama being one himself, resonated well with people of African descent, and thus, there were high expectations from the Black race in every aspect of their lives. The African-American support for Obama came in many forms; hip-pop rapper, Young Jeezy, for example composed a song, “My President”, for the campaign among others.

Regardless of these, the “Obama change” may not have been the same for everyone. Although, Obama’s presidency brought about some positive changes (creation of 15 million jobs-CNN), it also witnessed several unfortunate police encounters with some African- Americans which saw some of them (both police and civilians) being shot dead. Notable among them were: Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner. All these culminated into the “Black Lives Matter Movement”. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, (CBC) reports that Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than White people.

So, until Black people become 3 times more “obedient” and “submissive” than their White counterparts, we may still experience the shooting of Blacks by the police.

Like the expectations of the Blacks about the “Obama change”, Ghanaians should not expect so much from the Akufo-Addo-led government. The “Akufo-Addo change” may also mean differently to different people. Ghanaians should not expect to be lazy and still get their bills paid. Although Jesus could turn water into wine, former President Mahama could not put monies into the pockets of Ghanaians as he promised.

So, Ghanaians should not expect to be served breakfast, lunch and supper in their beds. The new government cannot make manna fall from the sky. Ghanaians should rather work very hard to better their lives.

Develop yourself if you get the chance. Government is not easy, it has never been easy and the story won’t be different this time around. If you are not expecting “any job for the boys” form of benefits, then you should not quit your job just because there is a change. Let us hope for the best but expecting the worst as Jay-Z puts it. Let us brace for impact in case we are to crash-land. If you don’t expect much, you won’t be disappointed. The new government should however, ensure that it delivers on its promises to Ghanaians through the effective implementation of its policies.

Until Ghanaians work harder and dim their expectations of the Akufo-Addo-led government, the change they expect will only be a mirage.