Former president John Agyekum Kufuor has urged Ghanaian students in Singapore to return home after their studies with the knowledge they have acquired and fresh ideas to contribute to the development of Ghana.
He said Singapore, which passes as one of ideal states, provided them with huge opportunities to learn and gather experiences that would help accelerate the development of Ghana.
The former President was speaking to students and some members of the Ghanaian community who called on him and the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, after the inauguration of FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor.
“Ghana will require your expertise; some of you have finished your courses and are progressing with your PhDs, while others are also on other paths, which is encouraging,” he said.
The honour
He said the naming of the FPSO after him was a great honour, as the two former presidents did not have the opportunity of witnessing such memorable ceremonies.
Ghana, he said, should be very dear to the heart of all Ghanaians and they should collectively work towards its progress to an ideal society.
For her part, Mrs Akufo-Addo extended President Akufo-Addo’s warm greetings to them and assured them that he would work to bring about the change the New Patriotic Party (NPP) espoused.
She said Ghana had a lot of potentials that were yet to be fully harnessed to her advantage and she would need the expertise of all, including those in the Diaspora, to accelerate the process of change
Potential
To unlock these potentials as a country, she said there would be the need for all expertise to come on board.
“Don’t stay away. Come home and help your country. It is interesting that we started together with Singapore, about 50 years ago, but they are miles ahead of us,” she said.
She said the country could only bridge the gap through hard work and that the President would lead the agenda to ensure that the change would happen.
She added that it was very important to note that President Akufo-Addo was passionate about every Ghanaian and that all the issues discussed and the concerns of the students would be conveyed to him.
Chairman
Earlier, the Chairman of the Ghanaian Community in Singapore, Mr Dennis Abbey Quaye, appealed to the government to use diplomatic means to negotiate some relief for Ghanaian students pursuing high education.
He said after completing their master’s programmes, most students wanted to stay, work and complete PhD but “they are not allowed.”
“We are not asking government to tell the Singaporean authorities to offer jobs to our graduates, but we don’t have the critical equipment needed for practical works in Ghana,” he said.
He explained that with such opportunities and the learning equipment available, a student who was either on government scholarship or supporting himself or herself would want to stay and complete the process.
He assured President Kufuor and the First Lady they would stay united and be part of the development process.
Singapore
Singapore and Ghana’s relationship dates back more than half a century after independence. Singapore, with the same climate as Ghana, has a more organised society, green, clean environment, with citizens taking their civic responsibilities seriously.
It placed priority on education and creation of human resource tailored towards the economic social progress.
To them, much of the progress made was as a result of a disciplined society.
Ghanaians in Singapore urged those at home to know that the transformation agenda rests on them.
Source: Daily Graphic
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Charlie.. di3 mahunu yi... kw3... memba biom..
Ghanaian politicians talk as if they own expatriates. First of all they don't know why some of us travel and they don't know how we survive. They talk as if they sponsored some of us to travel. They don't even respect our privacy to begin with. Who ever said anyone cannot live in another country and call it home? Did any of the expatriate sign a country with Ghana to go back home after one's tenure? These guys are a bunch of hypocrites. They treat Ghanaian expatriates as boggers and track them only to see them fail. But some of us who are highly educated and have good or better jobs abroad will continue to take of ourselves and make our own decision on when to go back home under no duress or pressure. For now , life is good and we all live for once not twice. Enjoy what you have. Ghana is full of corrupt politicians and the environment is not business friendly. Nepotism, croynism, bribery , corruption, ***barred word*** and negativism has become the order of the day. Any one wondering why they could not even locate stolen government cars after one change of government? Where is accountability, records keeping and good governance. There is none. The Ghanaian environment is riddled with backwardness, colonial mentality, failure and jujuism and what have you. Guys , where ever you are stay put and do your thing. Don't let these guys deceive you packing. They have already made their money and just talking for the sake of talking. PEACE.
Talk is cheap. What our leaders fail to realize is that tomorrow is our choice and so we build the tomorrow we want to see when we are old. When they are presidents they senses become shrouded with corruption but after their tenure, their senses are restored back to full thinking capacities. We can always expect such talks from past leaders. It's not that the older you become the more wiser you become that's not the fact. It's a shame on them. We just have to ignore such comments from such people. Should we come back to sweep the streets or the houses of politicians when they failed to make room for their growing youthful population. Don't just talk please. We beg you.
We'd love to. But the conditions back home will never be suitable for us and with the money we've seen, it'd be hard to come home and settle for less. Oh wait! There aren't enough jobs for those home already.
When you had the opportunity to change things for the country, you went on a amassing properties for yourselves. All these witch hunting wouldn't have began if you had ruled wisely when the first change of the 4th Republic began. Now what do we see, government officials buying state properties for pittance. Most of us in diaspora returned home to meet nothing after our Phds and Masters programmes,so had no choice than to avoid the frustrations in the country of our birth to struggle abroad. The few of us who got jobs were labelled "too known" by corrupt public officials and our contributions never appreciated. One thing you may not understand is that when you have lived where you earn a living that more or less reflects your contribution, you find it difficult to work in a polarized environment rife with laziness and corrupt practises. Please this is not to say most of these Western and developed Asians are not corrupt. The difference is they put their countries first and don't stash monies in foreign banks. Thanks.
Mr President we want to come ooo, but no job for us