Ladies and gentlemen, just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the Gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Roman empire, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of development of Volta Region beyond my particular abode to everyone from the region both at home and in the diaspora.
Like Paul, who responded constantly to the Macedonian call for aid, I must also constantly respond to the Volta region’s call for aid to rescue it from government inactions that remains dangerously structured dam that blocks the flow of social progress into the region. Poor development of the region emerges from government inactions and most people have to go through many hoops. As such, they live with the distressing realities of;
• Severely lack of access to economic opportunity. • Chronic unemployment • Impoverishment • Rural-urban migration
Whenever people complain about the poor level of development of the region, there is always a call to wait for its turn to come. For years now I have heard the word “wait”. Its rings pierce in the ears of every person from the region. This “wait” has almost always means “never”. In the words of Martin Luther King Jnr, “wait” has been tranquilizing thalidomide, relieving the emotional stress for a moment, only to give birth to an ill-formed infant of frustration.
We have waited for a long time; even under the current democratic dispensation, we have waited for almost one generation. Volta region, with government inaction, still creeps at horse and buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter while others move with jet-like speed toward achieving the goal of their development due to government action.
We merely bring to the surface government inaction. We do not bring it out in the open where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is cover up but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, government inaction in the Volta region must likewise be exposed with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the light of voter conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.
There is an outstanding paradox: we ourselves are imbued with urgency, yet the message is that there is no viable alternative to the present. Beneath the reassuring tones of some of our representatives in government, beneath the opinion among some of our own people, is the pervading feeling that there simply are no alternatives.
These responses are a sign of helplessness, fearfulness of vision, refusal to hope, and tend to bring on the very conditions to be avoided. Fearing vision, we justify rhetoric or myopia. Fearing hope, we reinforce despair.
The question that could be raised is have we tried and tested the other political parties before? “No”. If the answer is No, why then do we believe that there is no alternative to the present? I think if we try and test the other political parties too, something can be done to change the present circumstances of the deplorable condition of the region.
As I write now, it is alleged that the NDC is planning feverishly to send some equipment – bulldozers – to the beach of Keta to create the impression that work will soon begin on the expansion of Keta Sea Defense Project from Blekusu to Aflao before November 7 poll.
Afterwards, the equipment will be taken away. It is also alleged that special message package is being prepared at the NDC Headquarters for the people of Volta region. All these are bid to convince us to vote massively for the NDC to retain power. Is this the region’s share of the national cake? Should the region be on this path until thy kingdom come?
Ladies and gentlemen, Thomas Jefferson warned that a society that does not transform itself every generation risks sowing the seeds of its own demise. In response to this warning, I wish to make an appeal as my effort to promote understanding and appreciation of the need to change the current circumstances of the region.
The appeal is simple, all of us from Volta region - both those at home and those in diaspora – should rise and throw off government inactions in the region using the ballot box come November 7, 2016. No political party, per our expressed action, will take the region for granted again.
Historical precedents abound for us to see. For example, Fantes, expressed their displeasure about poor development through 2000 and 2004 polls. Consequently, no politician(s) take them for granted again. The southern states of USA had for a long time voted massively for the Democrats. But at a point in time, they realized that their voting pattern was not helping them in terms of development. So they shifted their position. Today the southern states sparkle.
This is a pointer to the truism that nothing stands still for long. The world of states is a dynamic changing world and not a static unchanging one. Let us embrace and affix to this fact and demonstrate to a watching world that we do not vote for just a political party but a party that can embark on key economic programmes to change our deplorable condition.
Together, let’s build a strong base for assault on government inactions. Indeed, this will be the goose that will lay the golden egg.
In making your decision this year to vote, remember these words culled from Anlo anthem composed by Philip Gbeho:
Miade nyigba lͻlͻa Mado wò ŋkͻ ȡe dzi Le nyeagbe blibo me Nye magble wò ȡi o.
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