Africans and the concept of

Essentially, development is bringing factual knowledge via
INSTITUTIONS to the benefit of as many people as possible. This means
development is an institutional affair.

Politics then, is the art of transforming society via institutions to
better the lives of the people. No government can be successful
without functional institutions. It is via institutions that the
overarching good policies of government are conveyed to meet the
demands of the people. It is essentially the bridge, palindromically
linking the government to the governed.

Institutions are built and managed by men in leadership positions for
national development. No matter the inherent frailties of men, being
it intelligence, psychological or emotional, institutions are built to
consciously subdue and work around them and ensure development.

Not project them consciously or unconciously and, directly or
indirectly to the detriment of the nation. In other words,
failure....institutional failure must reducibly be confined to become
the exception and, not the rule. This is because institutional failure
adversely affect both the government and the people. Though it affects
the people more than the government.

However we can learn from human beings on other continents that had
demonstrated repeatedly and continues to do, that, what is needed to
make institutions functional for realization of national development
is not absolute knowledge and perfect humans. But a factually working
operative knowledge and honest, competent and rationality-driven men.
In the parlance of politics driven by institutions, transparency is
honesty and achieving results is competence. And rationality is
ensuring the masses benefit from the institutional transparency and
its positive results.

That is all. But interestingly enough and somehow it does not appear
to us like that in Africa, not to even the men in leadership positions
in this institutions. It seems we believed absolute knowledge and
perfect men are the requirement for functional institutions for
national development.

And because there are no absolute knowledge and perfect humans in
nature hence Africa, African institutions; the bridge linking the
government and the governed are justified to fail the masses. It even
make sense to us...Ghanaians and Africans.

When that make sense to us and continues to do, it only implies and
confirms our deepest lack of understanding the importance of
institutions. Institutions are meant to subjugate the frailties of men
and maximize the best in us for the betterment of all.

Until Africans do that......which no other race can and will do for
us, sustainable development shall continue to elude us on this
continent. The continent will be like a moon reflecting the light of
development from other continents in lieu of generating its own, that
shall be sufficient to as possible as on the continent.

We all want to see this naturally and humanly resourced continent
called Africa develop, at least to our satisfaction. The realization
of that lies in us demanding more from our institutions
intellectually, socially, politically, philosophically and above all
scientifically.

Our understanding of the concept of human institution in Ghana and
Africa fundamentally endangers our collective developmental
aspirations. Because it imprints and promotes selfishness, mediocrity,
corruption and incompetence among other detrimental attitudinal
debilities which eventually characterize our institutions, as normal
and acceptable to both the government and the governed. And we put it
neatly and nicely as, THIS IS HUMAN INSTITUTION.

Seshie, Stanley

Email: [email protected]

Whatsapp...0508951323