By Dr Shadrach Dare

The average Ghanaian is risk-averse – and indeed, our education system has not prepared us for this. We are not even trained or taught to work with each other – see peoples attitudes in group work! And this had been my own attitude for the longest time. I felt so ashamed when a good friend approached me with a business idea- and while it sounded great, my first thought was, what if he cheats me? What if it goes wrong? While these are important considerations before getting in business with anyone- I wondered why I didn’t first think of “This is a great idea, and thank you for sharing with me?”

The lack of trust in the system has affected personal relationships. In the West, you will see Asian businesses thriving because they are partnering and supporting each other to grow. Yet the Ghanaian will not want to shop from his fellow Ghanaian who runs an African shop or Ghanaian restaurant. The Ghanaian will readily recommend a Chinese restaurant to colleagues rather than suggest a Ghanaian restaurant. They won’t even support your Youtube channel to grow (stray bullet! subscribe to my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJBcq0hu0lI ).

Unfortunately, individualism and selfishness are only increasing- especially in the motherland. People building on waterways is evident of same.

But this must change! The culture of mistrust must change. We must rescue the moral fabric of our society. This must be the call of churches and people in authority. It must start with you, with me, with us! How do we grow the next generation of Ghanaians to be more sincere and trusting of each other? How can I trust that my fellow Ghanaian is my brother’s keeper?

#RandomThoughts