A Senior Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Seidu Alidu has predicted doom for the country if Ghanaians continue to perceive state institutions as corrupt.
His comments come on the back of this year’s Ghana Afrobarometer data on the opinion of Ghanaians on Trust and Corruption in Public Institutions which revealed that majority of Ghanaians perceive the Electoral Commission and the Ghana Police Service as corrupt.
[contextly_sidebar id=”skLX8btlMl0imenegsdglgwrOgpqueqb”]The researchers interviewed 2400 Ghanaians from May 24 to June 10, 2014.
On the issue of trust, the Afrobarometer report revealed that Ghanaians trust the military more than politicians in the country.
Speaking to Citi News Dr Seidu Alidu explained that the country could be plunged into anarchy if Ghanaians continue to lose trust in state institutions.
“…one of the findings which was also surprising was the fact that about 7 percent of the people believe that they don’t report corrupt practices because they believe that it is normal…when this happens, people want to govern by leading lifestyles that is going to help them so we are gradually going to move away from democracy to anarchy where people believe that the only way to satisfy my personal interest is to become so great and selfish that I serve my interest and not the interest of the general public.”
The report also indicated that over 80% of Ghanaians also perceive public officials as corrupt.
Commenting on that revelation, Dr. Alidu said, “if people don’t trust public institutions and public officials in one way or the other, it weakens the state citizen relationship that exists.”
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana