John C. Maxwell , in his book \u201claws of leadership\u201d\u00a0 noted that \u201cThe law of Sacrifice demands that the greater the leader, the more he must give up.\u201d<\/p>\n
He advised leaders to learn the art of sacrifice in order to be successful<\/p>\n
Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King remarked in the book \u201cMy Life with Martin Luther King Jr., <\/em><\/strong>that \u201c <\/em><\/strong>Day and night our phone would ring, and someone would pour out a string of obscene epithets\u2026Frequently the calls ended with a threat to kill us if we didn\u2019t get out of town. But in spite of all the danger, the chaos of our private lives, I felt inspired, almost elated.\u201d<\/p>\n Martin Luther King was arrested and jailed on several occasions while pursuing his leadership course. His house was bombed yet his vision and his influence continually improved. He ultimately sacrificed everything he had.<\/p>\n Successful leaders have to maintain an attitude of sacrifice in order to turn an organization around and great leaders always make the conscious effort to endear their lives to the people they are serving.<\/p>\n However, the question still lingers in the minds of many Ghanaians who do not yet have access to life\u2019s basic necessities such as potable water, shelter, among others and even the middle class who have access to these basic amenities whether our President, and his current government have sacrificed enough?<\/p>\n One of the irrefutable laws John C. Maxwell focuses on is the Law of Legacy.<\/p>\n According to Maxwell,\u00a0 a leader\u2019s lasting value is measured by succession.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you want people to say at your funeral? If you want your leadership to have real meaning, you need to take into account the Law of Legacy. A leader\u2019s lasting value is measured by succession. \u0083 If you desire to make an impact as a leader on a future generation, then become highly intentional about your legacy. We have a choice about what legacy we will leave, and we must work and be intentional,\u201d Maxwell noted.<\/p>\n Our ‘modern day’ politicians<\/strong><\/p>\n There is no shadow of doubt that Ghana has had great leaders such as Dr Kwame Nkrumah who have chalked\u00a0 successes that inured to our economic benefit.<\/p>\n I admit that Dr Kwame Nkrumah wasn\u2019t flawless, but at least, he left some economic legacies such as the Accra-Tema Motorway, Tema township, Komfo\u00a0 Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, poly techniques ,secondary schools, Akosombo Dam, and\u00a0 Adome bridge.<\/p>\n In my candid opinion, no other government in Ghana has undertaken such enormous infrastructural development like Dr Nkrumah\u2019s government.<\/p>\n Some of these structures remain the main infrastructure in various regions and in the whole country.<\/p>\n This feat which was achieved by the great leader\u00a0in the past is yet to witness a drastic improvement.<\/p>\n I believe the secret to Dr Nkumah\u2019s success was sacrifice and this is evident in his quest to gain independence for Ghana.<\/p>\n It is disheartening to note that Ghana is a far cry from what Nkrumah and other great forefathers of Ghana left and wanted it to be.<\/p>\n Our \u201cmodern day\u201d politicians are unwilling to pay the price.Yes, they want to drive those luxurious vehicles. Yes, they want fat salaries, but they are unwilling to pay the price; they don\u2019t want to sacrifice.<\/p>\n The high unemployment rate, poor educational systems, huge budget deficit, all prove some sort of economic stagnation.<\/p>\n Over the past few years, the state of the economy has worsened and Ghanaians are unhappy about the trend. Mr. President I think this is a bitter pill for you to swallow but truth is, Ghanaians are irritated by these economic challenges because that is not what they bargained for.<\/p>\n Your 2012 inaugural speech to Ghanaians was filled with so much optimism for the future. You vowed to fulfil promises made on your campaign trail, but it is disheartening to note that Ghana\u2019s challenges have rather worsened two years down the lane.<\/p>\n A report released by the Ghana Statistical Service revealed that the unemployment rate in Ghana increased from 11. 20 percent in 2001 to 12.90 percent in 2005.<\/p>\n Another report by the World Bank indicated that the number of the poor increased by 0.9million in the north between 1992 and 2006.<\/p>\n Mr. President, I think the General Secretary of the Convention People\u2019s Party(CPP) Ivor Greenstreet\u2019s damning verdict on your performance was a sincere observation.<\/p>\n A night tour into the streets of Accra depicts homeless people who sometimes have to be at the mercy of rain and other social vices such as rape, theft and even murder.<\/p>\n Mr. President, when Ghanaians become fed up with these challenges, they have no other option than to criticise you and sometimes even question your competence.<\/p>\n Ghanaians are disappointed because their hopes of enjoying better living conditions\/Better Ghana under the Mahama led administration have been dashed.<\/p>\n Energy Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n In the run-up to the 2012 elections at the Institute of Economic Affairs\u2019 you promised that load shedding will be tackled by the end of 2013 saying about 820 megawatts will be added to the generation mix.<\/p>\n However the current state of Ghana\u2019s power generation systems is a far cry from what you projected it to be.<\/p>\n The increasing spate of mass protests being championed by major stakeholders such as the New Patriotic Party(NPP) and other civil society groups is proof that Ghanaians are running out of patience.<\/p>\n Mr. President, many Ghanaians are fed up and complaining about how your government has shown little or no commitment to their plight. They have become immune to your promises because you have failed to fulfill them.<\/p>\n I will like to enumerate other challenges I find troubling under your government.<\/p>\n Why is government stifling NADMO?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was recently wondering whether the government had extended its insensitivity and nonchalant attitude to institutions under its jurisdiction.<\/p>\n I wonder why your government is stifling key institutions such as the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) , among others of the requisite resources needed to carry out its activities effectively.<\/p>\n NADMO performs specific functions which are all aimed at ensuring that in times of emergency, the government is ready to support relief efforts.<\/p>\n Functions of NADMO:<\/p>\n The organization’s mandate also includes responding to\u00a0earthquakes,\u00a0floods\u00a0and rainstorms, and market fires, so I was peeved after I realized some NADMO branches had not yet supplied residents in some regions who had been hit by a rainstorm relief items.<\/p>\n How can an institution mandated to supply relief items to victims affected by natural disasters be denied the very resources it needs to deliver on its mandate.<\/p>\n I can recount several scenarios that exposed government’s lack of commitment to NADMO and the citizenry in general.<\/p>\n The Northern Regional branch of the NADMO had to virtually “beg” government<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and other philanthropists to supply them with boats and life jackets to save residents who were affected by the Bagre Dam water spillage.<\/p>\n This was very pathetic because the water bodies along the water way of the dam had increased and four people had already drowned from the incident.<\/p>\n The analysis I draw from a case like this is that more people will continue to drown until government supplies those relief items.<\/p>\n West Akyem incident<\/strong><\/p>\n Last month, the West Akyem NADMO branch said it cannot supply relief items<\/strong><\/span><\/a> to residents affected by the Yaw-Tanor-Afranse rainstorm.<\/p>\n\n