A Lecturer at the Kumasi Polytechnic, Kusi Boafo, has blamed Ghana’s developmental woes on the nation’s preference for historians, sociologists and lawyers to the disregard for science inclined presidential hopefuls.
According to Mr. Kusi Boafo, it takes scientifically oriented mindsets to transform a country and not liberal arts.
Speaking on Ultimate Radio’s news analysis programme “Fact File”, Mr. Kusi Boafo who is also a Chartered Accountant indicated that “the fact that Ghana has never had a science-based President has cost the nation dearly in terms of development.”
Lamenting the nation’s drift towards liberal arts to the detriment of science, he stated “In Ghana when it comes to art, we are heavy weights, when it comes to sociology and even English, we are heavy weights and we have sadly even started ridiculing science-based knowledge, so for years, Ghana has not produced a science-based President and that is also a serious problem. We just continue to produce historians and lawyers; but we need science biased presidents who takes science as their philosophy”.
He cited countries like South Korea where presidential hopefuls with no science background do not stand any chance, adding that country’s level of development clearly has everything to do with its science-oriented leaders.
“In countries like South Korea, science is given so much prominence to the extent that it almost seems impossible for a science averse presidential hopeful to get any attention for presidency. And you can see their level of development”.
Citing the plight of 62 year old inventor, Paul Karikari, whose appeal for state support has since yielded no results, a story which was extensively covered on Ultimate Radio, the Lecturer pointed out that the country’s economy was the reflection of the orientation of leadership over the years paying no attention to the very things that drives the country’s growth.
He added that there were several other great brains that were stuck in mechanic enclaves whiling away their talents whereas the so called educated scientists and engineers keep failing the country with little to show for their years of study in the universities.
“Because we don’t have a lot of interest in such achievements, we always find a way of shirking responsibility by telling such people to either go to the polytechnics or enroll in technical institutions to go and learn some trade. We just abandon them over there or send them to magazine. Those same science students who claim to have gone to the universities; tell them to try fixing problems on their own cars and it becomes a big problem. They will go to what they call the illiterates” he fumed.
He believes a science oriented leader for the country will pay attention to the development of scientific innovations, agriculture and industrialization which will contribute significantly to boosting the country’s economy.