SADA' Development Agenda for Northern Ghana - What are the options?

Ok... during my visit to the Tamale , i was looking at ways that we could use technology and leadership to develop the North and one note from my mentor Dr. Mohammed-Sani Abdulai , just popped up into my head.With his permission , i am sharing so please take your time to read and lets start a discussion. Here goes .....


Good to hear that the SADA bill has been passed by parliament and awaiting the Presidential assent. To jump start discussions on NG's development agenda I have been working on certain hypotheses using the P.E.S.T framework in my analysis of the developmental challenges facing the North and the actions that we need to take:

P ---> Political: here gaps in leadershiop and entrepreneurship have to be bridged, as the lack of these partly explains why the north lags behind the south.

E ---> Economical: The gap in the economic development of the north is the major cause of unemployment amongst the youth and hence the root of all the conflicts up country.

S----> Social: The social fabric of the north needs overhauling as it has been weakened over the years due to the influence of western media,a breakdown in the hierarchical traditional systems and abandoning of our culture and value system.

T----> Technological: The role of Technology, particularly Information and Communication Technology (ICT) manifests in every aspect of our lives today, hence the digital divide between the north, the rest of country and the world at large needs to be addressed

Some of the questions that we also need to seek answers to are :

1. What should constitute the tenets of Northern Ghana's Development? 

2. What should be the contribution of the indigenous people of Northern Ghana - ordinary citizens, as well as traditional rulers? 

3. Can we achieve our development objectives in the midst of conflicts? 

4. Is it really true that idle minds are fertile grounds for evil thoughts? And that it is the unemployment - and for that matter the economic status of the north - that creates an environment conducive for conflicts? 

5. Is the problem of the north a "chicken and egg" problem? Which one should we tackle first - Peaceful Coexistence or Economic Development? 

6. Should the economy of the north be diversified or should it remain predominantly agriculture? 
If it should be diversified what are the options? 
- Commerce? 
- Industry? 
- Services? 
** Tourism? 
** - ICT Enabled Services - such as: --- Digital Content Creation - Museums, Documenting our 
History, particularly those orally narrated, restoration of historical sites and electronically 
archiving the contents and placing them in the museums, Ubiquitous Tourism, E-Agriculture, 
TradeNets - so that the tomatoes produced in the north could be sold directly to customers 
like hotels

7. What do you think should be the role of Education, Training and Development? 
What kind of training do we envisage? -- Do we need an Institute of Technology to build a critical 
mass of the manpower required for this age of technology? --- How about Leadership and 
Entrepreneurship Development? Don't we need a Leadership Development Institute to train our 
future leaders - political leaders as well as entrepreneurs. Any special programme for our girls and 
women? 

8. Do we need a non-partisan Development Think-Tank to periodically review our development 
roadmap? 

10. What kind of professionals should comprise the membership of this think- tank?

On question number 5 I think we can draw lots of lessons from the speech President Obama delivered in Cairo, Egypt. This is a link to the full text of President Obamah's Speech in Cairo, Egypt. I think the contents on the need for peace to prevail on this earth are equally applicable to the warring factions in Dagbon and Bawku, and other parts of Northern Ghana:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/04/obama-egypt-speech-video_n_211216.html

a. " Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer."

Paraphrased: Too many tears have flowed because of the Northern Conflicts, and too much blood has been shed. As natives of the three northern regions, all of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Mamprusis and Kusasis and the mothers of the Abudus and the Andanis can see their offsprings grow up together in peace, without fear;

b. "It will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but we will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. There will be many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path."

Paraphrased: Undoubtedly, it will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but in order to attain the peace we so much desire for the north to develop, we need to proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. Certainly,there will be many issues to discuss between the warring factions of the northern conflicts, but they should be willing to proceed in dialogue without any preconditions.

c. "For every son and daughter of the north, it should be made clear that: "It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning", keeping in mind what binds us together ("Ntafuo", "Pepeni"), and what our common enemies are: High Illiteracy Rate, Development Gap, Poverty, Unemployment.

Lets direct our energies and limited resources towards overcoming these challenges, instead of fighting amongst ourselves.

d. I gather under the auspices of Chief Dakpema's visionary programmes and initiative there is a sudden injection of youth dynamism in Tamale where monthly traditional dance competition is organised in the forecourt of his palace. Initiatives such as that of the Dakpema need to be encouraged and commended and other traditional rulers in Northern Ghana should bury their differences in the name of peace and development.We need to keep on talking at round-table discussions to solicit diverse views in order to come up with optimal solutions, for the benefit of ALL.


by Dr. Mohammed-Sani Abdulai