John Dramani Mahama has said there is no basis for the comparison between which is better between owning a Dutch passport and obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Ghana.
The National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) flag bearer, weighing in on the debate said that, had it not been the poor leadership of the current administration that has caused widespread despair among the citizenry, there wouldn’t have been basis for this debate.
According to the former President, obtaining a visa to do a menial job in Europe shouldn’t have come into the equation if a comparison was being made with obtaining a PhD.
At a public lecture organised by the Christian Service University in Kumasi on the theme: “Sustainability of Democracy in Africa: The Ghanaian Experience”, John Mahama indicated that the debate has gained grounds because people have lost confidence and hope in Ghana’s future. A phenomenon, he believes, is as a result of the current economic downturn the government has plunged the citizenry into.
The hardship, in the midst of corruption and wastage of national resources by the Akufo-Addo administration, according to John Mahama, is the reason such people believe obtaining a foreign passport is worth more than having a doctorate degree in Ghana.
“There’s widespread despair and anguish amongst our people leading to an active debate on social media about whether securing a foreign passport to do a menial job in Europe is better than holding a PhD in Ghana. It’s the adversity into which our nation has been plunged, otherwise, there’s no basis for comparison between a Visa and a PHD,” John Mahama stated.
To sustain democracy in Ghana and Africa as a whole, John Mahama indicated that nations should have leadership that bears truth and honesty as its hallmark to offer the citizenry.
He expressed the need for Ghanaians not to hand over the country’s future to persons who are part of the current administration as the December elections approaches.
“Those whose glaring failures at economic management have sucked us into this vortex of despair despite their lofty talk in opposition and who now seek to flee the responsibility cannot be rewarded with the presidency in this deep crisis. The presidency cannot be handed over to those who present as the future when they have the epicentre of our disastrous present.
“Leadership that is honest and accepts responsibility for challenges rather than passing the back is the kind of leadership that sustains democracy,” he asserted.
The public lecture was part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Christian Service University.
