We have looked at the “10 commandments of the Ghanaian Entrepreneur”, the “10 Commandments of the Ghanaian Politician” and the “10 Commandments of the Ghanaian Worker” in a series designed to make Ghana a better place for us all. Now, I am going to propose 10 Resolutions Every Ghanaian should make on a daily basis to ensure that we create the better Ghana that we all pray for. 1.Ask, ‘What can I do for Ghana? And not ‘What can Ghana do for me?’ It is a simple question and yet it has the power to transform attitudes. If you ask, what can Ghana do for me, you rob yourself of the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the progress of Ghana; you become a parasite. A nation is built with the contribution of its citizens. I don’t think any nation has developed without its people asking daily, “What can I do for my country?” The poor countries of the world are poor because their citizens have not learnt the wisdom of asking what they can do for their nations. So the question, “What can I do for Ghana?” should become a daily preoccupation for all Ghanaians. The more people ask the question, the faster and more amazing the transformation of Ghana will be. 2.Resolve to make Ghana proud of you. Take Ghana as a mother and you as her child. Let your mother be proud of you with your actions and your choices. Whenever people hear that you are Ghanaian, let them be compelled to respect Ghana and Ghanaians more. Make Ghana proud with what you make of your life and make Ghana proud with your contribution to the world in your chosen field of endeavour, no matter how humble it is. 3.Resolve to be more godly than religious. We have a lot of religions in Ghana and not much of godliness. Churches are springing up everywhere, filled to capacity. Shrines boldly announce their presence on billboards. Our daily conversation is sprinkled with a lot of religious talk and yet there is indiscipline on our roads, corruption and lack of productivity in our offices, dishonesty in our business dealings, rot in our relationships and our homes. Compare the situation in Ghana with the situation in the developed countries where people are not openly religious and you will see a big difference. In those countries, the churches are empty but newspapers are sold on the curb without anyone keeping watch. The buses do not have conductors and yet every passenger pays his fare. Workers go to their offices and make sure they earn every cent they are paid. These are countries where there isn’t much religion, but there is godliness. The problem with religion is that, it does not result in a change in behaviour. Religion is exterior and does not affect the inner person. What we need is to go low on religion and emphasize godliness. We need to have awakened consciences so that we hold ourselves accountable to a much higher standard than we are doing currently. It is not right that our churches are full and yet you cannot get anything done in Ghana without paying a bribe. It is not right that our churches are full and yet drivers jump the red light as if it has no meaning. Let us begin to practise the fear of God in Ghana—that is godliness. 4.Resolve to put Ghana before partisan interests and affiliations. It is sad that in Ghana partisan interests and affiliations drive everything. These days you cannot make a statement without people trying to determine where you stand in the political divide before giving consideration to what you say. We are looking at ourselves too much through partisan party lenses. We are allowing our partisan affiliations to define reality for us. We need to stop that. We are Ghanaians first before being members of any political party. The nation is more important than the party. Without the nation, there will be no political party. We need to resolve everyday to put Ghana before partisanship. There should not be an NPP Ghana and an NDC Ghana. There is one Ghana. 5.Resolve to see every other Ghanaian as a brother or sister. Do whatever you can to promote unity and harmony in Ghana. It is not only partisan politics that divide us. Ethnicity is becoming a big factor in the way we do things in Ghana. We are also allowing religion to divide us. We are failing to be each other’s keeper. 6.Resolve to add value to yourself so that your contribution will become priceless. It is the responsibility of every one of us to seek for opportunities to add value to ourselves. It may be in the form of going back to school or taking some short courses or taking reading seriously or seeking mentorship and exposure but whatever we do and however we do it, it is important that we keep adding value to ourselves. We owe that to ourselves and we owe that to mother Ghana. Indeed, we owe that to the human race. 7.Resolve to be disciplined —with respect to time and cleanliness, (especially of the environment), and disciplined in terms of your lifestyle and habits. Indiscipline in Ghana is getting too much. The most obvious sign is in traffic as well as the indiscriminate way we litter our major cities. Gutters don’t get choked by themselves. Papers and polythene bags don’t grow on streets and so how do they get there? It is amazing that almost every Ghanaian has a watch and yet, that does not drive us to be time-conscious. Lateness became normal with Ghanaians a long time ago but it is not acceptable. We don’t have to wait for someone to discipline us on time keeping; we need to do it for ourselves. 8.Resolve to be responsible for the advancement of at least one Ghanaian. Imagine a nation in which citizens look out for each other and help each other. We can create that in Ghana. God has blessed everyone of us to the extent that if we want to, we can take up the responsibility for helping at least one Ghanaian to advance. It may be in the form of paying someone’s school fees. It may be in the form of mentoring someone. It may be in the form of putting your network at the disposal of another. There are many ways in which we can do this. I don’t believe in the concept of the self-made man. I think that everyone who says he is self-made is a selfish, unappreciative person who does not want to give credit to those who helped him along the way. Everyone needs help. So, let us open our eyes and our hearts to see what we can do to help each other. Start today with someone near you. 9.Resolve to be as productive as you can, to earn every pesewa you make. I once analyzed how workers use their time in Ghana and it turned out that the average Ghanaian puts in about one hour of work every day instead of eight. In how many offices do you find people at their seat and working at the stroke of 8 in the morning? In most offices, staffs begin to leisurely stroll in after 8 and then they must go and look for breakfast and then read the newspapers or shoot the breeze with their colleagues. Then personal visitors call and they are entertained at the company’s expense. Then there are the private phone calls and personal errands to run in town. Then comes the break time when most workers take more than the allocated time— most Ghanaian workers simply to not earn their wages. We need to resolve that it will no longer be true of us. Starting today, can you resolve that you will work more than earn every pesewa you are paid? 10.Resolve to transform the image of Ghana and Ghanaians through your efforts and your life. Most foreigners in Ghana hold Ghanaians in great contempt because of the attitude and lifestyle of some Ghanaians. They say all kinds of things about Ghanaians and Ghana. They say Ghanaians don’t keep time; Ghanaians are not efficient; Ghanaians are not disciplined; Ghanaians are not honest; Ghanaians don’t love Ghana. How can the negative image of Ghana change? It will take the actions of individual Ghanaians. If you confound those negative expectations, you force people to take another look at Ghana and Ghanaians. So, let us all resolve to represent Ghana as well as we can, and let us begin at home. While in Ghana, let us show that we are not inferior to anyone; let us demonstrate that we are a serious people.