Just last week I received three of the same beautiful videos on Japanese attitudes posted by friends on my different social media platforms. The video, entitled “The Best of Japan”, literally blew my mind. I asked myself, “Where did Ghana go wrong with current attitudes in our society”?

The Japanese culture of good courtesies, especially in public places, respect for others, trust and openness, cleanliness and customer service depicted in the video brought to mind Ghana of yesteryears which I came to meet. So then, how did we get to today’s culture of impunities that are travelling beyond pardon? The point where indiscipline, intolerance, corruption, lawlessness, impatience, stealing from public purse without shame, selfishness and many more have tainted our society of today. 

I am of the old order and will always be. I went to a secondary school that placed emphasis on moral character in young women with a school crest that imprints on the mind, a practice to live pure, speak the truth always and right or wrong, to follow the King. The King is ultimate, our Lord Jesus Christ but in our earthly lives, the King could be interpreted as an authority or the elderly. These values continue to live with me and many young women who passed through and continue to pass through those walls. Naturally, therefore, watching the Japanese video resonated with me.

Mindful of others

In recalling, the video captured a Japan that could be described with just three words: “Mindful of others”. It is a country where people act with others in mind instead of thinking only of themselves. Where everyone automatically does things to make life easier for others. 

The video brought out a country with a culture of respect which creates an unbelievable atmosphere which leads to modern day miracles. Miracles like parking your bike out in a public place and find it right there on your return. Where scooters are parked in the street and left with ignition keys inside because nobody will tamper with it.

In our society today, it would be a miracle to park your motorbike or any other vehicle in an open space with keys inside and windows open and come and find it there. For those of us who drive through the Kaneshie market in Accra West on daily basis and witness the chaos and the filth that has characterised the place, it would be a huge miracle to get there one day to find the place clean and tidy and commercial drivers behaving orderly for others to drive through without stress. 

In the Japan example, the video talks about clean streets because people are disciplined and they don’t litter. We used to have a Ghana like that when I was growing up. Where it was the priority of every household to keep their environment clean and where at Civics class, children were taught how to be live as good citizens.

Enriching self in public office

Those were the days when public officers lived godly lives at the workplaces and wanton dissipation and looting of public funds were few and far in between. Fast forward to today, acts of deliberate misappropriation are becoming too rampant. There are too many sickening acts of corruption and misappropriation in the news these days. Why is selfishness in public office now a fashion to the extent that the news media are awashed with examples? 

The September 8, 1917, edition of the Ghanaian Times had a story headlined: “Auditor General (AG) chases 35 for ‘looted’ state funds”.  In the story, we read that the AG had issued more certificates of indebtedness to individuals towards the recovery of state funds of which they directly or indirectly caused their wrongful utilisation. According to the story, the certificates cover those involved in cash irregularities and failure to account for state funds.

Thanks to Occupy Ghana and the Supreme Court of Ghana for the part they played in getting the enforcement of the law – Audit Service Act 2000(584), Section 17 (1-2) -  we see action gravitating towards protecting the public purse. Really, like in the Japanese video, if people go into public office with others in mind, then the craze to dip hands into public funds, the gross cheating by inflating cost of contracts or collecting money for work not done or shoddily executed all to enrich themselves would not arise.

Respect

Talk about automatic respect for others’ needs. Oh, we lost it long ago to the culture of impunity, lawlessness and disrespect. Classic examples are what we see on our roads every day. Commercial motorbike riders popularly known as “Okada” have defied our laws, raining mayhem and defying all road regulations in this country. They ignore the needs of other road users despite their operation being outlawed.  

We drive without respecting the needs of people waiting at zebra crossings and refuse to stop for them to cross. If you have the presence of mind to stop for them, the driver behind you sees you as a nuisance. We have commercial vehicles like taxis and “tro-tros” operating with impunities, jumping in and stopping anyhow, anywhere and driving on pavements regardless of the needs of all others.

The attitudes and practices at some hospitals and clinics are sending people home to die. Restaurants, chop bars and other eateries are using unwholesome ingredients and other food items to cook and sell simply to make money. No one has patience and tolerance for the elderly anymore. It is each one for himself or herself.

Trust

As for trust, it is not found in our dictionaries anymore and we are all watching over our shoulders all the time. Our mothers and grandmothers used to talk about days when in a community, people could leave their doors ajar or open and step out to do other things without intruders taking advantage. That trust is no longer there. You leave your door open at your own risk.

Those were the days when houses were built with short fence walls and passersby could see through. Today, we are building fence walls that compete with mountains all because of security. We have lost trust, even of the people who live next door. On top of the high fence walls, we have barricaded ourselves in our own homes with barbed and electric wires on our fence walls and metal gates and doors with multiple locks.

We have thrown customer service away to the dogs and replaced it with “customer beware” attitudes. In the Japan video, people are made to feel like royalty when they pay for a service. They receive not only smiles but they are also bowed for. 

In our Ghana today, apart from the open markets where our market women will pass a word of blessing on you for buying from them shop assistants will look at you with an eye as if they are doing you a favour by serving you.

Our public attitudes and actions have given us away as people unmindful of others. When can we begin to talk about the “Best of Ghana”?