Do Better, or Be Remembered No Better: A Warning Inspired by the Failures Before Us
Failed leadership in Ghana after Kwame Nkrumah has created crisis for future generation. The curse must be broken.
Every country has a history—how it began and how it arrived at its present state. These histories are shaped by generations of leaders whose decisions defined their nations. Some nations are proud of their journey; others are not. In my long study of national histories, I have noticed a recurring pattern: the existence of founding fathers who sacrificed immensely to secure the birth of their nations. Many gave up their lives, their freedom, fought in wars, endured imprisonment, and led struggles for independence and basic freedoms.
We often think of iconic figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in the United States, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Nelson Mandela of South Africa. After these frontiers came generations of leaders who built—sometimes imperfectly—on the sacrifices of those before them. This article focuses on the generations that followed the pioneers.
Let’s take an example of the United States. Across U.S. history, each generation of leaders made defining contributions. The Founding Generation, led by Washington and Jefferson, secured independence and drafted the Constitution. The Civil War Generation, shaped by Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, preserved the Union, ended slavery, and expanded civil rights. The Industrial and Gilded Age, influenced by Theodore Roosevelt and Andrew Carnegie, drove rapid economic growth, modernization, and reforms. The Progressive and World War Era, led by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, built strong institutions, expanded social welfare, and guided the nation through two world wars. The Cold War Generation, with figures like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, advanced civil rights, fostered scientific breakthroughs such as the space program, and maintained global stability. The Post–Cold War Globalization Era, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, expanded global trade, encouraged technological innovation, and modernized the economy. Finally, the Digital and Populist Generation, shaped by leaders such as Donald Trump and Joe Biden, has focused on technological governance, inequality, cybersecurity, and democratic reforms.
Collectively, these leaders moved the United States from one stage to the next, ultimately shaping the global superpower it is today. I believe their founding fathers look down from the afterlife and are proud of their sacrifices they made. Their death and struggles were not in vain.
Can the Same Be Said of Ghana ?
Ghana, like the United States and many other nations, experienced colonization. The sacrifices of our founding fathers—especially Dr. Kwame Nkrumah—were instrumental in securing our independence and sovereignty. His contributions extended beyond independence: he transitioned Ghana into a republic and launched an ambitious industrialization agenda.
Yet, as with all great leaders, Nkrumah could not rule forever. His overthrow—engineered by Western powers with the collaboration of some Ghanaians—abruptly halted his vision of industrial progress and national freedom. It remains deeply painful how a leader who acted so visibly in the interest of his people could be removed so shamefully.
Like the US, multiple leaders have led Ghana after Kwame Nkrumah. This brings us to a difficult question: How should today’s youth in Ghana judge the generation that came after Nkrumah? Can we proudly say they left us a legacy worth celebrating? Or must we admit that they failed us?
Let’s analyze current existing conditions in Ghana. Today, success in Ghana is often defined by the ability to escape to the lands of our former colonial masters in search of greener pastures. Unemployment is widespread. Even highly educated graduates struggle to secure meaningful work in their homeland. Industrialization, initiated by Kwame Nkrumah, is nonexistent. Corruption dominates national news headlines. Protests erupt frequently. The youth—frustrated, unsupported, and hopeless—are desperate to leave the very land that should be their home. Natural and human resources continue to be exploited by foreign nations. Telecommunications, banking, mining, and many major industries are predominantly owned by Western, Eastern and foreign interests even on our own land. The country is drowning in debt, sustained only by using scarce rich natural and mineral resources as collateral. This leaves little hope for the Ghanaian child today or tomorrow.
I will like to call the generation after our founding fathers as generation of vipers. When I speak of this generation of vipers, I refer not only to political leaders but also to traditional leaders and every individual who lived within this era, who directly or indirectly, contributed to the decline of our nation. Whether you were involved directly or indirectly, you watched on as your colleagues and your generation betrayed a country and multiple generations that are to come after.
These issues are clear for all to see. But the question remains: How does that generation view its own service?
Honest Voices From Within the Generation
I deeply appreciate honesty, accountability, and integrity—especially when leaders admit their own failures. Let me talk about two respectable leaders who have made recent remarks on this subject.
Dr. Sam Jonah, age 76 years, former CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, has openly acknowledged the failures of his generation. His words are powerful, sobering, and painfully honest. Speaking directly to the youth, he said:
“Through no fault of yours, a different world with various, and evolving, challenges awaits you. While many forebears may find cold comfort in progress made in certain aspects of life, I am not afraid to say in candor and humility that my generation has not been kind to you. We have left for you a world riddled with wars, famine, disease, racial and gender discrimination, and a multitude of problems.”
“Sadly, all these seemingly intractable global crises reveal a paucity of humane, decisive, just, and provident leadership. It is instructive for the old to listen in humility when the young today say with anger and pain that my generation has failed them.”
These are not the words of critics or activists. They are the words of someone who participated and lived through that era—someone courageous enough to admit the truth many are unwilling to face.
Veteran journalist Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, aged 75, has also expressed disappointment in his generation. He lamented that they failed to build upon the strong foundation laid by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, contributing to the challenges the youth face today. Watch his honest statements in the video below.
If every Ghanaian leader aged 50 and above—from that era—were asked to speak honestly, I believe most honest once would echo the sentiments of Sam Jonah and Addai-Sebo.
Lessons for the Current and Future Generation
A common Ghanaian adage says - “if your friend’s beard is on fire, fetch water and keep yours wet.” This means that when you see danger in someone’s situation, take precautions so it does not become your own.
Today, we criticize our predecessors—and rightly so. But every young Ghanaian must now ask: How will future generations judge us? Will they say we were any better than the generation we condemn? Or will we stand before them one day, apologizing for failing them as well?
If we are not careful, we may do worse. The crisis we have inherited is deep, and it will only grow more complex if we remain passive. If the youth do not rise now out of our timidity and cowardice—if they remain silent—the next generation will judge us just as harshly.
Nothing is improving. The same corrupt systems, political deception, and destructive governance practices are being passed down to younger leaders. Many young politicians enter the system already conditioned to prioritize party loyalty over patriotism. By the time they assume power, they are fully indoctrinated and continue to uphold and defend the values of their political affiliations - the same system that these generation of vipers are consciously upholding to create hardship for our generation and that of our children .
But as the current generation, we cannot simply sit aside and complain. Whether or not we are personally corrupt, we are living in the era when these failures continue, and that alone places responsibility on us to act by fighting for change. We must fight for a change to the existing systems that promote corruption and mismanagement, oppression and control from foreign interference, greed and self interests, etc.
Call to Action
The failures of those who came before us are undeniable, but they must not become the blueprint of our future. The truth spoken by Sam Jonah and Addai-Sebo is not merely a judgment of the past—it is a warning to the present generation of Ghanaians and Africans everywhere. If we do not rise to confront corruption, rebuild our institutions, resist foreign exploitation, and redefine leadership with integrity and courage, we will soon inherit the same condemnation we place on our predecessors. The torch now rests firmly in our hands, and history will remember what we did with it. Let us choose action over silence, reform over complacency, and courage over convenience. Let this be the generation that breaks the cycle—one that our children will one day thank, not accuse.