Moral Compass

Moral Compass

by E. Ofori Akyea

I am increasingly getting confused about the direction in which the moral compass of our nation is set. In a ship or when one is travelling in unknown parts the compass points to the magnetic north the traveller sets the compass to the direction of the destination intended in relation to the north. So when one is being buffeted during the journey one keeps a steady course with the certainty that one will get to the intended destination.

A country’s destiny is, of course, more complicated than the reading on a compass. We, however, use metaphors to convey our thoughts and so we proceed to examine how we prosecute the journey of destiny. A society could be seen to be moving in different directions given the various interests and tendencies of its people. The realization by a significant number of the inhabitants of the ultimate goal helps to bring about stability articulated and directed by inspired leadership.

Stability is anchored by a morality that underpins the actions of all the inhabitants of that particular society. Morality, according to Webster’s New World Dictionary, is “good or right in conduct or character”. The assumption then is as it is said in a popular song “we will get there…we know we will”. How we get to the goal still has a question mark against it.

The primary instrument for instilling a desirable morality on the emerging population is the family. In our rapidly changing society where the extended family is no more the glue that holds society together, the nuclear family is also not functioning as a worthy replacement. I wish to suggest that parenting is in crisis. The responsibilities that parents have for bringing up their children are not being exercised as they should. I mentioned in an earlier piece that parenting in our country leaves much to be desired.

Our problem in this area is complicated by the differing traditions that our various ethnic groups bring to the entity called Ghana. Different forms of inheritance, for example, create nightmarish situations on the death of the father of a family. To explain further, on the death of the father of an Akan person the inheritance goes to the nephews or the children of the deceased person’s sister or sisters. His own children were cut out of all the inheritance and told to go to their maternal families for sustenance. The widow was simply ignored. She may be an Akan or from another ethnic group and that did not matter.

Under the PNDC regime groundbreaking legislation was passed to regulate the succession problem. In essence the inheritance was divided into three parts and the children took a third while the wife or wives took a third. If the deceased has a house the relatives may move in and get the children out. Although the laws exist some unscrupulous family members try to reap where they have not sowed. However, like all laws that bring about fundamental changes it is taking time to be widely applied.

One problem is that aggrieved people are often unwilling to take such cases to court because of ignorance or the expense involved. There is also concern about the time that it takes for a case to be decided in the courts. Sometimes the police also become a problem in moving the case forward. There is also the tendency for people to seek arbitration from family elders even for serious cases like rape and the like.

A caveat to the above statement needs to be made. In those other ethnic groups that practise paternal inheritance it needs to be said that on the death of the man who is the head of the nuclear family the extended family appoints someone to take charge of the well being of the widow and the children. Here too the widow and her children may get a raw deal from an unscrupulous family head.

In times past the widow would be made to marry the person chosen to take care of the property. While these arrangements are essentially flawed unscrupulous appointees loot the property, seize the house and neglects the well being of the widow and the children. The education of the children suffers in the process.

The society also takes its moral direction from recognized opinion leaders who are supposed to be those to show the way. One thinks immediately of religious leaders as those who have the blueprint of what is good or right conduct and so will lead us into a blissful heaven. These days one is never too sure of the moral probity of some of them. Others we listen to include teachers, chiefs and opinion leaders. Different societies have different groups or individuals to rule on what is right and what is wrong. For example, a wealthy person in our society, regardless of how he or she came by the money, may be regarded as an arbiter of morality.

There are, however, important questions to be answered as to why we should surrender judgements on morality to religious people. In one strand of the Moslem religion the most senior Ayatolla is the one who prescribes all actions that govern one’s life including his pronouncements to regulate what constitutes immoral in the most intimate actions of the believer. In another strand of Christianity the leader prescribes the manner of life of the believers. The way the people live and dress becomes the prerogative of the leader to decide. One has to be careful though. Passing judgement may be premature.

But there are complications. Now, consider this. A man dies. His children in the meantime had found religion. All the women of this new strain of Christianity are supposed to dress like Moslem women in purdah. All seven or eight of the sons practice this form of Christianity. All the children, made it known that according to their religious tenets they could not come to their father’s funeral on Saturday since it was the day of worship.

Other people buried their father on the Saturday. On the Sunday following the burial the children all appeared and tried to take over the funeral. You can very well imagine the consequences that the situation evinced.

Morality gives us a standard by which we judge just about all our actions within the society. Such standards determine how others relate to us.

The known quality becomes the signature by which we are defined. That is why a visionary leadership becomes the key to move the nation forward and transform our lives. The visionary leader alone cannot effect change. The vision needs an implementer or implementers all working towards one goal. The goal is to transform the society for the better through the creation of structures that enhance the objectives of the vision.

An example that comes to mind readily is the kind of symbiosis that occurred between Mao Tse-tung and his Prime Minister Chou en Lai. While Mao articulated the vision Chou gave practical application to the vision. Their work opened the way for Deng Xiaoping to later launch the big modernization programme that is going on now. A similar situation occurred in Singapore between former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and two or three of his close associates.

This brings me back to the question of morality being the basis for improving our lives. When one sets a goal its realization depends on following the logic of getting to the goal. A driver going from point A to B will need to have certain things in place if he or she is to get to the intended destination. The vehicle must have fuel in it. The driver must know how to drive. He is to follow all and not some of the rules that govern the use of the road. Above all he must be sober. When all these rules are adhered to his chances of getting to his destination are very much enhanced.

In the same vein a student who wishes to pass his examination cannot but spend quality time studying. Any other activity like not attending classes or reading and doing the needed assignments will surely lead to failure. That failed student is the type who prays after the examination that the capital of Ghana is Tamale since that is what he wrote in the examination.

Our nation needs development. No one is in any doubt about that. The physical efforts at building our infrastructure must be underpinned by an equally strong moral imperative. Cutting corners will lead us nowhere. In the same way, running down perceived enemies amounts to cutting our noses to spite our faces. The Ewes say that knowledge is a big tree; one needs many linked hands in order to encircle it completely. Also those who deign to be our moral guides must strive to be beyond reproach. Such people must also be imbued with large doses of humility. Without these attributes we shall continually be made to be going in circles.

Well then, as the saying goes, “the dogs bark and the caravan rolls on”!