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Ghana Has Become a Nation Numb to Looting, Says Prof. Kwaku Asare
Scathing Critique Compares Ghana to Corruption-Desensitized Village
In a powerful condemnation of Ghana’s corruption crisis, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, a prominent Research Fellow at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has drawn alarming parallels between the nation and a village that has grown accustomed to looting.
The School Feeding Program Scandal: Ghost Schools for Ghost Money
Using vivid allegorical references to Chinua Achebe’s fictional “Umuofia,” Professor Asare painted a damning portrait of a country where corruption no longer sparks public outrage. His comments specifically addressed the shocking revelations about Ghana’s School Feeding Program.
“The head of the School Nutritional Program, an office entrusted with children’s nourishment, proposed creating ghost secondary schools with ghost students to steal real money from public funds,” Professor Asare revealed. “In Umuofia today, even spirits are entitled to school feeding grants.”
The anti-corruption expert expressed dismay that such brazen theft should have triggered immediate investigations, resignations, and prosecutions in any accountable society. Instead, Ghana responded with what he described as “eerie silence.”
“Not a single feather ruffled, not a single calabash shattered in protest,” Professor Asare lamented. “Even the goats in the marketplace chewed their cud in silence.”
The Missing Audit Report Mystery
Professor Asare raised serious concerns about the disappearance of an audit report compiled by former Gender Minister Adwoa Safo, who claimed to have submitted evidence of corruption directly to the presidency.
“Where is the audit report? Who received it? Did the talking drums misplace it on the way to the palace? Or did it, like so many of Umuofia’s missing funds, simply vanish into thin air?” he questioned pointedly.
This pattern, according to Professor Asare, reflects Ghana’s tendency to bury uncomfortable truths under what he metaphorically calls “the great anthill of forgotten things.”
Institutional Failures and Public Apathy
The commentary delivered a sobering assessment of Ghana’s anti-corruption infrastructure:
- The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) struggles to secure convictions
- The Auditor-General’s reports reveal massive irregularities with little accountability
- CHRAJ (Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice) appears ineffective
Professor Asare drew a striking analogy: “This is what looting has become in Umuofia—a stench so constant that people no longer notice it.” He noted how recent scandals like the PDS case generate temporary outrage that quickly fades into indifference.
Call to Action: Reviving Ghana’s Anti-Corruption Fight
Professor Asare issued a direct challenge to Ghana’s leadership and citizens:
- Law enforcement must investigate Adwoa Safo’s allegations thoroughly
- The missing audit report must be recovered and made public
- Public officials implicated in the ghost school scheme must face prosecution
- Citizens must replace apathy with sustained demands for accountability
“There is a great difference between the ordinary farmer who shakes his head in resignation, and those who swore an oath to protect the village from looting,” Professor Asare emphasized.
His powerful critique serves as both warning and wake-up call: unless Ghana revitalizes its fight against corruption with urgency, the nation risks complete institutional collapse under the weight of normalized theft.
This article summarizes an original report. For complete details, read the full story at Ghana News Online.
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