Social advocate and political commentator Andrew Atariwine has raised alarm over what he describes as growing political corruption seeping into Ghana’s schools, calling on young people to reclaim the tradition of student advocacy that once shaped major national policies.
Speaking on the Bluewaves Breakfast Show, Atariwine said the country’s moral and civic fabric is under threat and warned that failure to address the trend could derail Ghana’s development.
“There is something creeping into our moral fiber. If we don’t take time to reset it, we are going to have this country lose its balance in the near future,” he stated.
Atariwine pointed to earlier periods of Ghanaian governance, including the Acheampong and Rawlings eras, when student and youth activism delivered concrete results such as the establishment of the GETFund, the Scholarship Secretariat and the Student Loan Trust Fund. He credited those past campaigns as proof that organised pressure from young people can produce lasting policy change.
He was especially critical of party politics infiltrating secondary school governance, describing Student Representative Council elections as an early entry point for political actors.
According to him, the practice is designed to capture students before they reach voting age and dilute their “fresh ideals and energies.”
Drawing regional comparisons, Atariwine cited Singapore and Rwanda as models of rapid national transformation. He also contrasted Ghana’s road infrastructure with that of neighbouring Togo, arguing that Ghana appears stronger on paper but lags in quality on the ground.
“I see on paper we are better than them, but go and look at the quality of the roads they build and the quality of the roads we build here,” he said.
Atariwine insisted that any youth pushback must remain within the bounds of the 1992 Constitution, which he described as “the compass of the country.” He urged a return to the self-reliant philosophy of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah.
“We need to use the fundamental human right that is guaranteed in the constitution and rewire our mind to the thinking and mindset of Dr. Nkrumah, to understand that if this nation must be built, it must be built by its own people,” he said.
He accused those currently “at the helm of affairs” of placing personal interest above national progress, describing them as “greedy” and “selfish.” Atariwine concluded that such an approach cannot sustain the country’s future and that young Ghanaians must begin to chart a different course.
By Gayheart Abraham
Source: Mybluewavesonline.com/ Maurice Duncan/ Bolgatanga
