Kuffuor urges African countries to let wealth benefit citizens
Former President John Agyekum Kuffuor has urged African governments to let the wealth of their nations benefit the entire citizenry to ensure social cohesion and harmony.
A statement signed by his spokesperson Frank Agyekum said the former President made the remark at the 4th Annual Forum of Laureates of the Nigerian National Order of Merit, at the Merit House Complex in Abuja, Nigeria.
The statement quoted Ex-President Kuffour as saying that, “Good governance to which we all aspire could mean very little to the person who has no job or is unable to feed himself and his family. National harmony is enhanced when the citizenry feel they are part of the national wealth,” he said.
The Merit award is given every year to Nigerians who have contributed outstandingly to national development in the fields of Science, Medicine, Engineering/Technology, Huamanities including Arts, Culture, and other fields of endeavour.
The award winners are chosen by an independent body of professionals who assess the presentations made by candidates. Since its inception in 1979, it has conferred awards on 65 people in the various fields.
This year, five personalities will receive the awards at a ceremony to be presided over by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, 1st December 2011. This year’s awardees include two from last year when the ceremony was not held because of the general elections.
According to the statement, Ex-President Kuffuor said, “Good governance can only thrive if the people are in one accord with the government and this can only be achieved if citizens believe that they are included in and are an integral part of the state mechanism.”
He said extending the nation’s wealth for the benefit of all did not mean curtailing individual entrepreneurship. “Rather it means that the wealth so generated should be spread out in such a manner as not to benefit only its immediate creators, but also the general society which provides the general milieu for its generation.”
He said although Nigerians are counted among the richest people in the world, their wealth do not reflect on the general well-being of the people and called for measures to ensure their welfare as well as the creation of social safety nets to take of the handicapped the statement added.
Former President Kuffuor added that, Nigeria had the potential to join the emerging nations of the world and asked them to submerge their individual differences in favour of national unity to enable them to achieve their potential internaionally.
Former President Kuffuor arrived in Abuja on Monday and held a closed door discussion with President Jonathan at the Presidential villa.He is expected to return to Ghana on Thursday, December 1, 2011.
By: e.tv Ghana/ Happy FM
Accra, May 22, 2012
The Supreme Court has thrown out the case of conflict of interest brought against New Patriotic Chairman Jake Obetsebi Lamptey by... 
May 22, 2012
A third of malaria drugs used around the world to stem the spread of the disease are counterfeit.
Researchers who looked at 1,500 sampl... 
Accra, May 22, 2012
Suicide cases in Ghana are on the rise and according to statistics from the Network for Anti-suicide and Crisis Prevention, five ... 