There is no denying the fact that we have several
think tanks in the country which are involved in various advocacy endeavors for
God and country. It is also true that the word, CREDIBILITY is indubitably the
most outstanding treasure in the World of think tanks since it is the barometer
for measuring their performances. A think tank is therefore as good as its
CREDIBILITY and the lack of it, makes the think tank as useless as anything. As
a lover of the works of think tanks in the enterprise of advocacy, shaping
public policies and national orientation, I have seen the rise and fall of many
think tanks on the continent. A lot have fallen because they could not resist
the unwavering temptations and "captivating inducement" of
politicians to influence their works for unmeritorious political mileage to the
detriment of the national interest.
It is however gratifying to note that there exists
in Ghana, a particular think tank by name, IMANI-GHANA, which has consistently
defied all societal odds and established its impregnably enviable position in
the comity of think tanks across the globe. In fact, where all think tanks are
standing, IMANI-Ghana is outstanding and where all think tanks are outstanding,
then surely, IMANI-GHANA is the STANDARD for measuring what is ideal. As you
would expect, many forlorn attempts have been and continue to be made by
certain politicians to discredit IMANI-GHANA and accuse the think tank of doing
the bidding of a particular political party in the country. However, the
unblemished reputation of IMANI-GHANA remains watertight because what God has
blessed, no man can discredit.
IMANI-GHANA tells its success stories by deeds
rather than by words and the fullness of time has always vindicated the think
tank in its enterprises. I recall how IMANI pooh pooh and torn apart, the NPP's
free SHS policy in the run-up to the 2012 polls and eventually majority of
Ghanaians agreed with IMANI as evidenced in the outcome of the polls. That,
didn't make IMANI a pro NDC think tank. Again, when IMANI openly disagreed with
the NPP's passionate call for a new voters register, they were not tagged as an
NDC think tank. So what has changed now? You would recall how hell broke loose
on IMANI when they raised red flags and bastardized the infamous STX deal championed
by President Mahama and the NDC government but of course they were eventually
vindicated as the deal crushed into tatters. IMANI is now making complete
nonsense of the Afriwave deal and they are being vindicated by the inept
rationalization of same by the NCA and Communication Ministry much to the
chagrin of Ghanaians.
I agree that IMANI is a biased think tank but
fortunately, their biases are geared towards good governance, institutional
discipline and policy coherence for God and country. You are a friend of IMANI
if you uphold these virtuous/principles and lose your friendship with them
immediately you jettison the said principles. That is the consistency IMANI
epitomizes and you can't ask for more. The other name that immediately comes to
mind is the famous OccupyGhana, which I'm closely associated with. Fortunately,
IMANI is almost inseparable with OccupyGhana as their work is intertwined and
the founder of IMANI himself, is a leading member of OccupyGhana; together with
my own, lawyer Ace Ankomah (undoubtedly, one of the finest lawyers in the
country) and of course, the legendary Sydney Casley Hayford, a celebrated
economic and financial analyst. It is always a delight listening to them as
they OCCUPY hearts and minds for the love of God and country.
IMANI remains the only think tank which has
consistently been ranked among the ten most influential policy think tanks in
Africa for the last 5 years. Indeed, only last week, IMANI was adjudged, the
Most Influential think tank in Ghana and the Second Most Influential in Africa.
Ishac Diwan of the World Bank was spot on when he described IMANI as "a
think tank which has grown to become a stalwart for encouraging reality-based
solutions to a complex array of economic and social problems in Ghana and beyond".
Beyond concerning itself with general policy
issues, IMANI also invests so much in the field of education and training a new
crop of future visionaries and leaders who will carry the torch of liberty and
blaze the trail of posterity in the coming dawn of African Renaissance through
the Students and Young Professionals African Liberty Academy (SYPALA of IMANI)
which organizes seminars across Africa to train young professionals and
students with the tools to practically effect positive change in their
respective countries and the continent at large. I participated in SYPALA 2015
together with other promising young Africans (mainly, students from Ghana and
other African countries) and I can say without any aorta of contradiction that
the experience was just INDESCRIBABLE.
From the foregoing, it is pretty obvious that no
amount of words can be used to succinctly describe the huge personality of the
ever captivating and celebrated Franklin Cudjo, the CEO and President of IMANI
for his inestimable contributions towards the success of IMANI and by
extension, national development. You can follow this illustrious son of Ghana
and his award winning exploits with IMANI on his personal website, which was
launched this week:
http://www.franklincudjoe.org/home/franklins-story/
http://www.franklincudjoe.org/home/franklins-story/
Long live IMANI and my motherland
Thank you.
An ardent follower of the good works of Franklin
Cudjo and the famous IMANI.
IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN
Youth Activist/Social Commentator
Former NUGS Secretary
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