[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":9},["ShallowReactive",2],{"post-isnt-this-true-life-under-the-sun-facts-to-consider":3},{"documentId":4,"title":5,"slug":6,"text":7,"publishedAt":8,"createdAt":8,"updatedAt":8},"359201a6-3562-4b87-b051-d4013ea280b8","Isn’t This True? Life Under The Sun, Facts To Consider!","isnt-this-true-life-under-the-sun-facts-to-consider","\u003Cp>Isn’t This True? Life Under The Sun, Facts To Consider!\u003C/p>\u003Cp>Ecclesiastes 7:15 \u003Cbr>NIV\u003Cbr>In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>Have you ever asked why corruption is untamable? Every political party promises to uproot corruption, only to leave office without taming this monster!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>Most workers have seen their predecessors go home penniless; these were men/women who devoted themselves to doing the right things!\u003C/p>\u003Cp>At the end of their active /working lives, they went home penniless! They were given a Kente cloth a pair of sandals, and a token pen to remind them of the many years they spent writing! Wow!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>What is most harrowing and horrifying is that they died not long after they left office. Yes!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>As a result, succeeding generations took lessons; they said to themselves “ rightness “ does not pay! They saw the wicked and corrupt living luxuriously while the honest languished in poverty. And due earjy. \u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>This was what Solomon saw; read it again \u003Cbr>Ecclesiastes 7:15 \u003Cbr>NIV\u003Cbr>In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>If you were in his shoes, you’d also feel the same! We see it daily; the corrupt in society are hailed, admired, etc.\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>So the question many including strangely  believers,  are asking is ; “Does it pay to be honest?”  And can we tame this monster called “ corruption ?”\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>Yes, simply  put it pays to be honest; after all the same writer says “ a good name is to be preferred “!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>Proverbs 22:1 \u003Cbr>NIV\u003Cbr>A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>What has made this verse difficult to believe is the imbalance in our lives; the socio-economic setting we have created for ourselves negates the truth contained in the verse.\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>The reward systems we have in place are not helpful; adding to this is the social system which rewards /recognises greed!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>The systems in place say “ integrity “ does not pay; it can not feed you so you better act contrarily! Else!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>Again succeeding generations saw how those before them  lived; they received nothing for their honesty. They saw how they died ; much earlier than their corrupt colleagues!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>So, to tame corruption there is a need to overhaul the reward systems!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>Many years ago when I was a young student of politics ( Ruskin College, Oxford ‘83) I learnt this reward philosophy from my tutors “ from each according to his *ability* to each according to his “*needs*!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>This I was taught is the “ socialist “ way of designing reward systems!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>In practice, this is what it means. An unmarried medical officer is given a single room, whereas a train driver with wife /children is given accommodation larger than that of the unmarried doctor!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>This is what is meant “ from each according to his ability to each according to his needs !”\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>The opposite is what we see in capitalist societies. From each according to his ability to each according to his desire! \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> So you have an unmarried doctor living in a four-bedroom house. Whereas a train driver with family lives in a single room!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>So, it is the reward systems we have in place that sow the seed and promote corruption. They are systems without a human face. It’s what the Twi calls “ Wiasè mu nià wabrè na odiè” philosophy!\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>The every man “according to his desire” philosophy  has no place for the vulnerable in society who unfortunately are in the majority.\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>To create a just society, political leadership must therefore pursue what Jeremy Bentham ( British philosopher) stated ; to seek “ the greatest happiness of the greatest number “! Not the greatest happiness of the smart few; this requires a conscious and deliberate policy framework\u003C/p>\u003Cp> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>If you care to know this was the philosophy  that undergirded the post-independence policies Kwame Nkrumah pursued. That of seeking to promote  “the greatest happiness of the greatest number!” A philosophy I share ! \u003Cbr> \u003C/p>\u003Cp>Part 2\u003C/p>","2026-10-12T16:02:26.778Z",1791826561725]