Ghana's Middle Income Status Is "Book Long" - KSM

KSM

Ghanaian ace comedian, founder and CEO of Sapphire Ghana Limited who is also the host of 'THE KSM SHOW' on Metro TV, Kwaku Sintim-Misa, known popularly as KSM in another post on his facebook page has stated that, when there is a disconnect between what is on paper and the reality on the ground, the theory of "book long" comes in.
He cited Ghana as an example of a country with "book long" middle income status.

KSM makes me laugh all the time with his posts. His humour level is high. How can a whole country's income status be "book long"? lol

Aniway, KSM wrote,

THE DEFINITION OF "BOOK - LONG"

At first, I didn't understand this term. I thought "book-long" was just a way of scorning anything academic. A nation that looks down on academics is on shaky ground. For that reason, I despised the term.

Of late, my views have changed.I think I am beginning to understand the term better now. "Book long" is not a mockery of academics, rather, it is a mockery of academicians who are academically brilliant but do not know how to PRACTICALLY apply the academic knowledge to solve everyday problems.

They say knowledge is POWER. It is not true. KNOWLEDGE is POTENTIAL POWER. Knowledge is powerful ONLY if one KNOWS how to apply it to SOLVE problems or to USE IT TO IMPROVE society. Without the CORRECT APPLICATION, the KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED IS USELESS.

Having said that, I now understand that the term "book-long". It applies to all those academics who's knowledge is limited to THEORY or who's "apo" is great on PAPER. These academics FAIL to realize that whats on paper, DOES NOT always apply to the reality on the ground. They do not seem to understand that it is not what you have studied, but how you apply what you have studied to create a positive transformation.

Where there is a DISCONNECT between whats on paper and the reality on the ground, the theory becomes "book long".

For example, ON PAPER, Ghana is a MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRY, that's true and great on PAPER; The reality on the ground is different. On the ground Ghana is struggling to find her feet as a MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRY; On the ground Ghana is battling to put in place the structures that are needed to support the growth of a middle income country. One of the hallmarks of a prosperous Middle Income are indications of currency stabilization. Ghana is struggling with that. So, while we are MIDDLE INCOME ON PAPER, on the ground we are struggling to get the fundamentals right. There is a DISCONNECT.

I guess the idea of Ghana being a middle income country is "BOOK LONG".
#‎thinkingaloud‬