The Paramount Chief of Asokore in the Ashanti Region, Nana Susubribi Krobea Asante, has urged the youth to follow the “straight and narrow path” and avoid the rush for quick wealth as they make efforts to succeed in life.

He said the world had changed, offering young people more opportunities than in the past, but also presenting new temptations that required discipline and strong values.

“The world has changed. You have facilities and so forth and so on, much more than we did. We walked barefooted to school. In those days, there was no electricity in my area, for example.

“So, you have many opportunities. However, there are other temptations.

And the question really is, how do you model your path in future?

What kind of model will you choose? Follow the straight and narrow path and you’ll have the results in the future.

And don’t be in a hurry to acquire wealth as soon as possible,” he said.

This, Nana Asante said, should guide the youth in navigating modern opportunities, while maintaining strong values.

The traditional ruler was speaking in Accra during the “Evening with the Legends” programme at the Lancaster University Ghana.

Constitutional process

Nana Asante also reflected on constitutional processes, particularly the role of the President in the appointment and removal of the Chief Justice.

“The President’s role is very pronounced. In the new proposals of the Constitution Review Committee, the President’s role is reduced. The Council of State has much more power in this particular process,” he said.

On globalisation, he said it was important to balance international engagement with local development.

He expressed concern about Africa’s pace of development compared to some Asian countries and urged the adoption of values such as hard work, commitment and meritocracy.

“I don’t think we are intellectually inferior. So, we should learn some of the virtues.

Commitment, hard work, meritocracy,” he added.

Understanding law

The Provost and Chief Executive Officer of the Lancaster University Ghana, Dr Emmanuel Arthur, explained that the programme was designed to help students to appreciate the historical context of laws and their evolution.

“For us as a university, it’s very, very important, very, very significant because the generation of today don’t understand the context of the law, where the law has come from, some of the things that have influenced the laws that we have now.

“It is for us as a university an opportunity for these young ones who are yearning to become renowned lawyers in future to understand the context of the law and then especially for people who have walked all this path before,” he said.

Mentorship, experiential learning

The Head of Department of the Faculty of Law, Francis Botwey, said the initiative formed part of efforts to produce well-rounded and competitive graduates.

He added that the programme also aimed at building awareness of Ghana and Africa’s development among students, many of whom were from across the continent.

“We believe that Ghana must develop, Africa must develop.

We have to do things differently and this is one of the ways we hope to achieve that,” he said.