KSM is a popular stand-up comedian and commentator
Ghanaian comedian and social commentator Kwaku Sintim-Misa, popularly known as KSM, has argued that Ghana’s biggest challenge is the absence of critical thinking.
Speaking on his YouTube show, KSM dismissed the notion that white people are inherently more intelligent than black people, stressing that Ghana’s underdevelopment stems not from a lack of intelligence but from a failure to think critically about societal issues.
“When people say white people are superior to blacks in terms of intelligence, I don’t agree with that. However, our problem is not that blacks are inferior, it is that we, especially Ghanaians, lack critical thinking,” he said.
He identified religion and education as the two major factors suppressing critical thinking in Ghana.
According to him, both institutions could be positive forces if people apply reasoning and relevance to their practices.
“Religion can be positive if you think critically and make it applicable in your life. Education is only important when we interpret it to make it relevant to our circumstances,” he explained.
KSM bemoaned how many Ghanaians believe false prophecies and fail to question religious claims, attributing this to the country’s weak culture of inquiry.
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He also criticised the country’s elite, including former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, for failing to adapt foreign-acquired knowledge to Ghana’s unique context.
“If only he would have sat down and said, I learned all of this in Yale, how can I apply this in Ghana,” KSM said, describing many of the country’s educated professionals as “educated illiterates.”
He concluded that Ghana’s inability to sustain national institutions like Ghana Airways, the Black Star Line, and GIHOC Industries was due to a lack of critical thinking and innovation.
“Our non-thinking and inability to do critical thinking collapsed all these,” he stated.
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