The Executive Director of the New African Concept (NAC), Dr. Joshua Oppong-Sarfo, has challenged the widely held belief that Africa’s underdevelopment is primarily the result of slavery and colonialism, arguing instead that the continent’s struggles stem from a deeply eroded value system.
Speaking at the 5th anniversary media launch of NAC on Wednesday, 11th February 2026, at Stanbic Heights in Accra, Dr. Oppong-Sarfo said research conducted by his team points to moral decadence within Africa’s value systems as the fundamental cause of stagnation.
He maintained that while many attribute Africa’s challenges to external historical forces, the real issue is internal.
“Generally, people normally subscribe to things like the coming of the white man through slavery and colonialism as the root cause, but for us, we believe from our research that the very root cause of Ghana and Africa’s problem happens to be our value systems, which is our internal self, thus garbage in, garbage out.”
He said Africa’s development challenges stem from a deeper, systemic problem rather than surface-level issues.
“So the software upon which we mount our programs is broken, which we call in our language value systems, and that is the main problem. All other things are symptomatic. It is just like you have malaria; if you have malaria, you know that you have symptoms like hypothermia, which is high temperature, and also you’ll have issues with the appetite.
“But the real issue is that of the malaria bug. If you don’t treat it and then you just take painkillers and appetite stimulants, you are not, in essence, dealing with the fundamental problem.”
According to Dr. Oppong-Sarfo, until Africa rewrites what he described as a faulty mindset underpinning its value systems, efforts at addressing leadership deficits, poverty, and other socio-economic challenges will yield little results.
He also outlined activities lined up for the year, including a book launch on 22nd February and an Independence Lecture scheduled for 6th March 2026 at the UGMC Auditorium in Accra. The lecture, he said, will present a comprehensive diagnosis of Ghana’s and Africa’s challenges, examine past interventions, and explain why many have failed to produce meaningful transformation.
Touching on the role of the church, Dr. Oppong-Sarfo said it has partly fallen short in fostering a transformative mindset among Christians, though he cautioned against blanket condemnation.
“We should not hastily say that the church has failed the nation,” he stated, adding that the gap lies in the failure to link individual salvation to national transformation.
Chairman of NAC, Nana Barima Acheampong Sarpong II, Chief of Sekyere Asaman in the Ashanti Region, echoed the call for renewal, stressing that nations rise on the strength of their character, discipline, and sense of purpose.
According to him, achieving a new Ghana and a new Africa requires the emergence of a new Ghanaian and a new African, driven by reformed values and mindset transformation.
