By Rihana Adam Akologo, GNA
Accra, Sept. 7 (GNA) – Reverend Acheampong E. S. Builderman, a Theologian, intellectual and author has called on Ghanaians to make reading, writing and critical thinking a national culture.
This he said, ‘ a nation that reads extensively is better positioned to build a knowledge-driven economy’.
He said literacy should no longer be understood merely as the ability to read and write, but as a foundation for intellectual independence, responsible citizenship, spiritual maturity, innovation and national development.
Rev. Builderman, Missions Director and Lead Pastor of Thanksgiving Place Chapel and Ministries Incorporated in Accra, made the called in an interview with the GNA ahead of International Literacy Day, observed globally on September 8.
He said a society that neglected reading ultimately weakened its capacity to think, question, innovate and preserve its own story.
“Our history was not written by us,” he said, stressing the need for Africans to become more intentional about researching, documenting and telling their own stories.
He argued that generations of Africans had inherited historical narratives which, in some instances, diminished the continent’s achievements, distorted its identity and weakened confidence in its intellectual and developmental potential.
According to him, Africans must, therefore, return to the discipline of reading and research if they were to distinguish historical fact from inherited assumptions and develop the intellectual capacity required to shape their future.
Rev. Builderman said his own intellectual journey had involved extensive research into colonialism, African history, religion and civilisation.
He said his research had also included reading the Quran, alongside historical and theological materials, as part of his effort to understand Africa’s religious, cultural and historical landscape from multiple perspectives before publishing his works.
He said, “reading gives you the capacity to interrogate what you have been told.”
The Reverend Minister said the challenge facing Africa was not simply illiteracy in the conventional sense, but also the failure to cultivate a population that reads deeply, thinks critically and applies knowledge responsibly.
He said Christians, in particular, must become people of the word and people of knowledge, capable of engaging Scripture, history, science, economics, culture and contemporary social questions intelligently.
He said knowledge acquired through reading should ultimately translate into character, competence and action.
He said, “If we read but do not think, we have only accumulated information. If we think but do not act, knowledge has not yet become transformation.”
Rev. Builderman said churches had an important role to play in creating communities where reading, writing, research and intellectual inquiry were encouraged alongside prayer and spiritual formation.
He urged pastors and Christian leaders to challenge young people to read beyond religious literature and engage books that would broaden their understanding of society, history, leadership, economics, science, governance and human development.
He said a spiritually mature Christian should not be afraid of questions, adding that truth should withstand honest investigation.
The call for a stronger reading culture is closely connected to Rev. Builderman’s latest literary project, Africa Beware: The Chains, the Choice, and the Almighty God Who Sets a Continent Free, a work that examines questions surrounding Africa’s history, identity, slavery, colonialism, leadership and development.
The book was inspired, he said, by questions from his daughters while they were studying African history.
Their questions, he explained, compelled him to revisit issues that many adults had either failed to interrogate or had become accustomed to accepting without sufficient examination.
Among the questions were where Africans truly belonged, where God was during the transatlantic slave trade, why Africans continued to experience poverty despite abundant natural resources, the role of churches and mosques in African development, the state of schools, hospitals and roads, environmental destruction caused by illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, and why maps had historically represented Africa disproportionately.
He said, “before any history lesson taught an African child that her past was small, the map on the wall had already taught her that her continent was small, the lies reached her before she could even read.”
Rev. Builderman said the book therefore sought not merely to revisit historical grievances, but to encourage Africans to recover their humanity, confront historical injustice and accept responsibility for the future.
He said the transatlantic slave trade must be confronted honestly as a profound historical injustice against Africans and their descendants, while the continent’s post-independence challenges must also be examined with equal honesty.
“Africa must confront both the injustice done to her and the responsibilities she has towards herself,” he said.
He used recurring archetypes in the book, the steward and the thief.
The steward, he explained, regarded power and resources as responsibilities entrusted to him for the benefit of others and future generations.
The thief, by contrast, views public resources, influence and authority as opportunities for personal enrichment.
He said the distinction could be applied across society, from political leadership to religious institutions, businesses, communities and individual households.
He also linked the principle to contemporary environmental concerns, particularly illegal mining, arguing that the destruction of Ghana’s rivers, forests and agricultural lands represented a failure of stewardship.
Rev. Builderman said the work began with an African History assignment brought home by one of his daughters.
He recalled that she asked questions he could not adequately answer that evening.
Those questions eventually became the foundation of years of research and writing.
The book, he said, was consequently written not only for scholars or academics but also for young Africans searching for truthful answers about their identity and heritage.
It is also intended for leaders who need truth rather than flattery and pastors who believe that the Gospel should transform society as well as individual lives.
One of the book’s central arguments is that Africa’s story cannot be reduced to slavery, colonialism and poverty because the continent possessed significant civilisations, cultures, intellectual traditions and systems of organisation long before European colonial rule.
Rev. Builderman said rediscovering this heritage should not produce historical arrogance but rather a renewed sense of responsibility.
He said, “we must not merely rediscover what Africa was. We must decide what Africa will become.”
As a theologian, Rev. Builderman brings Christian reflection into his examination of African history.
One of the most deeply personal sections of the book concerns his visit to the dungeons beneath Elmina Castle, where enslaved Africans were held before being transported across the Atlantic.
He said the experience forced him to confront the theological question of where God was during one of history’s darkest chapters.
His answer, he said, was not found in simplistic explanations of suffering but in the Christian understanding of God entering human suffering through Christ.
For Rev. Builderman, the cross becomes a theological lens through which the suffering of enslaved Africans can be contemplated, while the Gospel becomes a call to justice, dignity, restoration and responsible action.
Rev. Builderman said he had recently launched six major books and was collaborating with publishers on the release of 10 additional manuscripts, as part of a writing project he had been developing since 2018.
He currently has seven published books, with the growing body of work spanning Christian discipleship, leadership, gratitude, African history, social responsibility and personal transformation.
He acknowledged the support of Mr Emmanuel Yaw Oppong, Rev. Dr Charles Owiredu and his team at the Daniel Institute of Central University, Okyeame Sarfo of GISOPS, Kwasi Arhin, Kwaku Asare Ofosuhene, Auntie Brigid, Auntie Abena, Auntie Lizzy and others whose encouragement, intellectual engagement and support contributed to the completion of the books.
He said the work of writing should not be separated from the broader responsibility of building people and institutions.
Rev. Builderman believed Ghana’s aspiration to become a knowledge economy must begin with something more fundamental than technology and infrastructure: a population that reads.
He said countries seeking sustainable development must deliberately cultivate citizens who could acquire knowledge, evaluate information, solve problems and communicate ideas.
He urged parents to introduce children to books early, schools to strengthen reading cultures, churches to establish libraries and reading programmes, and young people to make reading a disciplined part of their daily lives.
He also encouraged professionals and public officials to continue learning beyond formal education.
“Education does not end when you leave school. The moment you stop learning, you begin to surrender your capacity to grow,” he said.
The call comes as the world marks International Literacy Day on September 8.
The annual observance, established in 1967, highlights the importance of literacy in creating more literate, just, peaceful and sustainable societies. Literacy is recognised as a fundamental human right and a foundation for acquiring broader knowledge, skills, values and attitudes.
For Rev. Builderman, however, the literacy conversation must extend beyond statistics.
He said Ghana must move towards a culture in which reading was not treated merely as an academic requirement but as a national habit that strengthened families, churches, schools, businesses and public institutions.
He said a nation that reads develops citizens who can question assumptions, understand their history, challenge injustice, innovate and participate more effectively in national development.
“A reading nation builds a knowledge economy,” he said.
He therefore urged Ghanaians to use International Literacy Day as an opportunity to rediscover the power of books and knowledge, insisting that the future of the country would depend not only on what its people possessed, but also on what they knew, understood and did with that knowledge.
He said knowledge, when transformed into responsible action, becomes a force for national renewal.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba