Friday, June 22, 2012
Added to these negative
tendencies on the part of the NPP is the problem that the NDC (both as a
political party and the government) has already created to worsen the
situation. The nasty intra-party wrangling that has torn the party into
seemingly irreconcilable pro-Rawlings and pro-Mills factions has negatively
affected governance, which indicates that the incumbent isn’t as advantageously
poised as he had been at Election 2008.
Rawlings’ strident bad-mouthing
of the government and his persistent divisive moves have raised tension within
the ranks of the NDC to a frightening level.
From the anger that is displayed
here-and-there by the rival factions within the NDC, it must be clear to all by
now that these rival NDC elements pose a grave threat to national peace and
security.
Turning their dagger on each
other (as is evident in the physical attacks on rival NDC functionaries—an
example being the case of the NDC
Parliamentary candidate for the Ledzokuku Constituency, Mrs. Benita Sena
Okity-Dua (a former Miss Ghana) whose residence has been razed down by fire
suspected to have been set by her own party supporters who do not want her to
be their candidate).
In the long run, the NDC will be
the cause of its own doom. That is why it will be difficult for the government
to retain power unless the party resolves its internal crisis. But there is no
silver lining anywhere. Instead, we expect more self-inflicted harm, which will
add to other factors to heighten tension in the country.
It seems the entire country is
beset with problems—be they caused by chieftaincy and land disputes or communal
and social strife (as is the case of the troubles in Akumfi Narkwa and Hohoe).
These pockets of tension will lead to only one end, which is, to provide the
spark for the national catastrophe that Election 2012 portends.
There is enough cause for pessimism
and outright apprehension at this stage. Indiscipline is the hallmark and
vigilante justice seems more attractive nowadays that the state institutions
can’t serve the needs of the society as expected. Every part of national life
is threatened. We are indeed on tenterhooks.
At the fringes too, politically
motivated pressure groups are feeding the already tense atmosphere with their
belligerence, especially as they take on the government to sing the song of
their paymasters. Such groupings can’t be relied on to do anything to avert
trouble. They come in various guises and are all over the place. No need to
mention names. By their utterances and actions will they be known as such.
The danger for us is limitless
because almost everybody and every sector of national life has been politicized
to such an extent that nothing in the public domain can any more be regarded as
neutral. Traditional rulers (both chiefs and queenmothers), opinion leaders,
community leaders, and public-spirited figures have been bitten deep by the bug.
Some who have openly identified with political parties have already lost the
respect of their rivals and can’t be trusted to handle affairs dispassionately
or without injecting their political venom into matters.
At a broader level, ethnicity is a
vital cog in this wheel of trouble. In a country where politicians have sown
seeds of discord among the people on the basis of ethnic differences, the
danger is real. What came from Kennedy Agyapong is just a microcosm of the danger
posed by unconscionable politicians seeking to exploit ethnic attachments. His
call hasn’t materialized yet but its import is not lost on us.
The fear is that when the
political situation turns sour for those already conditioning themselves to
tread on Canaan soil to relish the milk and honey flowing there, such ethnic
differences can easily become the cinder to ignite a national catastrophe.
We are more than concerned at
this stage. Any reliance on the security services (especially the police and
the military) to handle the situation may be misplaced. Do we not know that the
personnel of these institutions identify with specific ethnic extractions and
political causes that they will defend when push comes to shove?
The institutions purportedly
formed to work for peace seem not to be actively doing their duties. There is
one called the Ghana Peace Council, which is more active in name than in action
to assure Ghanaians that it can be relied on to preserve peace and tranquility
in the country.
The clergy and other leaders of
religious organizations have already betrayed their political biases and
preached hatred instead of fellow-feeling and peace. Are these the people to
rely on to avert any disaster?
Others who are often in the news
aren’t doing so because they are working for peace; they are doing so for
reasons that are mostly politically motivated, which gives them away as mere
tools at the service of politicians paying the highest price to use their
umbrella for political gimmicks in the name of peace-making.
Some of them are obviously
politically tainted and can’t solve any problem. Those among them who have
veiled their partisan political interests with high-sounding but empty moral rhetoric
are part of the problem.
So, where do we stand? Do our
political leaders not know how much tension their irresponsible utterances and
conduct provoke to ensure that no matter what happens they will work for peace?
The Inter-Party Advisory Council that the Electoral Commission uses to deal
with the various political parties has lost its credibility and vigour because
it doesn’t seem to be the right tool for peace-making.
Unless our politicians and all
those stoking the fire want to tell us that they value their own political
ambitions more than national peace and stability, they should halt their
negative politics. They should help us work for peace to keep our country
together. Election 2012 will definitely be an exercise to deepen our democracy
if these politicians don’t turn it into a battleground.
This negative politicking of
do-and-die won’t solve our national problems. It is our bounden duty to protect
each other and ensure the stability of our country. Let’s talk peace, not war
at election time. Elections should help us sort the goats (the bad ones) from
the sheep (the good ones who can help us live our lives in decency). We don’t
have to die to be able to elect our national leaders!!
More importantly, building Ghana is
an imperative that cannot be accomplished through political violence. Ghanaians
are aware of their existential problems and don’t need to be instigated to kill
each other before solving those problems. They don’t need to be trampled upon
either by politicians seeking to fulfill ambitions that may end up worsening
their plight.
Happenings over the years have
confirmed to Ghanaians that their destinies are in their own hands. They know
that national politics has become a goldmine being exploited by those who
quickly mount rooftops to proclaim themselves as saviours only to win their
mandate to be in power and turn a blind eye to their plight. The evidence is
available for one to know that despite all the natural and human resources that
the country has, the majority of the people live in excruciating poverty while
those with their mandate live in the heaven-on-earth that they have manipulated
the system to create for them.
The majority of Ghanaians who
suffer privations and don’t even have places of convenience to dispose of their
cares and worries don’t need anybody’s prompting to do the unthinkable. At
least, if their lives are not to be improved by those put in power by them,
they should be left to run their full span on earth.
That is why they must be left
alone to make up their own minds as to whom to vote for. They don’t need any
subterfuge or threats of death to do so. And that is why tearing the country
apart in the process of winning their mandate is the most reprehensible thing
anybody will ever do to them. Ghanaians need peace to determine how to solve
national problems, working together as one people with a common destiny, not
being turned against each other by self-seekers. Let the trouble makers take
caution!!
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