Monday,
October 29, 2012
As we prepare for the December
elections, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that intra-party or inter-party
rivalry won’t be the solution to the country’s problems. The Commission on
Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has already sounded the alarm
bell to suggest that tension is rising in the country, which is disturbing.
All over the radio stations and
public forums, hot exchanges between political rivals dominate interactions.
The use of foul language is exacerbated by physical assaults on political
opponents. Some may claim that they are fighting their parties’ cause by so
doing; others may claim that silencing dissension will pave the way for them to
win voter confidence to return to power or cling on to it. I mock them!!
My question is simple: Do we have
to kill or maim each other to be able to develop our country? If not, why can’t
we see national development beyond the petty personal level that we have
reduced our national and local politics to?
Of course, politics can’t do
without conflicts but when such conflicts go beyond bounds, we must be alarmed—and
we are already!
From the way the pendulum has
swung so far, I am quite certain that certain faceless people with stated
agenda to grab political power by any means possible are behind all these
conflicts that the CHRAJ has identified as the cause of tension in the country.
We shouldn’t allow such people to
manipulate us. Indeed, if nation building is the common objective of all these
politicians scattered about in the various political parties or operating as
independent candidates, why should there not be a clear understanding on how to
go about handling affairs without spitting fire?
I am tempted to suppose that
nation building is not the objective of all these people instigating mayhem or
vowing to turn the country upside down if they don’t win the elections. Self-aggrandizement
and plundering of national resources seems to be their main motivation. At
least, we have enough evidence of how they behave in public office to accuse
them of not really being goaded by patriotism or any public-spirited urge to
work for the public weal.
These are self-seeking people
taking undue advantage of the gullibility of the ordinary Ghanaian to be in
power for hidden purposes. That is why they are all over the place, making all
kinds of promises just to hoodwink the unwitting suffering segments of the
electorate to accept them as Messiahs to deliver them from the perpetual narrow
circumstances that the various incompetent governments have consigned them all
these years. Let them enter office and they push the people further down into
the abyss.
The spate of allegations and
counter-allegations concerning clandestine manouevres by elements of certain
political parties to cause mayhem either in pursuit of their political
ambitions or to thwart efforts at growing our democracy deserve the strongest
condemnation ever.
I don’t think that those
masterminding such evil plots or preparing the grounds for unleashing venom on
political opponents deserve the space that they occupy in those parties. Nor do
they deserve any goodwill from the electorate to push their parties’ agenda
through.
On the eve of the 2008 elections,
Radio Gold publicized widely some troubling revelations concerning underhanded
measures being contemplated or ready to be implemented by a group in the NPP. The
name of Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Asokwa NPP MP, featured in such clandestine
manouevres; but he denied involvement in anything of the sort. He is still out
there, making utterances that don’t promote well-being. Such an MP isn’t worth
the goodwill that his constituents have given him to be in Parliament. Thank
Goodness that they have divested him of that support and he will no longer be
in Parliament.
Kennedy Agyapong, NPP MP for
Assin North, has turned out to be the worst villain so far as far as the
issuing of threats and the tendency to cause mayhem is concerned. His largely
infamous incitement of inter-ethnic violence is being dealt with in court and I
hesitate to comment on it but will, just for purposes of reinforcing my
argument that this particular MP’s misconduct is the worst of all.
He may be emboldened by what he
calls his untold wealth to place himself above all others, but he is fast
reducing himself to a nonentity and trouble maker who will be held to account
for his misguided public pronouncements when the time comes.
Anthony Karbo is currently on people’s
lips as the latest prospective trouble-maker whose machinations are on tape
being circulated. He has denied but won’t escape further scrutiny because he
has already given us to see the anarchist in him. Previous utterances made by
him portray him as such.
There are many others in the NPP,
the NDC, and all over the place, including chiefs and members of the clergy
with stated virulent political biases.
Behind all that tension is the
belligerence of some of the politicians who think that becoming the President
of Ghana is an entitlement that they must grab by hook or crook. Disguising
such overly ambitious intents under such slogans as “All-die-be-die” and
attempting to throw dust into the eyes of the citizens that such a
war-mongering slogan is just a reminder to members of the NPP to remain
vigilant or to defend their party’s interests is the height of the mischief
that makes our politics as crude.
I am talking about Akufo-Addo and
his dogged insistence on winning the elections at all costs. The threats issued
to the Electoral Commission by the NPP big wigs or their public pronouncements
aimed at discrediting it fit right into that agenda.
The NDC’s Yaw Boateng Gyan is
also on people’s lips as a trouble-maker whose recent utterances raised
eyebrows, but he hasn’t been taken to task because the hierarchy of National
Security won’t touch him. Could it be because he is a strong pillar in the
party in power? Maybe. But his conduct is part of the problem that catalyzes
tension.
Creating panic among the public,
verbally insulting political opponents, or physically assaulting those with
dissenting views won’t help us grow our democracy. As we near the polls day,
there is every reason to suspect that such misguided acts and pronouncements
will intensify. That’s what the CHRAJ is wary of enough to draw our attention
to.
Indeed, if building the country
is a common objective, is there any need for anybody to threaten a political
rival or even cause mayhem just to grab political power or to protest against
electoral defeat? What is there to die for, anyway?
I would have no cause to complain
if sacrificing one’s life—assuming that an “All-die-be-die” urge is being
obeyed—will place in office leaders who know how to solve the country’s
problems to make life worth living. But there is every indication that none of
those instigating political activists to toe their line is the leader with the
requisite acumen that can help us move our country forward.
At least, I haven’t seen any of
them as such. Thus, why should anybody allow himself to be manipulated by such
characters or to be used as tools to achieve objectives that will bring no
benefit to either the victims or the vast majority of the citizens?
We have ample evidence of the
self-seeking that has been going on the country all these years. Just take a
quick look at those in Parliament or the seat of government and you should
judge things for yourself.
Hardly do newly elected MPs
settle down in Parliament than they start agitating for amenities that they use
for purposes other than serving their constituents and the country’s interests.
The huge car loans that they are given, which they don’t pay back, is a clear
testimony.
Now, they have given themselves a
pay rise that will make Lucifer’s jaws drop in anger. And they’ve done so while
turning deaf ears to the loud pleas and protestations from public/civil
servants for improved conditions of service. Trust these self-seekers to fight
for better end-of-service packages, having already worked hard to abrogate ESBs
for the ordinary workers whose toil, blood, and tears continue to boost the
national coffers.
The point I want to make is that
there is no committed person among the hordes of power seekers to die for. They
may claim to know what the country’s problems are but they have no means to
solve them. If they could, why won’t they?
More importantly, there is every
good reason to doubt their integrity too. They are more than square pegs that
we put in round holes at every election time.
Causing mayhem to be able to grab
political power is the hallmark of self-seekers. Nation-building is an
honourable responsibility that should be approached with decorum, not anarchy.
We need peace to live our lives,
even if in poverty. If for nothing at all, it is our contributions that make
Ghana what it is and will continue to be. Those who think that they can rule
Ghana and achieve their personal ambitions only when they cause mayhem should
be ashamed. Nations are not built that way.
- E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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