Saturday,
November 2, 2013
My
good friends, a wordy warfare is being fought in government circles that will
have nasty repercussions for President Mahama.
Former
Majority Leader, Alban Sumani Bagbin (who is also one of the three presidential
appointees responsible for priority projects) has thrown a hefty punch at the
Presidency, complaining of not being able to have access to President Mahama to
discuss issues with. How can he do his work if he can’t discuss issues with the
appointing authority? And he is considered one of the “three wise men” to
spearhead efforts at helping President Mahama accomplish his dream on
development projects!!
Bagbin
must be complaining about those surrounding the President and making it
difficult for functionaries like him to hob-nob with the President. He must be
complaining about sycophancy!!
A
major troubling aspect of Ghanaian politics is the prevalence and pervasiveness
of sycophancy in officialdom. Since the birth of this country, the various
leaders have surrounded themselves with advisers who, unfortunately, have
turned out to be nothing but gaping sycophants, doing overtime to catch the
President’s ears with what they think will please him—and doing all they can to
prevent others with different versions of the truth from reaching the
President.
They
adroitly outmanouevre each other and clog the President’s ears with their
versions of reality and thereby endanger governance until everything explodes
in their faces. The President is often the loser.
Tell
me: Which of our Presidents (past and present) is praised for good
governance—listening to the voice of the people (which is the voice of God) and
doing the right thing to solve pertinent national problems and improve living
conditions? Which of them (probably apart from Jerry Rawlings) had his ears “on
the ground”?
In
truth, our leaders have failed us largely because they don’t listen to the
people but their “advisers” (the coterie of crafty sycophants disguised as
super-patriots). They don’t solve problems because the solutions given them by
their advisers aren’t appropriate. All is disjointed. It is all to the
disadvantage of the President. Unfortunately, though, none learns any lesson to
make amends and goes down in history as a pathetic failure! Is President Mahama
falling into the same trap?
That
is what Bagbin is worried stiff of. He has publicly expressed frustration at
not reaching President Mahama to draw his attention to “the corrupt practices
going on under his administration”. And corruption in government is the topical
issue on which public discourse is centred.
He
claims to have other concerns too: he is “deeply worried” about how the country
is being governed; the president’s schedule makes him remote and therefore
difficult for him (Bagbin), like many of the President's appointees, to meet
him (President Mahama).
“So
many of you will be surprised that even though we are there we don’t have
access to the president to talk to him… Recently, I had to call the president
for me to say since I cannot get you people in private to advise, I will start
advising you in public, because I am deeply worried about the situation in
Ghana”.
Should
we dismiss Bagbin’s concerns outright as the effusions of a failed politician
seeking to draw needless attention to himself? No!! Whether true or not, his
complaints could be the harbinger of the tension that is gradually building up
within government circles to threaten President Mahama’s leadership. Reasonable
people will view his complaints with circumspection.
Not
so for Stan Xoese Dogbe, a Presidential Staffer. In a swift and damning
reaction, he didn’t waste time at all in dismissing Bagbin as “an enemy
within the government”, “a liar” and an incompetent Health Minister whose
inadequacies engendered corruption at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. He
accused Bagbin of ridiculing the President in public. These are very serious
claims against the former Majority Leader and MP for Nadowli.
Dogbe
posted his reaction on his Facebook page and completely discounted Bagbin’s
concerns. He said the President has opened up in many ways to interact with
anybody with any message for him and cannot be said to be inaccessible as
Bagbin has alleged. In effect, then, Bagbin is being mischievous.
MY
COMMENTS
What
is emerging from the quarters of these two government functionaries is really
ugly and unseemly. I don’t and won’t doubt any claim that some notables make
concerning their inability to reach President Mahama when they have something
to tell him, which is why I hesitate to dismiss Bagbin’s concerns.
Obviously,
complaints have long since been made by important NDC functionaries and
public-spirited personalities seeking to discuss issues with President Mahama.
Bagbin’s is not the first one that I would have heard.
Many
people have contacted me to complain bitterly about the same problem, citing
Stan Dogbe himself as one stumbling block on their way. They haven’t made
public their concerns but are deeply worried that those surrounding President
Mahama have constituted themselves into tin gods and assumed responsibilities
that detract from the openness with which they expect the President to handle
affairs.
They
are alarmed at this trend and are quick to conclude that the sycophants
parading the corridors of power have built a thick wall around the President to
prevent him from being told anything other than the sweet-sounding briefs that they
give him. They tell him what will please his ears and cut him off from “the
ground”. It is really disturbing to learn so.
Stan
Dogbe may be privileged to know how President Mahama conducts his public
outreach affairs, but he needs to be told that in politics, anything that
paints the President black should be avoided. That is why his impulsive
reaction to Bagbin’s concerns stinks to the skies!!
Assuming
even that Bagbin overshot his mouth in expressing his concerns, should he be so
dressed down by an inexperienced person like this Stan Dogbe? I describe him as
INEXPERIENCED because that is what he is. In Ghanaian politics, characters like
him are not worth the attention they seek because they have no grounding in
matters of politics. Those of them now in officialdom by virtue of “political
connections” or the goodwill of benefactors shouldn’t deceive themselves that
they matter. They don’t.
I
recall what this Stan Dogbe did under the late President Mills to attract
damaging public reaction, especially because he was alleged to have been paid
sums of money for doing some communication work for the government that didn’t
yield anything concrete to boost governance. But for the protection given him,
he would have been elsewhere than officialdom. The cloud of doubts and
suspicions surrounding him hasn’t dispersed all this while, if he cares to
know.
The
issues raised by Bagbin need a more serious and sober reflection than the
impulsive and irritating response given to it by Dogbe. Even if Bagbin went too
far in expressing his frustration, the matter could have been handled in a more
civilized manner than how Dogbe approached it.
I
am being brazen here to say that none of those surrounding President Mahama are
more patriotic than those seeking to reach him but cannot. They don’t love the
NDC more than those not in the camp of the tin-gods hovering around the
President, making the loudest, ugliest noise to be noticed and kept at post,
even if their noise is mostly counter-productive.
It
must be pointed out clearly here that President Mahama needs more input from
non-official sources to be able to have a firm handle on the job of governance.
Those who can reach him with first-hand intelligence need to be given the
opportunity to do so. The fear is that characters like Stan Dogbe, who have
arrogated to themselves the power to determine what reaches the President’s
ears, know very well that their own “deals” are likely to be exposed by those
who know what they are up to, which is why they dig in and thicken the wall of
sycophancy to frustrate “informants”.
In
truth, President Mahama will do himself a world of good if he finds better ways
to access information/intelligence from sources other than the mouths of the
sycophants surrounding him. His success or failure will depend on how he
approaches issues holistically.
I
have no shred of doubt in my mind that Bagbin is an insider who knows what is
happening. There are many others like him who have swallowed their frustrations
just to save their jobs; but deep down, they are chafing.
Dr.
Tony Aidoo has made his voice heard already. The under-currents are really
strong and troubling. A careful analysis of the situation tells me that there
is more brewing, which is why a petulant response as has come from Stan Dogbe
deserves condemnation, not praise as a show of bravado.
I
am more than concerned because characters like Dogbe qualify as the “youth” who
have been brought on board to help inject some dynamism into governance; but I
can’t say that they are doing so. They are better known for their misuse of
their youth exuberance to undermine the integrity of the “seasoned politicians”
from whom they are to learn lessons but don’t position themselves to be
groomed. They choose rather to confront the “senior colleagues” and end up
worsening the situation. Are these the characters to build a party on?
Of
course, former President Rawlings has already characterized them as “babies
with sharp teeth”; and I am tempted to conclude that for as long as they
mistake the trees for the forest, President Mahama will have it tough-going.
What Bagbin has complained about is just the beginning. He should brace up for
more!!
One
more question: Is President Mahama still the AFFABLE person that he is known to
be? Or has he lost that quality just because he is held hostage by the
sycophants surrounding him?
Dismissing
Bagbin's complaints as a mere irritant—as Stan Dogbe has done—is childish and
impolitic. A more mature manner of dealing with the issue will solve the
problem. Then, when President Mahama opens his door wider, he will know more
than those surrounding him wish he could.
In
politics, it doesn't really matter how much information the President receives
or from whom it comes. It is up to him to determine what will be useful for his
administration, not what the sycophants determine should reach his ears.
Let
the sycophants not deceive themselves that they matter more than the people
whose lives are endangered by incompetence and corruption in government
circles. Some issues deserve more tactical approaches than Dogbe and those
thinking like him can ever know how to handle. Is it difficult for President
Mahama to invite his own appointee (Bagbin) for a dialogue on his concerns?
From
how Dogbe has handled the matter, I am more than convinced that there is some
truth in Bagbin's concerns. Otherwise, why isn't it the President who should be
dealing with Bagbin (if even on the quiet)? Or, is the President afraid of
Bagbin to send his "attack dog" after him, using Facebook? What
childishness?
I
shall return…
- E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
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