The article written under this headline posted on Ghanaweb on April 30 really reaffirmed my belief of how low the sense of reasoning of some Ghanaians has fallen. Indeed, the writer expressed a feeling of despair and notoriously portrayed his dislike for the former head of state and all those associated with him. We may argue that we are all entitled to freedom of speech under our current democratic dispensation but such freedom is not a license for expressing nonsense and show a lack of respect as Amankwah, Nana Kofi portrayed in his ranting of April 30. It is obviously clear that unguided freedom of speech could lead to a culture of excessive noise, the opposite of the culture of silence the firebrand NPP members of old fought against. The two is equally bad. Since the article in reference lacked any substance, I would not like to delve so much into what he spewed out. Rather, I?d prefer that we all put on our thinking cap to encapsulate the very acts in Ghanaian politics today that, if not addressed, would all but derail the hard earned gains of our forefathers and that of the later day saints, who are trying hard to help the country, but have found the going tough, in some cases due to circumstances beyond their control.
The argument I am trying to build here is that typical of what can be described as a culture of ?blame the past? that is gradually creeping into Ghanaian society, the writer did not set the records straight by concentrating on current happenings and its impact on the future of the country, but went straight to attack Rawlings? involvement in Ghanaian politics. How sad? Talking about the fact that ?Rawlings could not manage his own finances? and had to borrow money is just in some way, similar to the NPP telling the whole world that they were rich before they entered into politics so they would not steal. All we can say now is that NPP are not thieves (for now) because no court has actually tried and prosecuted any of their members, but NDC is because they have had jailed ministers! But the reality also is that if the writer feels that it was not good for someone who could not run his all finances to run our beloved country, equally, are we also not foolish as a nation to entrust our future in the hands of a man who cannot even manage an affair? I am referring to the Gezzelle ?Evil? Yayzi here, who it is obvious that no matter how one reads the script, there was an improper relationship between that woman and our president.
The dirty work in Ghanaian politics today is sadly played in the quarters of the NPP. I have never known and studied any political development in any country (apart from Ghana) where the focus has been more on the past regime than the present regime. It is really sad that everything the NDC puts across is seen as dirty. Please, Amankwah, and the few that think like him, where would the country have been if the NDC was not around to delve into the IFC/CNTCI loans? We need to remember that even in advanced countries like the UK, where the Prime Minister question time becomes so heated and interesting to the viewing public, it is not about slashing the throats of other politicians; it is all about the wellbeing of the people. For us to simply conclude that everything the NDC is doing in Ghana today is wrong is just a covert way of calling for a one party state, or better still, calling all the opposition members to support the government. Why then hold elections if we do not have different views on how things must be done or how a state must be governed? Let me explain clearly to you that the dirty work in Ghanaian politics today is played out in different shapes and form. I was particularly flabbergasted and completely gobsmarked with the current reshuffle by the Kufuor government for example. It was dirty to say the least. Dirty because one cannot understand why some people who clearly should have been out were left in government whereas people like Dr Apraku, Osafo Marfo and Dan Botwe were left out. Clearly, these are the NPP guys the President knows he can sacrifice. Technically, these guys are good, but, obviously, they do no fall into Kufuor?s plans because they do no support him and his ideas. It is a wrong move that a retired Kufuor would regret one day. It is inconceivable that another NPP government in 2009 can form a government without these great men included, meaning they will come back to frontline politics and now that Kufuor has failed to secure his desire to be appointed the founder and lifelong patron of the NPP what will he do when these men oppose him as they do today?. Dan Botwe is a nice person, and has really won my admiration because he has stood up to the rights of the party. His opposition to Kufuor in the past (and even now) is not because he hates Kufuor, but rather his desire for a winnable candidate for the Party. I am very surprised that Big Dan did not see the offer of a ministerial appointment in 2005 as a way to get him out of the Party headquarters so that Kufuor can have his people there. His travel to the regions in the name of official duties to campaign for his preferred candidate in the run-up to the NPP congress as opposed to that of the president was the nail in the coffin.
The executive powers given to our head of state in Ghana today is too much that it has brought about some kind of silly politics in the NPP today, and silly decisions. How would you, Amankwa, describe the clear fight between Sam Crabbe the NPP Greater Accra Chairman and Mpiani, the chief of staff in the face of the GIA debacle, if it had involved the NDC and the NPP in this case? We may not agree on the way things must be done in politics, but we must not give in to divisive approach to the way we do things.
Rawlings, by no means is not the measure of Ghanaian politics or democracy. It should rather worry you that in most cases, when Rawlings talks loosely, or Atta Mills picks up an argument with the government, it is all because of either the act of omission or commission by this present administration. Can you really look at me in the face and say that this government is a clean government and has no faults? You must be a psycho to think that way! This is a government prone to calamity at any turn. A minister in jail for alleged drug offences is something that I have always found difficult to understand. I guess this was also the set-up of the NDC work. I always log on to Ghanaweb with fear, afraid that another scandal may come out. It is obvious that there is something dirty happening in Ghanaian politics today as you rightly pointed out, but it is not the work of the NDC, Rawlings or Atta Mills. It is the dirty work of the NPP and Kufuor!
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