Opinion
POINT OF ORDER
Few weeks ago I wrote in this column that there is some madness in everybody. The incidence of madness reveals itself in many forms. I am not a medical officer. I was only speaking from personal observations of the behavior of people in society. Then on Tuesday, August 4, 2015, Dr. Akwasi Osei, the Chief Psychiatric, Ministry of Health, wrote an article in the DAILY GRAPHIC, at Page 10 titled “Charles Antwi and Matters Arising”. The article made interesting reading and somewhat confirmed my suspicions about the state of mind of persons we meet everyday in our daily lives. One should not think that only naked persons walking the street are the only mad people around. Madness manifests itself in many forms. However, by its nature, no matter the form it renders itself, madness must be treated with caution.
Under no circumstances should a person showing symptoms of madness be allowed in a leadership position whatsoever. It can only be a disaster. Indeed, many legal jurisdictions exclude certified mad people from many everyday activities including positions of leadership. However, rather unfortunately, in Africa, the opposite is the fact when it comes to leadership. African countries have experienced the rule of visibly mad persons who have assumed the role of Presidents, Prime Ministers, Emperors, Kings and Chairmen and what have you as either Heads of States or Heads of Government or both since colonial rule left the shores of the continent. African leaders assume office, poorer than a church mouse with high grandiose promises of liberation and prosperity for the citizens and end up as failures, non-performers, greedy idiots and worst still filthy rich from the looting of the nation’s coffers. The stolen resources are saved in foreign bank accounts, some used to buy expensive properties overseas or used to support the glutinous filthy lifestyles of the close members of their families.
On the eve of independence, Kwame Nkrumah declared and shouted himself hoarse that the blackman is free and free for ever to the thunderous cheers of his gullible supporters. How can any mortal being be free forever? Today, the average Ghanaian without any links to the ruling corrupt, incompetent, greedy John Dramani Mahama NDC administration is an impoverished soul shackled in chains of poverty. Zuma of South Africa is reported to have spent over 20 million dollars of state funds on his own private mansion, And the man will not live forever only to die for relatives to fight over that huge expensive property which by all account they cannot even maintain.
Mobutu Sese Seku of former Zaire was richer than the country he presided over and promised to give loans to his country from his personal wealth. Mobutu almost died in the belly of a plane while fleeing into exile as no country was prepared to grant him asylum. Abacha of Nigeria salted over 400 billion dollars of state money in his personal foreign bank accounts. He died suddenly, suspected of suffering from either poison or overdose of sex with prostitutes. Bokasa of Central African Republic used scarce national resources to personally crown himself Emperor for life. He was eventually overthrown and did not die on the throne which had been crafted for his personal aggrandisement. Ethiopia and Somalia descended into chaos once their immediate post-independent leaders were overthrown and forced to run into exile. Gadhafi of Libya branded the people who sought to overthrown him as “rats”. He eventually died worse than a rat shot dead in a fitly culvert. The list is endless. All these are clear cases of madness.
To help judge the level of madness of the leaders we have currently given to ourselves, let us draw some parallel. Imagine Obama speaking to American citizens in Germany that the USA is suffering from crisis of confidence which has resulted in numerous labour disputes and unrests and strikes. However being a dead goat he, Obama, could not care a hoot. The people of America would have impeached him with immediate effect and alacrity for showing gross symptoms of madness before even a psychiatrist had been given the opportunity to examine his state of mind, in the style of the trial of Charles Antwi.
Suddenly a dead goat resurrects from the dead to continue to shoulder the mantle of high office of the land only to make another outlandish and atrocious statement and claims that he will not break the bank to meet doctors’ demands. This statement is made in a context where history points to the fact that the NDC allegedly stole nine billion cedis of the state money after breaking the national bank to prosecute its 2012 electioneering campaign. For a party which could not pay its rent and was able to put up a 20 million dollar national headquarters barely three years on assuming political power, it does not need Dr. Akwasi Osei to point out the incidence of madness and locate the affected part of the brain.
We have been told by a Jihadist that at any time his government should donate a black goat, it should be reported that a white cow had been donated. At a bye election, illegal armed brigands led by an accomplished party foot soldier wreak havoc on innocent people. The action is captured in the media. And yet party men come out to say that the leader of the illegal armed brigands, being a Muslim and fasting at that time was deep asleep in his house. Another also made a contradictory statement that the leader was not even in town.
And to make the illegal acts of the illegal armed brigands respectable and to shield them from prosecution, the overall boss in charge of national security is quoted as having said that: “Violence beget violence. If you do not perpetrate violence, there won’t be a reaction. If you are attacked and the police is not around won’t you defend yourself? If you are a peace lover and somebody comes to attack you, definitely you have to protect yourself. We also had to bring in some men. Azorka Boys will not react unless they are provoked. When we go back to Accra, we would streamline the private security system. Those which are not licensed would be stopped” Dr. Akwasi Osei, where are thou?
Mosques are filled to the brim every Friday. Synagogues are made to choke to their seams every Saturday. Churches are overflowing with the faithful every Sunday. They all claim to owe allegiance to the Almighty. Hours on end and productive time are spent in worshipping the Almighty. Cinema houses have been converted into churches. Warehouses have been refurbished and turned into churches. And yet the iniquities committed by our politicians, public officers and private citizens alike against the state is so horrendous, it is not the corruption which is soul wrenching but the impunity with which the corruption is committed. We mock Allah on a daily basis. At times I wonder whether it is criminals or mad people who have taken over the affairs of the nation. Perhaps it is both.
In developed countries like Singapore, state lands are put up for auction to the highest bidder. In this country, state lands are privately sold by politicians and public officials, hold on, not to the citizens but to foreigners in dollars. The greedy criminals take their cut and remit a small percentage to state coffers. Virtually all state assets have been sold to foreigners including the most precious, God-given asset: LAND. All government contracts are illegally procured under sole sourcing where prices are inflated to the skies.
Criminals in leadership position are filthy rich and yet the state is so poor it cannot give state employees their widow’s mite until they start picketing. “O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason!” Where are the patriots? Will this country survive to the end of this year? I wonder! I am ashamed I was born an African in this country called Ghana! Prof James Watson, is anybody listening to you?