Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisa Djaba
Having placed the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba, under my political observatory microscope, she is so far as white as the snow and exceedingly spotless. All her actions taken coupled with her exhibited behaviours during her vetting as a nominee for a ministerial appointment until her recent fracas with the Northern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr Daniel Bugri Naabu, are excellently justified.
The only problem found during my thoughtful consideration and scrutinising Otiko’s actions and behaviours was a conflict of tradition. Ghanaians have that strict tradition that a younger person should not talk back to an elderly person even when the older person is being irresponsible. You are always to obey or succumb to the will of the elderly regardless of the circumstances. This in my opinion has been the cause of the stagnation, if not the retrogression, of Ghana as a nation.
Otiko is against that typical awkward Ghanaian-mindedness, my examination of her character and actions has proved. She is principled and tells the truth although many hypocrites, interpret her actions differently; seeing her as rude and full of herself. No, that is absolutely erroneous!
Before the Vetting Committee, the NDC minority caucus had sought to pressure her to retract some statements she had made about former President John Dramani Mahama. She refused to budge. She held her ground. She insisted that all she had said about former President Mahama, accusing him of being corrupt, wicked and incompetent were true so it was pointless claiming otherwise just to appease the panel. She said at her age of fifty years, if she started lying, when else could she begin to tell the truth?
Was it not true that President Mahama was corrupt, incompetent and wicked as asserted by Otiko? Look at the mess of destruction of our ecology by the Chinese that President Mahama and his Minister caused and/or presided over like people without brains? Did the Chinese women not seduce them with sex to get their free and unrestricted licence to do galamsey to the extent of spoiling our water bodies and lands?
What was wrong about Otiko advising Ghanaian female students or young girls against wearing miniskirts or short revealing dresses as it is the cause of them getting raped? Are men not often attracted by the revealing shapes and nice bodies of women, especially the young girls? Could that really not be the reason for deranged men raping some women or befriending these young girls, impregnating them and then curtailing their academic pursuits?
If Otiko was wrong, could someone please explain to me why there is a school regulation in place for female students to cut their hair to appear manlier? Is long styled-hair not the beauty of a woman? Once a woman shaves off her hair as done by our female students, their beauty is gone and they become less attractive to men. By not being attractive, they do not risk being raped or getting impregnated at the same rate as they would be if they wore more attractive hairdos.
If to cut their hair has a reason behind it, to assist the girls not to get raped or easily impregnated, so is the advice to them not to wear short revealing dresses. Why should the Minister be condemned for admonishing the girls to stay safe by avoiding things that will make them magnets to men?
Finally, were Ghanaian judges not caught on camera accepting goats, fowls, sheep, yams, cats, dogs, money, etc. for bribes to twist justice in favour of those litigants able to offer them such gifts? If Otiko claims the acceptance of such offers by Bugri Naabu constitutes bribe since it has been influencing him to arrange for such persons to seek or earn political appointments, why should people accuse her of being out of way, thus, not towing the political correctness way? Should she keep quiet for Bugri Naabu to be induced by such offers to throw his weight behind the wrong persons to earn them political appointments just because they can offer him goats, sheep, guinea fowls etc.?
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba is a rare gem in the current NPP government. It hurts to tell the truth but her truth shall find her in the bosom of God if all people on earth do reject her.
I pray she continues to tell the truth and advises as she sees truthful and helpful rather than succumbing to the corrupt people who would otherwise expect her to tow the usual corrupt Ghanaian way of doing politics that has brought Chinese calamity and other socio-economic ills upon our own heads.
I cannot fault Otiko in any way as far as the three case instances cited above go. Her rendered apology should not culminate in her being rendered weak to tow the usual corrupt Ghanaian way of doing politics which leads to create, loot and share with corruption becoming institutionalised.