Opinion
“Don’t help a bull out of a ditch, for when he is out, he’ll butt you”- African proverb.
A bull is the male of some animals such as the cow. The bull is very big and strong, but is easily controlled by man because it is a very foolish animal. The politician under my microscopic lens today is a man christened “The Bull”. Perhaps it is because he has the same characteristics as the animal.
The Bull used to low very much before he went silent for a while. The period he went silent was appreciated by me and my compatriots because it gave us some peace of mind. After a brief period of silence, the political bull has started lowing again.
Somewhere in February 2012, I shared a strange dream I had with readers of this column. Please allow me to refresh your memory. I was limping on a lonely road as my left leg seemed shorter than the right. Suddenly I saw a big bull rushing towards me. I ran as fast as I could; but the faster I ran the closer the bull came. Just as the on-rushing bull was about to plant its menacing horns into my stomach, I woke up in my sweat-soaked bed to realize that it was only a dream.
We woke up the following day to be greeted by the news that Asem Dake, the Limping Man, had been arrested. The Limping Man was reported to be the one who masterminded the 77-missing-cocaine-parcels saga.
Soon after the arrest, the political bull was heard lowing on radio. He claimed the Limping Man was singing, and the lyrics contained names of officials of the erstwhile Kufuor administration. He went further to warn all officials of the said administration not to try running away from the country because they would be arrested at the borders if they tried.
I vividly remember writing in this very column that the political bull was only lowing. How right I was! We all witnessed the Asem Dake trial and we did not hear a single name of any Osono official mentioned.
Not too long after that, he made an ass of himself by lowing to the hearing of the whole world. You do remember the ‘Black Friday’ in Kumasi, don’t you? It was the day the floodlights failed to illuminate the pitch for over an hour, soon after the resumption of the second half. Seconds turned into minutes; and minutes turned into an hour as hopes turned into despair and anger. The floodlights eventually came on and paved way for the Black Stars to thrash their counterparts from Lesotho by 7 goals to nil.
It was in the midst of the celebration that we heard on radio that the Bull had fired the Ashanti Regional Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). But the Information Ministry countered that information with a press briefing the following morning that the President had not given any such directive.
Interestingly, it later came to light that there was no such position as Ashanti Regional Director of ECG. The Ashanti Region was divided into two, so there were two directors: The Ashanti East Regional Director and the Ashanti West Regional Director. Who then did the Bull fire? That was how the Bull advertised his ignorance to the whole world.
Soon after the incident, Agya Atta passed on to glory and Mr Ogwanfunu assumed the presidential seat. Though he maintained his position at the Presidency, it was more than obvious that he was only a Communication Director in name.
Since then the Bull went silent. To say his silence was appreciated would be an understatement. The absence of the ‘moo’ sound on the political terrain gave me and my compatriots some peace of mind.
Unfortunately for us, the lowing has started again. The Bull regained his voice soon after he became a Deputy General Secretary of his party. No week now passes without one hearing the discordant sound of his voice.
The Bull is shamelessly playing the tribal card in order to score cheap political points. The deafening silence of the opposition Great Elephant has emboldened him to continue with his reckless and shameless accusations.
The ubiquitous Daily Guide was his next target. He tongue-lashed the newspaper for daring to stand for the truth. Trust the Editorial Board of the newspaper not to allow such tomfoolery to go without a response. Read the editorial titled, “The Bull In A China Shop” on www.dailyguideghana.com and see for yourself.
The Bull also took Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako and Kwame Sefa-Kayi to the cleaners. He alleged without any evidence that President Kufuor had stashed their pockets with cowries. Their crime was that they had the courage to tell chiefs to stop dragging the name of the chieftancy institution into the mud by meddling in politics.
Listen to Abdul Malik’s response: “It is therapeutic not to give such types of political buffoonery any dignity and mileage with serious comments! Isn’t it good for our mental health to ignore such ugly noises from political windbags or intellectual midgets?”
That was a very apt response if you asked me. For your information, the Urban dictionary describes a ‘windbag’ as “a pompous person who talks too much, a braggart”. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, on the other hand, describes a ‘windbag’ as “a person who talks at length but says little of any value”.
Abusuapanin, the Bull has started lowing again; much louder than before. He is advertising a combination of arrogance, ignorance and tomfoolery. And you know more than I do that nothing sensible ever comes from such a combination. Is it any wonder that Abdul Malik refers to him as a political windbag?
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa. Deo volente!