Editorial: The National Awards – A Missed Opportunity

THE RECENT National Awards ceremony for some distinguished Ghanaians by the State has not been all that well-received by some sections of the populace. Innuendoes, connotations and what-have-yous have been read into the awards, leading to some thinking that the President was just doling out the honors to reward his cronies, while others did not understand what the fuss was about, since as far as they were concerned the President did the right thing and had awarded deserving persons.

A sister paper, Chronicle on Saturday, had in an editorial suggested a human face in selecting the awardees. The paper had suggested that future selectors of nominees should be more nationalistic to avoid raising eyebrows as has characterized the recent awards.

Some of the awardees, whose nominations and subsequent receipt of awards have attracted questions, included the current Speaker of Parliament, the Rt. Hon. Mr. Ebenezer Sakyi-Hughes, and the Chief Justice, Mr. George Kingsley Acquah.

For most people, it was very strange that George Kingsley Acquah, with the ‘Sword of Damocles’ hanging over his head by virtue of a Presidential committee investigating him on very serious allegations, and the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Sekyi Hughes, who is yet to complete a term in office, were picked for awards while those who had occupied those seats and served their full terms with good and quality track records were sidelined.

The awards for the two has raised questions such as why Mr. Justice Edward Wiredu, predecessor of Mr. Justice Acquah, and former Speakers of Parliament, Mr. Justice Daniel F. Annan, and Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey, were not honoured.

Mr. Justice Annan, a former Appeal Court Judge, as Chairman of the National Commission for Democracy (NCD), had gone round the country to solicit for the views of Ghanaians to usher in this Fourth Republic. Again, he was the Speaker of the first two terms of the current republic.

So, for him to have been sidelined, together with his successor, Rt. Hon. Ala Adjetey who both completed their terms in office successfully, and an award conferred on the current Speaker who is yet to complete a term, would certainly raise eyebrows in any civilized society.

But that was not all, in less than 72 hours to his demise, in response to the minority in parliament’s description of the current Speaker as dictatorial had ascribed to the late Justice Annan a name that The Chronicle would not like to repeat.

Now that we have been hit squarely in the face by news of the death of Mr. Justice Annan, can we say that this man never did anything for the State?

Are we saying that those who had called him names can attend his funeral with heads high? Are we saying that political differences are now the yardstick to award recognised distinguished Ghanaians?

Ghana is a nation that abounds in a lot of heroes and heroines and it would not be possible to honour all at the same time. However, it must be possible to honour a selected few without raising as many questions as has happened.

The recent award ceremony has exposed some of the faults of politics, which are really the faults of men and women.

Now that Justice Annan is gone, considering his contribution to the current democratic process and his exclusion from the awardees, The Chronicle would like to ask if we as a nation have not missed a rare opportunity that could have seen us a step further in our nation-building efforts.

It is very important for us to bear in mind that Ghana belongs to all of us and unless people are encouraged to give their best with the knowledge that they would be recognized in the future irrespective of their political affiliations, we are laying a foundation for a future generation that would shun our heritage and calls to be patriotic.