Jujumen Manipulating Our Economy?

Dr Kwabena Adjei, National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Chairman has pressed the alarm button over what he regards as the creeping of spiritualism into Ghanaian politics; a tendency which he stated was responsible for the non-performance of the country’s political machinery.

He disagreed with the attribution of the country’s problems to the Bretton Woods institutions but pointed at the employment of “juju” in the matters of state as the source of the non-performance of state affairs.

“Our problems are not caused by the Bretton Woods institutions but rather someone in Togo, Burkina Faso or Benin manipulating our economy. The NDC Chief made the disclosure during his intervention at a 3-day Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)-sponsored workshop for political parties and the media in Swedru which ended last Sunday.

Esoteric matters are usually abhorred at public, so when Dr Adjei broached it, he caused such an excitement that some participants supported him by shouting “in football too. Ways and means,” to suggest that voodoo is employed in soccer also. Vodooism, witchcraft and other forms of esoteric acts are pastimes which those who engage in them are secretive about.

Both Christianity and Islam abhor their practice but there are deviants from both religions who employ it in their day-to-day activities.

Dr Kwabena Adjei, as he held the microphone, was in a bellicose mood especially when he descended on what he considered the bad nuts in the Ghanaian media and dared them to call him a Media Enemy No I if they wanted.

“Many journalists are not good enough. You can describe me as Media Enemy No. I. Some of them are mediocres. You can go to radio stations and describe me as Media Enemy No 1” he emphasized.

The Ghanaian media, he said have failed the nation in the performance of their expected role. “The media in general are failing to socialize Ghanaians to enable proper functioning of the country,” he said.

He was not alone on what many would call the excesses of journalists and outright disregard for the ethics of the profession but his visible anger and body language caught the attention of the media personnel who were part of the workshop as some of them tried to muffle their giggles.

The NDC Chief expressed dismay that the Ghanaian media are quick to attack anybody who stepped on the toe of one of their members who erred.

“When any of them commit an error and you want to point to them, they would rise against you. This is our problem in this country,” he observed.

The Ghanaian media, he noted, have the tendency to conjure stories which he said have no iota of truth in them, and cautioned that if these continued unchecked, “we would all live to regret it.”

Touching on the effects of misguided journalism, he recalled what obtained in the University of Maiduguri in Nigeria where he said that students were taught Social Psychology. Such a course of study, he observed, served to teach students the effects of bad practice of journalism on society.

Journalism has been turned upside down in the country, he said, stating that there was a clear sign of antagonism towards politicians “especially the opposition who stand as alternative government.”

He called on the media to abide by the Golden Rule by not doing unto others what they would not want done unto them. He saw the current situation in the country as that in which the media was not subservient to anybody. The NDC chief did not confine his attacks to the media only but to political parties, some of which he said were interfering negatively in students politics.

This phenomenon, he implied, was not restricted to one particular party. Since these students formed the base of the country’s leadership, it would not be in the interest of the nation to allow for the interference of politicians in their internal politics. He kicked against what he called the importation of foreign solutions for local problems because according to him “our environment is rich with solutions. The National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) did not work. The Truth Commission did not work.”

Dr Kwabena Adjei made an impact when he said that “we should avoid making students take to our bad habits.”On the issue of incumbency which has for long occupied the minds of political observers, he stated that even though it is relished by all governments this should not involve the use of state resources which he implied is the current order.

“We should avoid the excesses of incumbency” he cautioned.