When in 1999/2000, in the run-up to the parliamentary and Presidential elections, some individuals, then opposition, started threatening hailstorm—Ghana will burn, if they did not win the election—should they lose in the Presidential elections, the peaceful nature of the Ghanaian evaporated into thin air, and the so-called prophets of the land did not see anything wrong with that.
We have moved on ever since but not as a united country. The ruling NPP has lost the faith with the people and has fallen out of favour. Though its predecessor, the Rawlings’ PNDC/NDC was dreaded in anticipation of its refusal to handover power after the 2000 election, especially as a result of the man at the helm of affairs, Ghana witnessed one of the most peaceful transitions leading to the transfer of power from a ruling pseudo-military government to a civilian opposition ever to happen on the continent.
The writings are on the wall now. Once bitten, twice shy!!! The opposition in Ghana are claiming that they were robbed of victory by the ruling NPP in the 2004 elections, simply because the election results were declared by a Minister of the ruling government by name Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, who was a player and a referee at the same time, unfortunately.
The law abiding NDC took the matter to court but all the democratic forces both local and international who should support this endeavour for the strengthening of democracy in the poor West African country, have been docile. In a true democratic state, Obetsebi Lamptey must be arrested and prosecuted immediately after that criminal act which could have plunged the country into chaos but nobody saw anything wrong with that.
Today, another candidate in opposition has emphasized the need for the laws governing the electoral processes to be allowed to work, in case the ruling government attempts to steal the verdict of the people, and all of a sudden the so-called prophets of the ‘moral society’ have found their voices again, and the justification is that Ghanaians are peace-loving people who would not trade the current peace prevailing over the country for any disorder.
Though I am not contesting the peaceful nature of the Ghanaian, I think those who hold this position are simply playing the ostrich and are just being loud. Does it mean that the Liberians, the Sierra-Leonean, the Sudanese, and the Rwandese are naturally not peace-loving people? For the records, Rwanda had 92% Christian population with 66% Roman Catholics, but when the dark clouds leading to the slaughter of close to a million people within hundred days, loomed over that country, its 92% Christian population did not see the blood of Jesus Christ any longer. All they could see was the blood of the devil, some human beings became cockroaches which must be exterminated. So the cockroaches hae been massacred in Rwanda but peace and security in that whole region is still very elusive and not only in Rwanda.
I feel very sad watching another African country, Kenya, threading on that dangerous route to self-destruction. The carnage in Kenya was preventable, especially if the international community had been resolute in reining Kibaki to play by the rules of the game all in the interest of deepening democracy in that country.
If the statements of Professor John Evans Atta Mills, the most affable among all the presidential candidates in the race for Ghana’s top job, was to caution the ruling government not to use unorthodox means to arrogate power to itself in the coming elections, and some of the moralist have found their voices again, then this country has a very long way to go.
If the effusion of Kennedy Agyepong to the effect that should there be any altercations in Ghana, Rawlings, his wife and children would be killed are statements to go by, then I am waiting on the Otabils and Palmer-Buckles to find their voices again. I have decided to mention their names specifically for keeping quiet over all the horrendous crimes this government and its operatives have committed against the people and the name of this country. Wrongful dismissals, cocaine trafficking, snatching of peoples’ wives, looting of state coffers and so on. For Buckle, I feel very ashamed for him because I am a catholic and I don’t think catholic principles allow him to wear a political lens on national issues. What about members of his congregation who do not side with his positions?
Turning again to Kenneth Agyepong, do we take his message as the ranting of a crack head or we are to take him seriously? Anyway, ‘if the blind man says he will stone you, he must have his foot squarely placed on a stone’. We are all aware of the numerous times they have attempted to eliminate Rawlings and have failed.
The security apparatus of the ex-president is already aware of the new threats and measures have already been put in place to repulse them, should they attempt. But he should be aware too, that should there be any commotion, he Kenneth Agyepong, his wife and children, and those for whom he is speaking will also not be spared the hatchet.
The coward Kenneth Agyepong will go into hiding should there be any trouble, so he should shut up and understand that ‘monkeys play by sizes’. The man Rawlings by all standards have actualized his life and his democratic credentials far outweigh the failed Kufour. Kufour should return to Oxford to enroll on its ‘Good Governance Programme’ in order to understand what democracy and good governance are, that will save him from future embarrassments.
My dear discerning Ghanaians, be aware of these wolves in sheep clothing. The troubles in Bawku, the undying Anlo dispute, the pockets of conflict around the country and the attempted arrest of the security boss, are not things we want to see in an election year. Kufour must be very careful he doesn’t plunge the country into chaos in the pursuit of his parochial interest before December 2008.
Yours Sincerely, Ben Otoo
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