"Hard words break no bones". It hurts to tell the truth but in the end, it brings comfort. Any political party with the majority of its supposed gurus being frenetic activists is doomed. It is worse when they allow it to be hijacked by one individual, supposedly, its founding father. I thought the NDC as a political party has come of age and therefore abound in men and women of integrity. Least did I know my assumption was already scuppered, judging from the daily manifestation of idiocy among some of its topmost gurus. Many of these guys instead of chastising Former President Rawlings for his bad-mouthing and waywardness, have rather gleefully, identified with his political insanity by joining his bandwagon. They have joined his instigated affray aimed at causing the implosion of the Mills' infant NDC government. Their mischief is born out of the fact that the Ghana's strongman, thus, Rawlings, has been resisted by the powerful arm of Mills; not allowing Rawlings to continue to rule Ghana via him. Rawlings is malevolently being unfair to the President. He doesn't understand that Mills came to power at a difficult time; a period when the world had been hit by financial crises, causing the economic meltdown of even the most powerful economies in the world. He came at a time when the economies of those powerful nations Ghana has lazily and childishly been depending on to be spoon-fed or breast-fed had imploded financially. This goes to explain Mills' difficulty to accessing that once free Donors' financial contribution that had become a fixed component in Ghana's yearly budgetary projections for all these past years. These rich Western Donor countries are themselves strapped for cash. How then can they have spare cash to offer to Ghana as done previously? Is this short-fall in the national revenue not the cause of the difficulty faced by Atta Mills in fulfilling his numerous promises to Ghana? Is this logic difficult to understand by those bent on pulling Fiifi down, especially, Mr Saboteur, J.J. Rawlings?
In remembrance of a kind-hearted departed soul, Kwame Isaac, of ever cherished memory, I shall recount a brief story in case Ghana can draw some useful conclusions. The narration of this true story is simply to buttress my contention that it is economically, socially and politically suicidal for a developing nation to be overly dependent on another nation for all her needs. It doesn't worth sitting on your ass twirling your fingers as a nation and expects all to sail through smoothly. On one sunny afternoon, Kwame Isaac, alias Omane J, visited my Dad, his uncle's house. Just as he came in, food had already been prepared and the children and the entire family were gathering to eat. He joined in to partake of the meal. This act is in accordance with our tradition; that enviable Ghanaian hospitality where one is welcome to eat from close relatives' homes without anyone whinging. After eating, and on his way downstairs, he co-incidentally burped just as he was passing by my dad's living room. Immediately after belching he said, "Kwasea na oware. Wofa wo ho nti me nware". Literally translated as, "Fool is he who marries. My uncle is around so I shall not marry". This goes to explain that his uncle is alive to provide him with all his needs so he will not worry himself over anything. Better still, he will never be in want of anything as long as his uncle lives. Little did he know that my dad was relaxing in the Living room and had overheard his joking remark? My dad called him in and rebuked him saying, "Kwasea, gyae nkwasea keka. Emm3 wo ho modene ara na dwene se me te h3 daa. Fi ha ko"(Foolish person, stop talking rubbish. You had better work harder than to assume I shall always be there to cater for your needs. Get away!) This is what Kwame Isaac, alias Omane J, told me as I was not around to witness the incident myself. None of them had meant any menace in what incidentally took place. But Lo and behold, my Dad passed about three years later. If he was the shoulder one had intended to cry on in times of great need, he was no more. Ghanaians had falsely always believed the Whites would always be around to provide them with all their needs hence, idling about all these years. Now look how things have turned out to be; where unimagined occurrences of credit crunch and recession in the Donor nations have adversely affected Ghana. These problems have curtailed, if not completely wiped out the capability of the Donor nations to offer us grants, loans or any such reliefs.
No condition is permanent after all, so says the wise man. Will the fool ever understand this to make hay while the Sun shines? Past Ghana governments thought conditions were going to stay permanently rosy, so they neither worked harder enough, nor did they save towards the rainy season. There is no more financial inducement for Ghana to go HIPC. No more cancellations of Ghana's debts. No more facility for alms-begging. Mills must do whatever is authentically feasible to generate our needed income as a nation from within. By so doing, he will surely encounter significant hurdles on his path. Such confronted obstructive stumps must not be sharpened but uprooted. It is about time Ghana weaned herself off the foreign breast-feeding, an obstruction to Ghana's socio-politico-economic emancipation. Ghana has come of age to continue to shamelessly breast-feed on foreign loans and donations like people without aim and self-respect. Atta Mills from his wisdom has put in place structures in his budget to get Ghana out of the permanent disgrace of alms-begging by cutting unnecessary government expenditures. He has put in place structures to generate more internal revenues to meet government's expenditures to a fair degree. Why can't all these blockheads calling for the delivery of his head on a silver platter allow him to get his act together? He needs enough time to get his plans materialised; for after all he has been voted to a four-year term of office as President of Ghana. To me, all those falling for the mischievous tricks by Rawlings to rule Ghana by proxy as the case appears now are mere selfish morons.
The NDC Majority Leader in Parliament, Honourable Alban Bagbin has the guts to refer to Atta Mills' Cabinet Ministers as bootlickers, fair weather friends who are corrupt, and at best incompetent in their duties. I listened to him live on Peace FM radio on Wednesday, 25 November 2009 when he was being interviewed by the morning show - "Kookrokoo" presenter Kwami Sefa-Kayi. He spoke in support of Rawlings' levelled allegations of incompetence against Atta Mills and his government. He claimed to have strong weaknesses at his current post as the Majority Leader in Parliament but has the potential to excel in other posts. He said to have some strength in other areas which though were never mentioned. I may know those areas. I know he is an excellent chap when it comes to making love to his wife's younger sister of same mother and father. He is an expert in self-defence when questioned on his sexual immorality. He cites Northerners' custom and traditions in his defence. It is a known fact that he has enormous strength at corrupt practices. Is he not the one who dubiously purchased the Kufuor's NPP government's imported tractors meant for poor farmers at below the cost price? What else is he good at so I can add it to his Curriculum Vitae? Is he not equally a bootlicker as those he accuses of licking Mills' boots? Is he not licking the boots of his Fetish priest or School master, J.J. Rawlings? Is he not towing Rawlings' restrictive line of thought in order to be seen in good faith by the master? Please Honourable Alban Bagbin, first think, and then speak. You had better resign from your current post knowing very well that you are under performing when deducing from your own statements.
Where lays your common sense NDC, by this constant chastisement of President Fiifi Evans Atta Mills? Please give us a break, Tobgui Avaklasu J.J Rawlings, for you are equally blameable for the ills Atta Mills is confronted with today. You failed in your terrorist regimes of nineteen straight years to save enough money for Ghana but rather chose to depend solely on the Whites' donation to run your governments. Taste now the sour fruits of your treacherous labour, Dr. Togbui Avaklasu Rawlings!
Are the actions of those pulling Fiif Atta Mills down the juicy fruits of common sense? Your answer may be as right or as wrong as mine. I hope I'm done, guys. Until Christmas, stay tuned to Radio Rockson!
Rockson Adofo