Dissolving NACOB Means Nothing, Mr. Mahama

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

Garden City, New York

Nov. 22, 2014

E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net

The decision by President John Dramani Mahama to dissolve the governing Board of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) means absolutely nothing, unless the president can also tell the nation what alternative mechanism he has for the replacement of NACOB; and also how, this time around, Ghanaians ought to trust him to establish a viable replacement for NACOB (See "Cocaine Saga: Mahama Dissolves NACOB Governing Board" Starrfmonline.com 11/22/14).

According to the presidential Chief-of-Staff at the Flagstaff House, Mr. Prosper Bani, "Further actions will follow in due course." Those who are naive enough to invest Mr. Bani's pronouncement with credence can do so, of course, and, indeed, have every inalienable democratic right to do so. For my part, I am not holding my breath. I shall come to it in another installment, but Dr. Kwesi Aning's reported observation that the Nayele Ametefe Cocaine Scandal has dented Ghana's image abroad, clearly indicates that the security wonk, so-called, does not know what he is talking about.

If he did, the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Center's security dean would have since long realized that when it comes to brasstacks, Ghana has absolutely no credible image to protect vis-a-vis the routine usage of our ports and shores for the transshipment of narcotic contrabands from South America, Asia and other parts of Africa and the world.

Besides, the amateurish handling of what has widely come to be known as Nayelegate, clearly points to the fact of the high possibility of well-placed operatives of the Mahama-led government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) being complicit in the entire racket. Which was why the British government, acting through its High Commission in Ghana, wasted no time and breath in sharply rejecting claims by the Akrasi Sarpong-headed NACOB that the latter had studiously collaborated with its counterparts in London to bring Ms. Ametefe to book.

The reaction of the British government ought to serve as a serious signal to thoughtful and levelheaded Ghanaians that in President Mahama and his cabinet, the security of the nation leaves much to be desired. But even more importantly, the unmistakable signal from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party government is that the Mahama government cannot be trusted with its fair share of ridding Ghana of the illegal drug menace, as well as preventing our country from being used by drug barons to flood Europe with narcotic contrabands.

We must also pay sedulous attention to the fact that the British High Commissioner to Ghana had been forthright and objective enough to underscore the fact of anti-narcotic contraband agents in Ghana having closely collaborated with their British counterparts since 2006. Now, the latter date incidentally marks the tenure of the Kufuor-led government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). But that the British are deafeningly silent about the pre-2006 era, and sharply critical of the performance of NACOB under President Mahama, ought to give all forward-looking Ghanaians ample cognitive grist.

I am also extremely skeptical about this jazzy talk of "rolling heads," for the entire vanguard constabulary of the ruling National Democratic Congress is composed of the same rascals and reprobates who, in all likelihood, connived with the criminal suspect and her associates, as well as condoning the entire dastardly orchestration of Nayelegate. In other words, what we had in NACOB and the National Democratic Congress was a veritable corporate hive of globally accomplished scam-artists.

Make no mistake, this is the original June 4th Mafia! I bet they successfully fooled you into believing that there were any such thing as a Kyebi Mafia. Tofiakwa!!!

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