Kwesi Pratt
Some of us were extremely surprised to see the proud Nkrumaist and the self-proclaimed exponent of the voiceless, Massa Kwesi Pratt, uncharacteristically going into self-imposed hibernation throughout NDC’s eight years of maladministration amid high socio-economic standards of living.
Then entered Akufo-Addo’s administration, and, lo and behold, Massa Pratt miraculously resurfaced from his hideout, apparently rejuvenated, well and kicking.
Massa has since been elbowing his way through the heart of the embryonic NPP administration like a street pugilist. He is all over the place grumbling and scolding Akuffo-Addo’s government over the stiff fuel prices, something Massa Pratt egregiously failed to do during NDC’s maladaptive administration. Massa Pratt has indeed broken his promise of keeping mute over the petroleum politics.
Obviously, the self-styled voice of the voiceless has not been consistent with his activism. Clearly, Massa’s promise of staying away from the fuel politics during the NDC’s administration was destitute of integrity and honesty. What could have necessitated Massa’s return to petroleum politics then?
Back then, some of us were befuddled as to how and why an inveterate activist like Massa Pratt could all of a sudden decide to demit his role of keeping the incumbent government on its toes. He was indeed not prepared to comment on the ever increasing fuel prices. It was strange, so to speak.
Back then, Massa Pratt would keep lamenting: I am fed-up discussing fuel price hikes. When they are in opposition, they would say one thing, and would say another whilst in power. In fact, they would promise massive price reductions when voted into power, and yet won’t keep their promises whilst in power, so I do not want to talk about it again (emphasis mine).
Given that the supposedly independent-minded Massa Pratt and his energetic minions kept Kufuor’s government on its toes, one would have expected same action on Mills/Mahama administration, but it never happened. We have unfortunately waited for over eight years before the firebrand social commentator making an unexpected comeback. Why?
Well, the likely cause of Massa’s actions and inactions is insidious selective amnesia. And, if that is not the accurate diagnosis, what could then account for such a flagrant remiss on the part of a congenial independent social activist?
Obviously, Massa Pratt is supposed to be a staunch CPP member who does not share in NPP’s ideology, and, there is nothing wrong with that. However, discerning Ghanaians are often besotted in their minds over his line of criticisms and analysis.
Take, for example, a few days to the 7th December 2016 election, I heard Massa Kwesi Pratt impertinently and recklessly insisting that the Ghana health authorities should assemble a fleet of ambulances that will transport the supporters of the NPP Party to nearby health centres during the declaration of the election results.
According to the firebrand journalist Kwesi Pratt, the shock of the election results will send the vast majority of the NPP supporters into cardiac arrests which the Ambulance Service might not be able to cope with the volume of cases.
Strangely, however, Massa Kwesi Pratt failed to acknowledge that he is not immune from heart fibrillation or extreme palpitations following shocking news.
Unfortunately, Massa Kwesi Pratt was rather at the receiving end of his own ballistic missiles, ---it was alleged that he palpitated heavily following the declaration of the 2016 election results.
Tattletales have it that Massa Kwesi Pratt received a shock of his life following NPP’s election victory. He was indeed not expecting an NPP win. It was manifestly true that Massa Kwesi Pratt was not in favour of an NPP victory, and hence did everything humanly possible to dissuade potential voters from endorsing Nana Akufo Addo.
So, it was not least surprising when MASSA Kwesi Pratt was trying his level best to shoot down expedient poverty interventions such as ‘one village one dam’ and one district one factory proposed by the NPP Party.
In fact, it was beyond amazement when listening to MASSA Kwesi Pratt’s unreasonable explanations as to whether such a policy could be feasible on Kwame Sefa Kai’s Kokrokoo chat show on Peace FM.
MASSA Kwesi Pratt insisted back then that since the NPP Party communicators were struggling to develop a distinction between a dam, a borehole and irrigation in their explanations, he cannot see how and why an NPP government can implement such a policy.
In fact, MASSA Kwesi Pratt’s risible proclivity towards anything NPP is out of this world. For if that was not the case, how could a supposedly senior citizen like Pratt oppose such an advantageous policy that could ameliorate the existential poverty in the northern part of Ghana?
Sadly, our development has been beclouded by sycophancy, negligence, corruption, cronyism, nepotism and needless dubieties, -----‘we can’t do attitude’.
With all due respect and without seeking to be condescending on this occasion, I will dare state that MASSA Pratt’s inexorable incertitude somehow gives oxygen to the views of the supremacists like the impolitic Turkish taxi driver who once indiscreetly asseverated that “Africans are not intelligent”.
All the same, we must forgive the vociferous Turkish taxi driver and rather direct our frustrations towards the so-called senior citizens like MASSA Kwesi Pratt, who have been needlessly holding back our advancement with their voracious actions and inactions.
