Most Ghanaians are quick to react but slow to think (Part II)

In the wake of the “ace” Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ exposé on judicial corruption in Ghana, myself and many a Ghanaian spontaneously went on wild jubilation, congratulating him and his Tiger Eye PI team for an exceptional job well done. We started lambasting the judges and the Ghana judicial system for their obvious acts of corruption, incompetence, insatiable greed, and all sorts of things on their part that have led to lawlessness ramifying in the country with hardened criminals continually emboldened to commit crimes with impunity.

None of us did bother ourselves to subject Anas’ exposé to public scrutiny before drawing our own conclusions that culminated in the instantaneous acclamations of Anas being a God-send hero to liberate Ghana from the clutches of the shamefully corrupt judicial system where justice is sold to the highest bidder in utter disregard for the available facts and credible, permissible and acceptable evidence.

Does it not take two to tango? Why were most of the instances of corruption against the judges captured on camera taking bribes a one-sided narrative of the incidents? Why were offers of gifts to some of the judges immediately turned into acceptance of bribes against them by Anas and his team? Did anyone of us wait to find out if the supposed bribes they took induced them to twist deliveries of judgment or justice in favour of the parties on whose behalf the bribes were given, although such parties were by the facts and evidence available to court surely the guilty parties were the judges to be fair?

I did not wait for any such needful search to be conducted by myself, so were most Ghanaians. All that we knew and were happy about was that some corrupt judges have been caught point blank on video camera accepting bribes. That was more than enough to inform our individual decisions to jubilate, heap insults on the obviously rotten Ghana judicial system and to agitate for the culprits to be punished.

Little did Ghanaians know that Anas while exposing some people and institutions as corrupt, therefore presumably fighting corruption to rid Ghana of the canker that has come to militate against the socio-politico-economic emancipation of the country, he was at the same time using that opportunity to fool Ghanaians to selfishly greedily and illegally enrich himself.

What is so amazing is that when Kennedy Agyapong (Hon), a Member of Parliament for Assin Central constituency in the Central Region, came out to expose the criminality and illegality of the modus operandi (mode of operating or working) by Anas and his Tiger Eye PI to purporting to flush out corrupt officials, individuals and institutions, the markedly happy trigger Ghanaians still jumped on Kennedy. They started accusing him of probably committing all sorts of crimes and seeking to hide them from the public, afraid of Anas catching him and exposing him sooner hence his attacks on the integrity of Anas. He was accused of whatever nonsense that came across his accusers’ mind as the typical Ghanaian mindedness could imagine.

I, myself, did publish an article to criticise Kennedy for trying to weaken Anas to rather unknowingly encourage the devastating official and judicial corruption going on in Ghana to impoverish the majority of the citizens and the nation.

However, Kennedy had come out with a credible video in which Anas was seen setting up people for eventually extorting money from them through blackmail. Kennedy had titled his revealing counter-investigative video as “Who watches the watchman”, thus, who is responsible for the oversight of Anas and his Tiger Eye PI? He has since come out with many other videos to expose Anas as an ensnarer, extortionist, blackmailer, insatiably greedy individual with a taste for getting rich quicker or to amassing immense wealth and as well as being a heartless individual.

Upon all the credible videos attesting to, and exposing, the criminality of Anas, there are still many people in Ghana worshipping him as the saviour come to save Ghana from the baneful official corruption.

Anyway, I did later conduct my own research, and applied my knowledge of criminal investigations, into the Anas’s exposés to finally come to agree with Kennedy and subsequently published an apology to him. It is a disgrace on my part to have reacted before thinking.

Why do Ghanaians act the way they do, quickly to react but slow to think analytically? Is it because of our tribal and political affiliations? Don’t we have that damaging attitude of as long as a person is from my tribe or political party, I have to jump to their defence if they are attacked or exposed for any wrongdoing? I have to quickly jump into the bandwagon to accuse one or support those accusing another fellow Ghanaian because the person does not belong to my tribe or to my political party or I hate the person for one reason or the other?

When I started exposing Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for not being the Asante Overlord with sweeping powers as he claims to be; for not having the traditional powers to meddle in Kumawu chieftaincy affairs let alone, impose a person of his choice on Kumawuman as their paramount chief, many traditional and cultural bigots started attacking me and my claims with insults. They did not bother themselves to research into, or investigate, my assertions but quickly jumped the gun to attack my person and claims.

However, with time, some of these attackers have realised the truthfulness of my claims, awash in shame for their earlier exhibited ignorance and do greatly regret for their actions. Otumfuo’s actions with regard to the ongoing Kumawu chieftaincy dispute, with all due respect, by courtesy of Kevin Ekow Baidoo Taylor, another political rogue and opportunist residing in the USA, are corrupt and illegal.

Please fellow Ghanaians, let us not be quick to react but slow to think. We rather have to calmly cross-check information before reacting to avoid the situations of going back to lick our own sputum, similarly as the dog licks back its vomit.

I hope I’m done for today. He who has ears and sense, let him hear, and do, as the fearless and wise son of Kumawu (paternally) and Asiampa (maternally) has said.

I dedicate this publication to the memory of the late Opayin Kwame Basoah and Awo Serwaah for bequeathing to me audacity, spirit of truthfulness, kindness and being the keeper and defender of the defenceless and the voice of the voiceless.