On striking doctors and the way forward...

The sad reality of a crying mother, watching her 30 year old son die at a hospital without any medical assistance or that of a man who spoke passionately about his sick mother dying and also that diabetic woman who laid unconscious at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital as narrated on Joy Fm's midday news is worrying, pathetic and sickening. We all have families and relatives in Ghana. Some known and others unknown. Each could possibly suffer similar fate and die miserably should they fall sick at this crucial moment of doctors striking and our President unwilling to meet their demands.

Truth be told, I am passionately against any group of professionals using the sensitivity of their profession to hold an entire nation ransom and unfairly demanding what the nation cannot provide. So also must it be noted, that doctors are like any other Ghanaians who prefer chicken soup to that of 'Keta school boys. ' They have wives and children to feed, accommodate and meet their numerous demands in today's Ghana where the Cedi keeps dancing Azonto and kowtows to the Obama dollar and the Queen's pounds sterling. Like any other Ghanaian, the doctors too have electricity bills to pay in today's Ghana where electricity bills keep imcreasing even though power supply keeps dwindling. They have to fuel their cars in today's Ghana where fuel prices are increased every two weeks though world market price of crude has been reducing since the insurgency of ISIS in Iraq and Syria and Vladimir Putin's invasion of eastern Ukraine with so called separatists.

When it rains, it surely doesn't fall on one man's roof. Whether we are NDC or NPP, CPP, PNC, PPP or belong to madam Akua Donkor's Ghana Freedom Party, we all stand to die should we fall sick and denied medical attention. What every sensible Ghanaian should be praying for and working towards, is the return of the striking doctors to the theaters and consulting rooms. Provocative reactions by party communicators and footsoldiers who can't even boast of an "O-level" certificate will only annoy the striking doctors and prolong the strike. Innocent Ghanaians have already died and we can't afford losing more lives because of a strike which could have been easily avoided.

Whether their demands are outrageous or insensitive, government should try resolving the health crisis by bringing the doctors to the negotiation table and reaching a deal with them. We voted them into power to solve our problems and challenges not to complain about them on radio. Afterall, this is a nation that pays Fatau Dauda and Albert Adomah 15,000 dollars for just 90 minutes of unproductive football and spends millions of dollars air-lifting party footsoldiers to Brazil and Equatorial Guinea for football fiestas.

Our president, we have been told is a communication expert. A president who cannot provide us electricity, employment for unemployed graduates and even buy chalks for basic schools can be forgiven. However, there would be no space of forgiveness in our hearts for him if our mothers, fathers, grandparents, uncles and other relatives die at government hospitals due to his failure to resolve this crisis. He should for once, put his much acclaimed asset- communication skills, to work and help bring the striking doctors to the consulting rooms. There is only one way to resolving this crisis and it involves the return of the striking doctors to the consulting room.

May God bless our homeland Ghana and save the poor from avoidable deaths.

Michael Kwadwo Nketiah

(politicalnketia@gmail.com)