Open Letter to My Compatriots the Voltarians

Dear Voltarians,

Greetings to you from your fellow Ghanaian, Rockson Adofo. I have been moved by the attitudes of certain politicians who are ever determined to use you as pawns to further their selfish political careers, aims and objectives, to author this open letter to you today. It hurts me to see them continuously manipulate you by playing on your intelligence.

These politicians who only care about their selfish interests have persistently been reminding you of a bitter statement made about you on the floor of Parliament by Honourable Victor Owusu, who later became the leader of the Popular Front Party (PFP). In a heated debate or argument, Victor Owusu made an unfortunate remark about his fellow parliamentarian's view by saying, "you people are inward-looking".

When he realised how injurious his remark had become to the entire Voltarians, he profusely apologised to you the Voltarians in particular, and Ghanaians in general. He was ever since remorseful unto death.

However, some politicians belonging to some political parties have opportunistically seized on this offensive, although apologised for, remark, made about forty years ago, to kindle hatred in you towards a particular party and people.

Each time they remind you of the remark, you become embittered and resolve to never vote for a particular political party and people from whom came the late Hon. Victor Owusu regardless of how better that party would be in managing Ghana for the benefit of all but not a selected few.

I would like you to consider the following analytically critically. You have one vote during an election same as the politician who comes to remind you of the bitterness of Victor Owusu's statement. Your individual person's vote is equal in value and quantity to that of the politician. However, your lifestyle and conditions of living may be 100% worse than theirs.

They will build and live in mansions guarded by trained dogs, security guards (watchmen) or policemen. They will drive luxury cars and eat three square meals a day. They have the shameless opportunity to embezzle public funds to enrich themselves, their family members and cronies.

Your momentary emotional bitterness and hatred inflamed by a foxy politician has made you to continue to live in penury whilst he/she lives a better lifestyle as enumerated above. Is there any sense in falling a victim to the charlatanry of such tribesmen turned politicians? Do you not desire to better your standard of living through someone else who is neither from your Ewe tribe nor the political party formed by a member of your tribe nor from your region (Volta region), if the person or party can by the honest implementation of their policies better your circumstances?

Do you still want to be mired in your precarious living conditions by continuously voting a particular party to power because someone made an offensive remark about your tribe almost or more than forty years ago?

Do you love to remain victims to this statement from generation onto generation? Do you not see that these politicians have realised that it is in the remark that your weakness lies so will use it always against you? Are they not living fat at the expense of your weakness which to them is your exhibition of ignorance?

If say, Koku Anyidohu who loves publishing articles on Ghana news portals on the internet under impersonation of Margaret Jackson and Nana Akua Tweneboah Koduah, Okudzeto Ablakwah or Fifi Kwetey comes to acquire very easily your votes citing Victor Owusu's statement, what do you take yourself for considering their positions and affluent lifestyles and your unfortunate penurious lifestyle? Have they not taken you for a fool by playing tricks on your mind in pursuit of their selfish interests? Or, you mean to tell me that you don't care about your personal and family circumstances as long as it is the party dominated by your tribesmen is in power?

Do you not care how Ghana is being managed to the detriment of all but a few? Do you not care how the "dumsor" (erratic power outages) has caused joblessness, redundancies, increment in armed robbery, deaths, collapse of small, medium and large industries and ravages to people's lives in Ghana?

Do you not care about the alarming level of official corruption in Ghana? Who are the beneficiaries of the corruption? Are they not the very few who come to feed you with tribal sentiments by reminding you of what Victor said many decades ago which should be in oblivion by now?

Who are the victims of the corruption? Is it not you and I who are now required to pay for the dumsor through hikes in electricity bills due to the negligence of duty or the love of corruption by the government officials or politicians of whom those who constantly remind you of Victor's remark are party?

For how long are you going to let yourselves and the majority of Ghanaians down because certain selfish and insatiably greedy politicians, who although are members of your tribe keep reminding you to hate a particular political party or group of people because one of their kind hurt your feelings forty years or so ago?

Please my compatriots, do re-examine your attitudes to no longer feel bitter when the crafty politicians, although your kindred, come to whip up any tribal sentiments in you quoting Victor's regrettable statement. They want you to always remain poor while they live in opulence. The facts are there for you to ascertain. It does not take a rocket scientist to establish the truth of my assertions.

For how long will you hold Victor Owusu's statement against his party and tribesmen to your own detriment as made obvious in this letter of mine? I hope most of you are religious and are particularly Christians. If so, then brood over Matthew 6:14-15 – "14"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15"But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

I shall come back again but in the meantime, give much thought to the contents of this open letter to you.

Yours truly,

Rockson Adofo