The online version of the "Oxford Dictionaries" defines "Sophistry" as "the use of fallacious arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving."
This past 4th May, in a comment on Francis Kwarteng's "Nkrumah’s... Vision Decolonized South Africa!" essay, commentator "Yaw" observed under "DEDICATED SOPHISTS" that "...The price of "air brushing" a "traitor" by his worshippers is perpetual vigilance...". To that, we informed "Yaw" that he had earned a place in one of our forth-coming essays, concluding:
"...Sophistry!...An adage fit for all centuries, for the age of historical Judas, and beyond. So, because the "Modern Man" did "air brushing" beginning approximately 10 years after the death of Abraham Lincoln, and to the extent only the "Modern Man" can fake "air brushing", the work of we the defenders... is cut out for us!..." (Prof Lunge, 4 May, 2015, Ghanaweb).
This essay fulfils our promise to "Yaw", and to our self!
When we rendered the comments on top of the "Yaw's", little did we know that 3 short days later, on 7 May, a person or persons exhibiting the worst form of tribal/ethnic bigotry, would, from the filthiest Kole Lagoon-like, vermin-infested gutter, actually steal our "Prof Lungu" moniker. We believe that the shameful impersonation was most likely the work of one of/or two Ghanaweb Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates we've have had many run-ins on this Ghanaweb forum on purely public policy differences.
The loser(s), who have lost every argument we've had with them, apparently concluded that merely hurling insults on Prof Lungu on Ghanaweb was not enough. They actually stole our "Prof Lungu" moniker to pen the most vile and despicable insult on a group of Ghanaians. (See leading comment on Ghanaweb Feature Article of Thursday, 7 May 2015, by Norvor, Justice Dansu, titled, "Rising in Defense of Mahama", under "Comment: Listen to another stupid foolish Ewe !!!").
The xenophobic and ethnocentric comment posted on Ghanaweb under that article, dated 2015-05-07, and time-stamped 00:25:27 Hrs, was not penned by, issued by, or caused to be published by Prof Lungu.
Fact is, Prof Lungu, our self, could be a member of that group. Or, we could have siblings, friends, supporters, etc., in/from that same group. So, why would we hurl an insult on our self, on our siblings, friends, or supporters?
The Prof Lungu record is self-evident and unequivocal, on Ghanaweb. Respect for all, reflection of the mind, and measured/balanced responses are some of the core values we hold dear and bring to our work. That is what we do, consistently, on Ghanaweb, on GhanaHero.Com, on ModernGhana, on SpyGhana, on VibeGhana, on OpinionGhana, on MyJoyOnline, and on all media that publish our Ghana-centered, Ghana-Proud essays.
But, we are not patsies for those who like to bend facts for their own selfish purposes. Certainly, not to those who append their college degrees on their forehead and will dare spit on Ghana and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of blessed memory, even as they count their Nkrumah goodies and blessings in their dreams, and on their academic papers, from the "best" schools that then existed in Ghana. To those people, we will always respond with facts, cogent arguments, and critiques that are Ghana-centered to the core.
But in this essay, we must be a tad abrasive precisely for the right purpose!
We will urge these Ghanaweb Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates to show some respect for themselves and those they do not even know. They should cease impersonating anyone on Ghanaweb immediately. After all, even an "impressionable child" can quickly tell all of us where Ghanaweb would end up if everyone did exactly what they are doing: misrepresent ourselves, lie, cheat, and withhold material facts and ideas about what they want to represent, as the truth.
If we all impersonated one another, where would fairness and balance end up, and what persona will Ghanaweb transform into? What, we ask, would happen to the Ghanaweb "Opinion" forum?
We are saying respect for all persons ought to be a core value for all of us, even though we may disagree on a particular public policy. But, we must first be honest with ourselves.
For us, we will simply state that on Ghanaweb and on every media, Prof Lungu will remain steadfast Ghana-centered/Ghana-Proud, always.
Being Ghana-centered/Ghana-Proud means that we do not consider where any person or group comes from, or the language they speak, etc., in any discourse we bother to join, either through our own essays, or through comments on any article, by anyone.
Generally, Prof Lungu does not deal with personal problems and matters with little public policy implications. Rather, we indulge in those self-selected areas where our education, training, and professional work experience can best inform others, and allow us to also learn from others. Together, time after time, Prof Lungu and our readers get to the "So What? question in every essay, and to the end of every comment that is a response to another from a columnist, or another commentator.
Therefore, the untowed, shameful and illegal virtual-appropriation of the "Prof Lungu" moniker, by one or other of two Ghanaweb Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates, for the express purpose of insulting a group in Ghana belies an important fact: Those Ghanaweb Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates are miserable individuals who, in the depths of their hearts, do not believe in a Unitary Ghana. To boot, they do not even know themselves.
On practically every major policy item, these individuals have said things, then gone back to say they did not mean what they said. In one case, they said they were being sarcastic when they weren't even funny. In another case, they said paragraph after paragraph were composed and words were uttered when they were of "impressionable age", and did not know better. To that, we will submit that a 30-plus-year old man is not one we can reasonably consider as "of impressionable age". Then, in yet other cases, they have blamed their father(s) for opinion they published, opinions they now see worthwhile to revise for some rather odd reason(s) only known to themselves. Then, there are the Super Hurlers of Invectives, These fellows did not know the difference between what one can freely do at home on ones own computer, versus what one can do in the office and on the office computer, and/or in the name your employer. That is, until they got warning notices and worse, from their employers.
The idea is, if these Ghanaweb Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates really knew themselves, they would have long realized the obvious. We are saying that the most telling difference between them and those of us who believe in Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's Unitary Ghana legacy is that Nkrumah also left an all-rounded vision of development for the people and the Ghana Nation. Those ideas and principles are still relevant today, let no one be fooled by cheap theatrics and long-winded words that do not mean anything to the people.
Rather, at best, the Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates vision, if any, has always been pedestrian, with shameful elements of anarchy, even.
How does one seriously talk about "property-owning democracy" in today's global age when you never bothered to boldy articulate a vision for land reform and conservation in Ghana? When you never bothered to cure the wart-infested Rawlings Constitution!
All these, when you had more than a decade to do just that.
And what sort of African-centered democrat, siting in the comfort of the Flagstaff House in Accra, overlooking the dungeons of Cape Coast, drafts an Aliens Compliance Order directed at fellow Africans doing business under your own laws, and making a contribution to your development? Same "rascal civilians" who, far from being Ghana-centered, were, on the eve of Ghana's independence in 1957, making secret visits to the US Embassy in Accra soliciting cash, and actually threatening mayhem in the streets of the soon-to-be independent Ghana!
So, we must repeat till it hurts them: At independence in 1957, the existential Ghanaian debate was won for us Nkrumah legacy protectors, won for us well before many of these same Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates were even born in their villages.
And so, Prof Lungu and all those who believe in the Nkrumah vision stand for a Unitary Ghana. We cannot, and will not level insults at own selves, or at a another group of Ghanaians for any reason, whatsoever. Not, like the impersonated kind.
As one commentator recently remarked, even though the Asante Region was no bulwark of CPP support, the CPP nonetheless, through informed Ghana-centered regional planning policies, ensured the Ashanti Region received more than its fair share of development infrastructure under Kwame Nkrumah.
That is Unitary Ghana for you!
But that, we submit, has never been a Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederate modus operandi for all of Ghana.
To the point, unlike the Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates, we do not believe in a "political spoils system". That is the type of system where the winner doles out positions, power, and the public purse to members of their party, of their own kind. It is precisely the kind the Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates are resigned to implement by their primitive beliefs in fate and proverbs, and their absent-mindedness about national and human agency. Imagine one of them said the other day a spoils system is a good one that develops just one place in Ghana, as long as that place is in Ghana.
How absurd, and directly antithetical to the vision and precepts of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah!
So, what, we must ask, will happen to the Ghanaweb "Opinion" forum if we all descended into Babel, stealing every person's moniker and representing our self as they? Won't that be the ultimate "spoilt system" and a rather big disgrace to the owners of Ghanaweb who make all this possible, all this free of charge to all of us, just so we can have a forum to discuss Ghana-centered ideas and ideals?
Therefore, the pranks and sophistry of these latter day Ghanaweb Danquah-Busia-Dumbo confederates, is understood by all Ghanaians as useless and in vain, like a Professor Amoako Baah teaching. In particular, nobody who has spent 24 hours on the Ghanaweb portal will condone the idea that Prof Lungu will pen a comment that insults a person, or a group, like the impersonated kind.
And Prof Lungu goes back more than a decade on Ghanaweb (and on www.GhanaHero.com). We do not mind comparing essays and commentary head-to-head, subject-by-subject, title-by-title!
Let's allow civility, balance, reflection, and truth prevail in all discourses on matters affecting the public interest, on Ghanaweb, on this forum. Let's bury this sophistry and tribal bigotry in the cesspit where it all belongs!
Long live the Ghanweb forum!
SOURCES: 1. Rising in Defense of Mahama, Ghanaweb, 7 May, 2015, http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=357166 .
2. On Ghanaweb, our sincere thanks to GOLD COAST, Francis Kwarteng, and Kojo T, for recognizing the "Prof Lungu" impersonation.
3. Visit Visions, at www.GhanaHero.com/Visions.
4. Are You Pickable, Mr. Politician - The Pan-African "Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill" song. Listen to it! Get a FREE copy! www.GhanaHero.com/FOIB.
©Prof Lungu is Ghana-centered/Ghana-Proud. Prof Lungu is based in Washington DC, USA. Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com©15 May, 2015.
