The Gospel According To Martin Amidu

“I am prepared as the President of this country to appear before anybody, any institution to be investigated for corruption” – Transitional President John Dramani Mahama

“Which Ghanaian in his right senses will report a sitting President for such an investigation in the hope of getting impartial results?” – Citizen Vigilante Martin Amidu.

Ever since Mr. Martin Amidu, the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General started his crusade less than a year ago, I have come to admire his integrity, bravery and intelligence. This is a typical Northerner who is as constant as the northern star. Martin Amidu has brought honour to some of us who come from the North. We are resilient, consistent and above all very honest to ourselves and our consciences. The typical Northerner will never lick back what he or she has spat out. Martin the Citizen Vigilante has parted ways with the NDC and the battle line is drawn.

When the transitional president threw the above mentioned challenge to Ghanaians, Martin Amidu had this to say: “The middle class in Ghana are educated men and women who are supposed to be discerning, rational and objective due to their socialization and training. Is the Ghanaian middle class being told that in spite of our education and experience we should believe that any impartial investigation by any of the public anti–corruption agencies, as presently constituted, can take place about his personal incorruptibility or that of the government he leads? Or does he think a middle class worth the name of an educated middle class will accept the hollow challenge thrown at Ho without reasoning?

Speaking for myself, I am a citizen who cherishes my right as a citizen and cannot allow this hollow challenge thrown by the transitional president to pass without exercising my birth right as a citizen to tell him not to talk down on Ghanaians as though we were all ‘fools’. The Citizen Vigilante went further to call on President Mahama to set up a bi-partisan committee of Parliament to take evidence from Ghanaians on the matter of corruption in his government. It has been three months since Citizen Vigilante Amidu made the call but sadly the President has remained silent.

Mr. Martin Amidu revealed to Ghanaians that in 2010 he told the late President Mills and the Chief of Staff who is still alive that if the late President could advise his appointees to reduce corruption, abuse of office and arrogance for the remaining two years, the NDC would win the 2012 elections hands down. He said he kept going back to the topic with the late President and the Chief of Staff until January 13, when he fell out with the late President on the Woyome and other gargantuan issues of corruption, abuse of office and the flagrant rape of the public purse by Ministers and their NDC collaborators in the government. The sages say if the fish comes out of the water to say the crocodile was dead, no one should doubt it. Martin Amidu was in government and knew what was happening. Indeed if Mr. Amidu had been mentioning the name of Mills as his only witness, one would have concluded that he was lying simply because he knew the President was not alive and could not deny or confirm his story.

The man says in July 2011, there was hue and cry about the prices for the acquisition of five aircraft for the Ghana Armed Forces. According to the Citizen Vigilante, even though on July 26, 2011, the late President Mills attempted to defend the purchase of the five aircraft, he became convinced of the necessity to set up a committee to investigate those purchases. Mr. Amidu says a committee to investigate the processes of the acquisition of the five aircraft including the Embraer 190 aircraft and hanger for the Ghana Armed Forces consisted of Mr. William Aboah, Mr. George Amoah and Brigadier General Allotey (RTD) former Judge Advocate was put together. All these men are alive and kicking but since Citizen Vigilante Amidu made the allegation they have all been silent. It therefore stands to reason that what Mr. Amidu told Ghanaians was nothing but the gospel truth.

Mr. Amidu continued to tell us that the very fact that the late President even contemplated this committee meant that he was uncomfortable with and suspicious of the alleged inflated prices of the aircraft. The seriousness of this allegation is that the man who led the negotiation, in the person of Mr. John Mahama is currently the President of Ghana and still criss-crossing the country, soliciting for the votes of Ghanaians to give him the opportunity to rule this country.

President Mahama is not the only person in the NDC who is perceived to be corrupt. MMDCEs have become so fabulously rich that one wonders what will happen to them when the government loses power. If they think they have been able to cover their tracks, then someone out there should tell them that there will be nowhere for them to hide. I know of a District Chief Executive who was a Twi newscaster in one of the private radio stations, receiving GH¢100 as his take home pay but today he has been able to build three ultra modern houses for himself. He has topped it up with a fleet of luxurious cars, wedded his wife in London and living like a multimillionaire. Another one who is in the Brong Ahafo Region was a security man in a company in London. He returned home to lie to his constituents that he held two masters degrees and was made the parliamentary candidate of the NDC. Even though he lost his bid to represent them in parliament, he was made the MCE and today he is one of the richest men in the constituency. Recently this hitherto bachelor flew to London with all his family members to wed a wife. Yours sincerely is in possession of the wedding pictures. Money swine!!

The reason why these corrupt MMDCEs cannot be removed is that they pay protection monies to some godfathers in Accra. There is this MCE in the Brong Ahafo Region who boasted that since the party’s General Secretary is alive no one can remove him from office. It is not for nothing that Mr. Rawlings and his wife are angry. They remember the way they were living when the going was tough. In fact, they remember how they traversed the land to campaign for the party to come to power only for some greedy bastards to throw the tenets of probity and accountability to the dogs. Mr. Rawlings has been trumpeting to the hearing of whosoever cared to listen that when the going was tough for the NDC when the party was in opposition, those who are now parading the corridors of power were cooling it off outside this country. He continues to call them “old evil dwarfs” and “greedy bastards”. Apart from Tony Aidoo who came out to tell Ghanaians that he was scandalized because he could not tell whether he was one of the “old evil dwarfs” or “greedy bastards”, the rest have been silent.

What all well meaning Ghanaians should do to help Martin Amidu is to go down on their knees in prayers for God to be his guard. He needs our prayers because Field Marshal Yaw Boateng Gyan and Air Marshal Gbavlo Lartey are capable of doing him harm. The man has opened a Pandora’s Box which has opened the eyes of Ghanaians. The NDC is not comfortable with the utterances of the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

They are uncomfortable simply because they cannot deny all the charges leveled against the caretaker president and his team. What is making them more worried is that what Martin Amidu has been saying are the same things that the founder of the NDC has been saying. Until the caretaker president is able to uncoil himself from the charges of corruption that has been put on his shoulders, yours sincerely think he should forget the race because in the face of these economic hardships Ghanaians cannot endure another four years of this type of massive corruption in government. I salute you, Citizen Vigilante Martin ABK Amidu. May the Lord be with you as you continue your Holy War against corruption in the NDC regime. (Somebody help me to say AMEN!!!)