On the 1st day of June 2012, an unenviable record was achieved in Ghana. It was the unprecedented record of having the floor lights of the Baba Yayra Sports Stadium go out during an international match between Ghana and Lesotho.
At the time the lights went out, Ghana was leading by 4 goals to nil. The excitement at the Baba Yayra stadium was so high and it was understandable that the public reactions that followed the lights out were massive!
The summary of the reactions was that, Ghanaians didn’t understand why lights should go out in the middle of an international match after over 50 years of independence. Back ups during such international matches it was suggested, must always be available to avert what was generally agreed to be a national disaster and disgrace for Ghana.
Not long after the lights out, the Communications Director at the Presidency, Koku Anyidohu spoke to the media during which he stated that, the Ashanti Regional Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana was suspended with immediate effect and that all those found to have played any role in the embarrassment therein of the lights out shall be dealt with severely. It was not long that Ghanaians started to question the morality behind the speed of suspending the ECG Director of the Ashanti region.
Drama was yet to unfold when the ECG issued a statement explaining that, they were not in charge of the floor lights at the stadium. They disclosed that the management of the stadium had their own generators which they use for the floor lights.
The summary of their statement was that, it was wrong to suspend them for no crime committed. According to the ECG of Ghana, they supplied electricity to the stadium and had enough back up against any eventuality. According to them, they did no wrong to warrant the suspension of their Regional Director.
The drama was to continue as the Energy Ministry quickly disassociated themselves from the “unelected President” Koku’s statement and made it very clear that they did not suspend anybody and they would prefer full scale investigations into the circumstances of the matter to arrive at reasonable conclusions.
What then went to town was that, government of President Mills double spoke on the issue of the lights out. Who was to be believed became another debate and the embarrassment that accompanied the lights out was nothing compared to the embarrassment that the naked contradictions of statements and counter statements from government elicited.
On the 2nd day of June however, unelected “President” Koku Anyidohu phoned-in on Joyfm’s news file to explain that the decision to suspend the ECG director was done by some senior Ministers in the heat of the moment of the lights out without consent to the elected president of the republic of Ghana!
What an absurdity it was that, senior Ministers could suspend a senior civil servant within an hour without the consent of the President!!!
This misconduct of Koku Anyidohu and his group of senior Ministers leave me to wonder personally whether president Mills is actually in charge of most of the decisions emanating from the revered seat of government!
Dear readers, there is the need for us to begin to find out how many decisions from the Castle has come out to the public domain without the consent of elected President Mills?
Doesn’t the conduct of the so called senior Ministers lend credence to the much held view that, the President is generally unaware of some major occurrences around him?
Whilst there still is the urgent need to investigate the lights out at the Baba Yayra Stadium to curb a recurrence in the future, there is also the urgent need to investigate the menace of statements and directives from the Presidency without the knowledge of the President.
We need to treat this with all seriousness to avert the situation where Ghana could be sold out to foreigners by unelected senior Ministers without the consent of the elected President. Koku Anyidohu in all these must be suspended without delay.
A word to the wise, they say, is always enough.
By Akilu Sayibu, Tamale-North
Email: Akilu.sayibu@live.uwe.ac.uk
