When Bad-Faith Power Seekers Cross The Rubicon

By Kofi Thompson

The parody "Welcome To The Better Ghana Agenda Call Centre", which is now played regularly on the airwaves of Peace FM, is a brilliant political advert by any standard.

The same thing can also be said of the parodying of the patriotic song in Akan, Yenara Yeasaase. It is a stroke of genius - and shows the sophistication of parts of the advertising industry in Ghana.

Both adverts use clever humour to ridicule the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime of President Mahama.

I am not aware that those two political adverts are aired on other FM radio stations.

Both adverts also illustrate the sheer brilliance of some of the younger generation of Ghanaians - many of whom are world-class professionals and at the cutting-edge of their individual areas of specialised knowledge.

But the adverts also serve a dark and sinister purpose: to advance the attempt to remove a democratically elected leader by misguided plutocrats masquerading as democrats - who deliberately wrap themselves in the silken cloth of high principle, and wear stylish rule-of-law hats with large rims-of-due-process, to dazzle the innocents-abroad amongst us.

They illustrate perfectly, the deviousness and utter ruthlessness of the power-hungry and amoral lot, who wield power in the inner circle of the decent and gentlemanly Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.

Unfortunately, that small extremist clique has an iron grip on the levers of power in the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

To ensure its long-term survival, the many moderates in the NPP need to prise their party away from the grip of that small group of hardliners.

For the sake of our nation, those charged with the task of securing the Republic and the regime, must not underestimate those unprincipled and hypocritical individuals, under any circumstances. They must be watched with eagle eyes.

Determined, deluded and full of overblown ideas about themselves, they will stop at nothing to end what to them is an abomination: the nation they would rule - even if it took a descent into chaos to achieve that end - dominated by northerners, and, worst of all, headed by a northerner.

The dangerous falsehood that is the farce now playing out in the Supreme Court building - that the Electoral Commissioner rigged the December 2012 presidential election in President Mahama's favour - was designed specifically to win the support of Ghana's prosperous middle-classes, and draw key individuals from that demographic into a scratch-our-backs-and-we-will-scratch-yours alliance of convenience.

According to the bush telegraph, the payoff is said to consist of promises of ambassadorships; board membership of state-owned enterprises and other public-sector entities; and alleged secret cash payments. The forward sale, literally, of the enterprise Ghana. Incredible.

The hypocrisy and bad faith of some of the strike leaders, relentless in driving the agitation amongst public-sector professional groupings in Ghana, is said to be a manifestation of that crime against ordinary people.

Yet, all that ordinary people want, is simply to be allowed to get on with their lives in peace.

They wished the selfish self-seekers who want the nation to grind to a halt, would end their nation-wrecking and blood-sucking misadventure.

President Mahama and his regime must steel themselves for what lies ahead. Let them remember President Kufuor's "you-will-smell-pepper" warning to President Rawlings, at a point in time when Kufuor's regime felt threatened by him.

That must be their attitude to all nation-wreckers without exception. Appeasement only encourages that lot - and is seen rightly by them as weakness.

There must be no compromise with those who think they were born to rule others - and therefore now seek power through the manipulation of the legal process, after losing a free and fair election.

At the end of the day, the regime and the security services must be prepared to be as ruthless as it will take, to prevent our nation from descending into violence and chaos.

That disastrous outcome is a distinct possibility - when that unforgivable falsehood about the December 2012 presidential election is finally thrown out by the Supreme Court.

Even if it will take the use of cordoned-off exclusion zones; strictly-enforced curfews, and the maximum use of force to prevent or end any chaos sparked off by myrmidon-types - paid to be violent by extremist politicians, in furtherance of their treasonable attempt to usurp power - then so be it.

As Ghana's leaders, preventing chaos at all costs, is the sworn and first duty of President Mahama and his regime. One hopes they will not be found wanting when the most implacable of their opponents finally cross the Rubicon. A word to the wise...