Who do you blame, the peacemaker or the troublemaker?

The writer invites you to approach this write-up with level-headedness to help resolve a crucial issue. The reader must be honest with themselves and sincere to the public.

Once, a fellow Ghanaian came across two other Ghanaians fighting, exchanging pugilistic blows with the potential to cause fatality to either of them.

These two fighters were men of importance to their community, of which the loss of any one of them could have lasting pain and repercussions on the larger community.

Luckily, a male Ghanaian passerby chanced to be at the scene at the right moment and decided to separate them. He warned them against the possible dangers of their needless fight hence they had better stop.

While still in the process of talking them out of their fight, having his hands outstretched sideways with the right hand against the chest of one, say Mr “A”, and his left hand against the other, say Mr “B”, another Ghanaian male happened to be passing by. Curious as he was, he asked what was happening?

Before he could be told the reason for their fight, he asked the other man separating them to leave them to fight. He said, “People pay to visit boxing arena or subscribe to live pay-per-view, to watch boxers fight, so if there is one for free, why not let them fight?”. He could not care a hoot about any of them getting hurt or dying.

However, the harm or death to any one of them could have extensive adverse effects on their entire community.

The fight continued, one of them got wounded and was rushed to the hospital.

Between the two passersby, who did the public blame more when they heard about the fight? And if you were a member of the community, which one will you blame most?

Will you blame the man separating them or the one who goaded them into fighting until the victim got seriously wounded and ended up hospitalised?

Similarly, illegal small-scale and alluvial mining (galamsey) is ruining the country’s water bodies, virgin forests, arable and fertile lands as well as contaminating food crops and polluting the air. Nevertheless, our political leaders are incapable of stopping it.

While President Nana Akufo-Addo of NPP decided to stop it, putting his presidency on the line, dispatched military, and police personnel to galamsey sites to do whatever it takes to stop the devastating mining activities, former President John Dramani Mahama of NDC was on the other hand visiting same sites encouraging the miners to continue with their activities. He went further to promise to resource them if they voted for him.

In the 2020 general elections, President Nana Akufo-Addo and NPP lost all the constituencies where galamsey activities are rife in the country.

Now that our forests, water bodies and arable and fertile lands are spoiled or irredeemably being spoiled, who do we blame most? Do we blame President Nana Akufo-Addo, former President John Mahama or the entire Ghanaian population, especially, the electorates?

In Ghana, for any least problem, the electorate issue threats of, “we will not vote for you come a general election”, to any politician or political party attempting to solve a national problem employing a harsher but most needed antidote.

In this story, the first passerby trying to stop the fight is President Nana Akufo-Addo. The second passerby asking the fighters to continue fighting is former President John Dramani Mahama. Those two people fighting and what they were fighting over which if it got damaged are the water bodies, arable and fertile lands, and virgin forests.

Are we not alarmed at the devastation galamsey is wreaking on the mentioned essentials of life?

This story is to inform NPP campaigners to start the delivery of their campaign messages with analogies to get their audience directly engaged to give answers to questions. By this direct involvement of, and active participation by, the audience, they get themselves committed before the actual political message is revealed or delivered.

They will find it hard to renege on their responses already given in answer to the questions of the analogies when they get to know their actual political message correlation.

I strongly believe that many a respondent will blame the first passerby who encouraged the two fighters to continue fighting until one got wounded. Innit (isn’t it)?

If the answer is a yes, then why not hold Mr Mahama more responsible for the damage caused but President Nana Addo and Dr Bawumia aka “the driver’s mate”? Why should Ghanaians even decide to vote for Mr Mahama who does not seek the welfare of Ghanaians and their God-given essentials of life?

This is a campaign strategy by the proud, fearless, and no-nonsense son of Kumawu/Asiampa. He loves his country to bits hence will do whatever genuinely it takes to help the lesser evil to win election 2024.

No wonder that when he mounted political platforms in 2012, he was most admired, and his messages sunk into the minds of his hearers.