Why did the NDC want to turn the supreme court to Agbogbloshie?

On the 14th of March 2013, the Supreme Court of Ghana ruled against the interest of 327 NDC foot-soldiers to join the current election petition under hearing by the Court.

The ruling of the Supreme Court was simple: the Electoral Commission, President John Mahama and the NDC who are the respondents in the case are in a better position to serve any interest in the case.

The summary therefore is that, the applicants were told to go to the Dodowa forest to sleep if they had nothing doing. The outcome of the decision of the Supreme Court was to be expected. I don’t think any serious Court if not even a Supreme Court will allow this concert party to take place.

I was personally disappointed that the NDC encouraged its teaming members to apply to join a case they as a party had already applied to join. It definitely didn’t make sense allowing this to happen.

Thank God that the NDC’s attempt to frustrate and irritate Ghanaians with its outmoded strategy was thrown into the nearest dustbin.

Several investors around the globe are holding on with their money. They are yearning to invest in Ghana but do not want to take any risk for now. They are waiting to see how the Supreme Court will rule on the election petition so that they can come in with their cash and invest knowing that Ghana has strong judiciary system to cater for them when they encounter problems. At least I have met friends from Sweden, London, Germany and Holland who want to invest in various sectors of the economy but are not sure of our judicial system. So I thought with the cloud of “illegitimacy” surrounding the Presidency of John Dramani Mahama, it would have been in the supreme interest of the NDC to pray for speedy trials so that if judgement happens to go their way their legitimacy would be trumpeted loudly and possible investors will come to invest to boost the Ghanaian economy.

If the government of the NDC is facing all these problems including boycotts why should they be the ones to want to delay the trial at the court? For me I see the desire of the NDC to sponsor 327 of its members to join the case to be a tacit admission that they did not win the December 7 elections in the first place. You can’t win election and decide to waste the time of a trial that will give more legitimacy to your administration.

It is my desire and the wish of many Ghanaians to see the case fast-tracked beyond even the current pace at which proceedings are going. It is against this background that most lovers of peace and justice welcome the unanimous ruling against the 327 NDC “time wasters”. There is no doubt at all that several other supporters of the NDC would have thronged the precincts of the Supreme Court to join the case if their colleagues had succeeded. If this was allowed to happen, Agbogbloshie would have become better than the Supreme Court. With the warning fired by the Supreme Court, there is no doubt that they are not willing to allow comedians to tarnish their image and the image of the judiciary system in of Ghana through avoidable strategies.

Let us all remember the popular adage that: “Justice delayed is justice denied” and not stage further time wasting dramas.

Akilu Sayibu

Email: Akilu.sayibu@live.uwe.ac.uk