Let me exploit this medium to giving a fitting response to some, distortions and blatant lies being orchestrated by the likes of Kwesi Pratt, Editor of the Insight to the effect that NPP plotted to cause may hem during the transfer of power to the NDC. He claims he has uncovered some tapes which give credence to that fact. He made those allegations against the NPP during a Radio Gold programme on Saturday, 22nd March, 2009.
I did not listen to the programme but my attention was drawn to it by an NPP sympathizer at time the programme was being aired. Subsequently, I had the opportunity to read the written version on Ghana web, Modern Ghana and other sites and in some newspapers. My first reaction was to dislodge what I had read from my brain for it was the worst canker that had ever entered my system. But how could I? I felt I would be doing a great deal of injustice to the reading public if I let the matter go just like that.
As I was debating within myself as to the best form of approach to tackle the issue, my mind straight to Wole Soyinka’s autobiography titled ‘Ake’. In it, three friends, led by their notorious Iku had stolen a chicken from the Principal’s poultry and had been caught right in the middle of roasting it. Sorry to bother you, but I would like to quote from the defence put up by the notorious Iku.
“It was this way, Principal. There I was at the lower perimeter of the fields’ Principal, with my friends about to engage in a scholastic experiment. Chemistry, to be exact, Principal, relating to the phlogiston theory of spontaneous combustion. It succeeded, Principal to our scientific delight, a small fire erupted among the things which we had gathered for the purposed, principal. We were about to put out this fire, it having served its purpose of proving a scientific point when along came a cockerel, whose patination and regal bearing identified it beyond doubt as having emerged from no other place than from the private poultry yard of Mrs. herself .
The second accused, Bode here, Principal, said to me, “Iku, there promenades a chicken belonging to principal’s Mrs. How did it get here? “To which I replied, Principal, “I am as ignorant as you are on the subject mater. Upon which the Third accused – Akinrade, Principal said, “Ours not to reason why, but to act, using our initiative as the Principal himself constantly teaches us. “I concurred Principal, and there being no time like now because action speaks louder than words and time and tide wait for no man, opportunity once lost cannot be regained, and Principal, finally, one good turn deserves another. So with these thoughts for our guide, we spread out, closed in on the cock in order to catch it and restore it to the poultry yard from where it had escaped.
“Principal, it was a frisky cockerel. It was not one of those many timid fowls which one meets in most houses. It was a spirited cockerel, a well-nourished, aggressive, independent cockerel, Principal. How could it be otherwise when it was raised, reared and nurtured under the very hands of the Principal and his wife, Beere? That cock flew against the second accused, knocking him down – you may like to examine his battle-scars, principal. That fearsome cockerel simply batted him with his wings, scratched his out stretched wrists - Second Accused, will you please step forward, and exhibit your scratches.
Now, principal upon the second accused falling backwards to protect himself, the impetus with which the deceased had launched itself naturally carried it forward inflicting, as we have said, Principal, the aforesaid wounds on the outstretched wrists of the second accused. Now Principal, it is possible to conjecture what would have happened if this had been an ordinary fire. But it was not, Principal. This was a fire built on the phlogiston theory of total, spontaneous combustion. It followed therefore that it was extremely, and evenly hot. The cockerel’s impetus carried it right into the centre of inferno, where it instantly lost consciousness, over powered by the intense heat, and itself contributing to the validity of the experiment which had taken us to the seclusion of the field in search of scientific truth, thus leaving us without any outside witnesses, Principal.
Our offence, therefore, Principal, lies not in any willful, overt act, but in the passive misdemeanor of concealment, Principal. But the deed was done, there was no use crying over spilt milk, in every cloud there is a silver lining and like thought, not to mention our fear to report ourselves, and may be, be misunderstood, kept us back. For this slight error of judgment, speaking for myself, the first, and the second and third accused here, Principal, we throw ourselves on the mercy of the count.
Well, someone will ask why I have recounted the story of Iku and his notorious gang of three. I have done so with a purpose. You see, Kwesi Pratt, like the Iku in our story is endowed with the power to shout, cry and create a wolf where there is none. He has a way of spinning a story to make it appear truthful whereas it is not. He has bought into the communist propaganda tactics of creating a situation or preparing the grounds for government security operatives to put top members of the NPP under surveillance. This is to create an environment for harassing NDC political opponents. Some of us therefore owe it a responsibility to tell Ghanaians the truth about such people.
Could Kwesi Pratt mention the names of those involved in the plot of destabilization, especially as it relates to the telephone calls in which a lady in Europe was alleged to have made some calls instructing that some criminal elements be found to create the conditions for mayhem, that could make it impossible for the smooth transfer of power to the duly elected government?
“The telephone call was not a fiction; today most of the people involved in that plot have publicly declared their involvement”, he said. Funny, one might say. Could my dear friend Iku Kwesi Pratt give us the name and telephone number of this lady in Europe who has the clout to give instructions to some faceless individuals to commit treasonable acts against the country of their birth? How powerful is this lady who can instruct grown up men with two balls dangling between their legs to wobble like jellies and a pack of cards? Can we have a play back of the so-called tapes or conversation? The calls, according to Kwesi Pratt were not once, not twice but many. Pratt, like our friend, Iku in Wole Soyinka’s “Ake” must tell us how he came by this information and tapes? Let all listen to playback of the so-called tapes, compare notes and see if there is a logical sequence or correlation. At worst, we can bring in voice experts of international repute to tell us if the voices captured on those tapes actually belong to those Pratt and others claim are the culprits.
Ghanaians are not “mumus” as Iku Pratt and his friends would want us to believe. Gone are the days when they swallow every information hook line and sinker. Iku Pratt tells us that most of the people involved in that plot have publicly declared their involvement. Who are they and how close are they related to the New Patriotic Party? Where did they make such a declaration and through which media? Were they cross examined or interrogated on their involvement and if they were who did interrogation? I, for instance am yet to hear of such a public declaration. The same applies to many Ghanaians.
What about the so-called Reverend Minister who admitted on Radio Gold that his voice was captured on tape in relation to some plots against the ruling government? Who is this Reverend Minister and would he agree to be cross-examined on air. Was his name mentioned in connection with plots against the NDC or the NPP? What did he mean by the ruling government? Can we have a playback of the tape for the benefit of those who never had the opportunity of listening to it when it was played on Radio Gold?
“Iku” Kwesi Pratt refers to other tapes which had respectable citizens plotting to bring dead bodies from Kumasi and other places in vans and to conceal the bodies in packets of biscuits. Here, I say, “hold your peace, my dear “Iku” Kwesi Pratt. How could you make such a spurious and unintelligent allegation like this?” He also said the tapes recorded these people arranging for blood and dead bodies to be spread around the country, especially in the Volta Region to create panic so that they could subvert the will of the people.
Now, would ‘Iku’ Kwesi Pratt provide some answers to these posers? Where were those criminal elements to get the dead bodies from? If we were to believe the message our Iku was to pass across, then the number of dead bodies needed for the evil deed should be very ‘huge’. And where were the dead bodies to be sourced from? The mortuary, of course! That is the only logical conclusion. Prove me wrong, if you can. But how could dead bodies disappear from mortuaries all over the country without people raising eyebrow? Don’t the deceased have relatives? And how do Authorities in various Hospitals explain to relatives of the deceased that their dead bodies cannot be found?
So, you see, Iku Kwesi Pratt, you will have to give a much plausible answer as to how the people could get dead bodies to litter various places in the country, especially the Volta Region. And if the dead bodies are to be found mostly in the Volta Region, wherein lies the logic of conveying them all the way from Kumasi and other places. Wouldn’t it have been ideal to source the bodies from the Volta Region where detection would be difficult? Has our Iku traveled on the Accra-Aflao Road before? Can he tell us the number of check-points one encounters before he gets to Accra? And since the vehicles involved will be many [because they are coming from different parts of the country and with many corpses], how could they escape detection at all the check points? At least one or two of such check-points might be obstacles to such a nefarious plan
And to suggest that the dead bodies would be hidden in packets of biscuits! How illogical, insane, callous and stupid could people descend to even make such an allegation just to score cheap political points! Everyone is aware of the fact that the dead are revered in Ghana. How can a Ghanaian allow the dead body of his kin to be taken away to another place? And how such an arrangement could be kept a secret from many people is what baffles me. Nothing is hidden under the sun. And do not forget that only NPP exists in Ashanti. What if the plan leaks to some members of the NDC? And even I an NPP man, would not allow such an evil plot to be hatched without informing the authorities. Isn’t it an easy way to get the corpses rotten if they are kept in packets of biscuits? How large are the biscuit packets? How can they keep the corpse from decomposing during the trip to the Volta Region? Was “Iku” Kwesi Pratt not indicting the Police and other Security Services for being careless and negligent in the discharge of their duty? How were the dead bodies packed in the packets of biscuits and he wants to tell us that the dead bodies would not emanate any bad odour or unpleasant smell. And “Iku” Kwesi Pratt thinks reasonable and sane Ghanaian would buy his weird logic! Maybe he and his likes would, but not the generality/majority of intelligent and level-headed Ghanaians.
And if I may ask, if such a thing actually took place, why are the culprits all walking the streets of the country free men and women? People are walking the streets of the various towns, cities and villages free because no such thing actually took place! It is only a figment of “Iku” Kwesi Pratt’s imagination. Now that the various security agencies are in the hands of our Iku and his friends, let them prosecute the so-called NPP anti-democrats.
It would interest readers to note that, Iku Kwesi Pratt had, earlier in his submission, shot himself in the leg when he referred to the alleged “criminals” as respectable citizens. This is because, no such respectable citizen will indulge him/herself in such a dishonourable act. The alleged NPP culprits are respectable because they have not condescended to that level of thwarting the will of the people though unconstitutional means I would like to repeat to the hearing of the good people of Ghana that most members of the New Patriotic Party are democrats top the core and would not do anything negative against the constitution of the country of their birth. I must concede that not all who profess to belong to the Great Osono Fraternity are true believers of democracy. The same applies to the NDC and other political parties as well.
Kwesi Pratt, like Iku in Soyinka’s book has embarked on a journey of making himself popular. All his actions and utterances depict him as someone without blemish. Massa, Iku Kwesi Pratt claims to be the repository of all knowledge and the custodian of answers to the numerous problems confronting the country. But Ghanaians are now wiser and have seen through his populist and holier than thou posture. But, Massa, our “Iku” Kwesi Pratt must be told in clear language that he cannot justify the current wrongs with previous situations. Let him praise and condemn both the NPP and the NDC with objectivity and Ghanaians will praise him for that.
If our democracy is the type that allows others to feed the people with trash so as to destroy the character and credibility of decent and hard-working citizens, then massa, I beg, make I no experience dem type of “den mo crazy”. Our Iku Kwesi Pratt should pursue his allegations against members of the NPP to their logical conclusion. If he doesn’t provide the relevant evidence to buttress his allegations, it reveal him as a man lacking in depth in character and who will do anything including selling his birthright for a pot of porridge.
Anything NPP is an anathema to “Iku” Kwesi Pratt. Anything NDC is almost 100% good. But why does he hate the New Patriotic Party so much like that? Does it have something to do with the period of the Great Alliance when supporters of NPP voted for Sheik I.C.Quaye instead of our Iku who was the official candidate of the Alliance? Even when he is criticizing the NDC he does so with an expression reminiscent of someone who has chewed a mixture of ginger, pepper and alligator pepper. Massa, he does so unwillingly so much so that the words and expressions refuse to flow in logical sequence.
He, Iku Kwesi Pratt is like the equivocator in Shakespeare’s Macbeth who equivocated here and there, but could not equivocate his way to Heaven. Let him adopt a different posture when it comes to discussing national issues. Let him stop playing to the gallery and face issues squarely. Let him join hands with the Great Sage of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson and say, “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man”.
It is only by so doing that he would become a force to reckon with in Ghanaian politics. It is only by do so that he will become a friend to the down-trodden masses from both sides of the political divide. As things stand now, Iku Kwesi Pratt cannot be trusted. He is a disaster waiting to happen.
Massa, this is the simple truth!
Daniel Danquah Damptey
Danieldanquah_damptey@yahoo.com
0243715297
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