They are doing the job themselves. It is a well known fact that it takes a lot of effort, energy, and resources to build—whether it is an institution, a building, or an establishment. It takes a fortune to build a credible institution—a political party, an educational institution, a religious organization, but less effort in destroying them. Sadly and painfully, the National Democratic Congress is on the verge of carving an unenviable reputation for herself—the party of intolerance. They would only agree with you only when you dance to their music, but turn against you if you dissent from their opinionated views. Unless the unexpected happens, the electorates this time round will reject them in a humiliating manner. They should beware!
What the members of the ruling government forget is that democracy is not about our own set of beliefs, ideals, and philosophies, but the collective good of the people. Since all of us cannot be right all the time, it stands to reason that we should defer our opinions—especially when they are based on perception until we have credible proof. If in a democratic dispensation, we always expect our interests and aspirations to be on the front burner, then what we are saying in the nutshell is that democracy is synonymous to dictatorship and tyranny.
And this is exactly the direction the NDC want to take the country. The attorney general loses high profile politically motivated trials, and as a consequence, hell must break loose. Would the chairman and the entire leadership of the NDC have issued those threats to the judiciary if the verdict of the judge had gone in their favor? Before proceeding to the court, the government was convinced of winning the case; even when we cautioned them that to avoid the likelihood of defeat, they should ensure that they have legs to stand on, they did not listen.
It is true that there are many ways of killing a cat; the NDC can use several ways to destroy the institutions of State, but who told them that they will succeed. They should also understand that cowards use intimidation and threats to achieve an end, but the bold and sensible engage reasoning and persuasion to realize an objective. To put it bluntly, Dr. Kwabena Adjei, by that despicable pronouncement has proven to all dissent and freedom loving Ghanaians that he is really a square peg in a round hole. He has marred the office he occupies and soiled the credibility of his party and the presidency in upholding the tenets of constitutional rule.
The people who are destroying the NDC are within and not without—the likes of Dr. Adjei, Asiedu Nketiah, Nii Lamptey Vanderpuije, Kobby Acheampong, Kofi Adams among others are those making the party very unattractive to the majority of the citizenry. They only seek to appease the radical elements of the party and make the work of the moderates extremely difficult. Dr. Adjei’s assertion that the Chief Justice should purge the judiciary or else he will do it himself and that “there are many ways of killing a cat” shows that the reason why they are prosecuting members of the prior administration is not because they want justice, but because of vengeance and political vendetta. If this man does not have faith in the institution of the court, then he does not have any business being the chairman of the ruling party. If he were an honorable man, he would have eaten dirt and quit.
The level of arrogance in the NDC is worrying. The power on their hands has eaten deep into their head to the extent that they exhibit arrogance and disrespect to their opponents on the other side of the political spectrum. On the 9th of August, 2010, on Good Morning Ghana—a presidential aide at the castle—Mr. Nii Lamptey Vanderpuije had the effrontery to describe members of the New Patriotic Party as a “bunch of arrogant bastards.” I nearly collapsed upon hearing that embarrassing pronouncement from no mean a person than a presidential aide.
This man who parades himself as working in concert with the president at the colonial castle should have known that by reason of his role in society and in the government, he is a role model. I tell you, in a properly constituted government, this man would have been asked by his party to apologize to the people of the country, and fired as well. People like Nii Lamptey could be one of those commentators to articles on this forum and others who hide behind monikers and throw insult at those writers whom they disagree. I was even shocked when I was reliably informed that he studies governance and leadership in one of the reputable tertiary institutions in the country. He receives education, goes and sits on national television and speaks loosely. Some few weeks earlier, a deputy minister of State— Kobby Acheampong—another loose cannon said that members of the New Patriotic Party are “lunatic fringe thieves.” He is still at post and I think he will continue with the insults.
We all know that Jesus Christ was a good man, and had equally good disciples save one. But even Judas, when he realized that he had acted foolishly for being the rogue among the twelve, decided to extinct. He disappeared by abbreviating his life. I think Judas did that not only because he was guilty, but also because he did not want to mar the excellent reputation of the Messiah and the group. I hope the Non-Christians or non-religious readers of this article will not crucify me for sounding a bit religious here; I just want to draw an obvious analogy. I hope you can conjecture what I want to put across.
If the president cannot fire these people who are throwing his reputation and the credibility of his party to the dogs, I think the victims should themselves do the honorable thing: quit. They do not deserve to hold their respective portfolios. They are bad examples to the young kids who I think have something better for the country. If these haters of democracy and users of foul language still remain at post in this present government, then they should understand that the continuity of their party in the Ghanaian political trajectory is almost over; unless maybe, I said maybe as Kweku Baako Jnr. used to say “Ghanaians have short memories.” God bless Ghana!!
Source: Kingsley Nyarko, PhD, Educational Psychologist, Accra (kingpong73@yahoo.com
