The Dynamics Of Ghanaian Politics

Read Comments Comments (10)

• BREAD 12 years ago

  Samuel, your article sent goose bumps
  all over me! Much as I share with most of your discourse, there are other equally important issues that must be addressed. THE CALIBRE OF THE POLITICAL ASPIRANTS! I could safely say that ...
  read full comment

  Samuel, your article sent goose bumps
  all over me! Much as I share with most of your discourse, there are other equally important issues that must be addressed. THE CALIBRE OF THE POLITICAL ASPIRANTS! I could safely say that half of them are illiterates or semi-literates. The brief interviews held by the Rainbow International Radio journalist at the Parliament house a few days ago served to prove my point. The vetting process of people seeking a mandate to represent a constituency must be handled very carefully. And as you rightly surmised, we have a very, very long way to go. May God richly bless you for your insightful masterpiece.

  reply
• afari kowinsani gyan 12 years ago

  SOUTHRN STUDENTS TOO DESERVE FREE EDUCATION LIKE OUR NORTHERN COUNTERPARTS.WE MUST RESIST PAYING FEES.

  SOUTHRN STUDENTS TOO DESERVE FREE EDUCATION LIKE OUR NORTHERN COUNTERPARTS.WE MUST RESIST PAYING FEES.

  reply
• AMA 12 years ago

  Great article. Did not finish reading it but knew where it was going. Here is the problem. True, people have criticized both the NPP and the NDC. But then again, people tend to migrate towards larger groups because they a ...
  read full comment

  Great article. Did not finish reading it but knew where it was going. Here is the problem. True, people have criticized both the NPP and the NDC. But then again, people tend to migrate towards larger groups because they are necessarily seen to be more successful. That thinking might not necessarily hold true in all cases. However, nobody wants the hard work anymore of joining a very small group and trying to help build the group up – it’s like starting from the beginning. If you examine all other spheres of our lives – relationships, work, housing etc., people want things the easier way. We want things already cooked for us so we can just jump in and enjoy. Voting and common sense don’t really mesh. People are voting more with the heart and stomach rather than their mind. People complain about their spouses all the time but they stay in the marriage. In the US people complained about Obama not achieving much in the first term but he still won the election for a second term. On the surface, all these things might not appear logical but that is just the way life seems to be. I am waiting for the day where voters in every country will say ‘screw you’ to the bigger parties and give their votes to the smaller parties. Do you really see that happening? NOT A CHANCE! There are internal conflicts in the bigger parties. But the smaller parties seem to have more nonsensical internal conflicts than you can ever imagine. People within the smaller parties don’t even seem to be interested in voting for their own parties. So, who will vote for them? It is obvious that people join the smaller parties because they can quickly get some kind of executive position and subsequently get invited to some national events. That’s it. Do they really campaign for their own parties?

  reply
• ATAKORA BEDIAKO 12 years ago

  WELL DONE-YOU TOLD THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT THE REAL DYNAMICS OF OUR POLITICS.

  WELL DONE-YOU TOLD THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT THE REAL DYNAMICS OF OUR POLITICS.

  reply
• Amecole. 12 years ago

  Thank you for a soul searching piece. This is a thoughtful and elegantly written article that summarizes the hard truth about our "banana" republic. My only addition is that even among the minority "educated" there is a large ...
  read full comment

  Thank you for a soul searching piece. This is a thoughtful and elegantly written article that summarizes the hard truth about our "banana" republic. My only addition is that even among the minority "educated" there is a large constituency of "educated illiterates," who though "educated"; lack the astuteness of the likes of Abu Sakara an Paa Kwesi Ndoum. Oh how many, can fully understand your wisdom.

  reply
• MP 12 years ago

  Intellectual anti-democrats such as Socrates and Plato, for instance, argued that the majority of the people, because they were by and large ignorant and unskilled, would always get it wrong. In these intellectuals' view, gov ...
  read full comment

  Intellectual anti-democrats such as Socrates and Plato, for instance, argued that the majority of the people, because they were by and large ignorant and unskilled, would always get it wrong. In these intellectuals' view, government was an art, craft or skill, and should be entrusted only to the skilled and intelligent, who were by definition a minority. They denied specifically that the sort of knowledge available to and used by ordinary people, popular knowledge if you like, was really knowledge at all. At best it was mere opinion, and almost always it was ill-informed and wrong opinion.

  reply
• MP 12 years ago

  A further variant on this view was that the masses or the mob, being ignorant and stupid for the most part, were easily swayed by specious rhetoric - so easily swayed that they were incapable of taking longer views or of stic ...
  read full comment

  A further variant on this view was that the masses or the mob, being ignorant and stupid for the most part, were easily swayed by specious rhetoric - so easily swayed that they were incapable of taking longer views or of sticking resolutely to one, good view once that had been adopted. The masses were, in brief, shortsighted, selfish and fickle, an easy prey to unscrupulous orators who came to be known as demagogues.

  reply
• Amecole. 12 years ago

  True MP, Plato/Socrates alluded to this with the concept of the Philosopher/ governor, the guardians and the working people. But "modern" Ghana is nowhere near the post cosmological era of Plato's republic. We still live a co ...
  read full comment

  True MP, Plato/Socrates alluded to this with the concept of the Philosopher/ governor, the guardians and the working people. But "modern" Ghana is nowhere near the post cosmological era of Plato's republic. We still live a cosmological/mystical existence with mysticism, and "religion" (ie the Ghanaian's understanding of religion)being our bred and butter of living. We have a load of so called paper carrying educated class, without the intellect. The results, rationale thinking goes out of the window, and belief in corrupt politicians and "gods/religion" reigns. I am yet to see the day of reason, in our dear land.

  reply
• Adwoa Peadzeyei,NY 12 years ago

  The supposed best candidates do not fare well in Ghanaian elections,because we mostly vote on tribal lines and the majority carries the vote.Also there are bigger parties who may have candidates from the same area as the best ...
  read full comment

  The supposed best candidates do not fare well in Ghanaian elections,because we mostly vote on tribal lines and the majority carries the vote.Also there are bigger parties who may have candidates from the same area as the best one.That explains why no matter how abysmally politicians perform,they have millions'support.Moreover,dishonesty + corruption = African politics.Otherwise,how do we understand our current predicament?Politicians solicit for votes to serve the electorates,and if the same populace say not you but the other.Should this end up in a litigation?Isn't it apparent that politicians are living of our fortunes?If not why should politicians entice the electorates with mouth-watering gifts prior to elections?They woo them with their tantalizing gifts to sway them for their votes,because the politicians become fabulously rich at the assumption of offices.Besides,they end their terms with humongous ex-gratia,whiles the citizenry remain wallowing in their abject poverty.If this is not robbery in disguise,what is it?I dont believe the politicians posts warrant all the trappings that they enjoy.Thank you all.

  reply