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Lawyer Sam Okudjeto please come again!

Kojo Adu Asare New 1 Kojo Adu-Asare

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 Source: Kojo Adu-Asare, Contributor

I'm at a great loss as to how an astute and very respected personality who is currently a member of the Council of State, Mr Sam Okudjeto, who I believe might be a grandfather if not a great-grandfather, will choose no other time but a time when Ghanaians and by extension the entire world is reeling in agony over a pandemic that has rocked the foundations of the entire earth, Covid 19.

Here in Ghana the past six weeks has been characterized by frantic efforts by all well meaning and right thinking people with the support of both government and opposition parties as well as religious and corporate entities to find solutions that will help reduce the. effect of the Corona scourge on Ghanaians.

We have witnessed an exponential escalation of infected persons from an initial number of six as of the 12th of March 2020 to a whopping six hundred and over with a possibility of an upward trend.

There is currently no cure nor vaccine to manage this menace and Many a Nation are mobilizing resources to cushion their nationals, especially at this time when almost every country is experiencing a lockdown of a sort.

For almost three weeks, Ghanaians have been wallowing in the agony of a limited geography. Our Jobs are closed, schools are closed, shopping malls are shut, handymen are at home, religious activities have been halted, social gatherings have been banned and movements are being restricted by security operatives of the state. We all agree we are not in normal times as a nation.

It is against this background that it beats my imagination that an octogenarian who should be mindful of the devastation prowess and deadliness of Covid 19 against people of his age will rather be the advocate for the opening of registration at areas where the Lockdown has not affected.

What is really wrong with these power drunk persons? Their entire preoccupation is about election 2020, they can't even decipher between perilous times and normal times? I'm ashamed at this man that I thought was a good statesman.

Covid 19 has walloped a lot of older folks due to their weak immune system as a result of old age in several parts of the world including Ghana. Measures from every sphere of this planet is being deployed to manage the pandemic. Here in Ghana we are begging the IMF to come to our rescue to which they have obliged to bail us out with one billion dollars. Our vulnerable in society who will be throbbing the polling centers to go and queue to register are the same ones who cannot find one meal a day to survive on. They are at the mercies and magnanimity of NGO's, churches, mosques and philanthropists.

The government is doing selective distribution of food items through their MPs, DCE's and party apparatchiks. Areas noted as NDC strongholds do not receive any rations. These are the issues one expects Mr Okudjeto to be addressing in times like this. Your position as a member of the Council of State which comes with freebies and fat envelopes should not cloud your age old rationality on matters bothering on humanity. At your age, you should be interested in the welfare of your compatriots and as a leader of no mean a church as the Ridge Church, you should be allowing your Christian light to shine more than the politics that has engulfed your system.

You cannot even fathom the fact that a lot of people have been stuck to areas where the Lockdown is in place. Some of them have their votes or may have to move to their base to go and register, how would such people move to those areas, how sure are u that the pandemic will not spread any further into those 'safe' areas? Mr Okudjeto u really reek of insensitivity to the plight of Ghanaians and I'm ashamed of your kind.

Sometimes I'm tempted to believe that age comes with wisdom but i think I'm wrong, it's not automatic. Otherwise how on earth will this man be talking like this at this time when our nation and others are doing all it can to preserve lives and keep people safe, you want to send people out there to go and queue to register so your party can remain in power in order for you and your family to enjoy your largesse? Shame on you!

Some of us are of the view that the government should not fall for such balderdash of a suggestion. It is dangerous and will cost us dearly if such an attempt is made. Even the EC officials themselves should be the first to refuse such a gesture.

Can u imagine more than three hundred people using one thumb printing device in a day at one polling center for two weeks? Can u imagine the effect, Mr Okudjeto please be a citizen.

The EC should not hide behind these people who think their views represent the laws of Ghana to come through the back door with their new register theories. Some common sense should tell them that the timing is not right for it. All the signs on the wall should be drumming home the message that that agenda has been quelled by an 'act of God' called Corona virus.

The NPP government knows it hasn't done a lot to win a genuine election in December so they are using Jean Mensa and Bossman Asare to mastermind an agenda to rig the election by creating a new register that one can only register if they have a Ghana card, knowing very well that the National Identification Authority did not serve the NDC stronghold well. You can all tell from the spirited attempt by the NIA to even register people in the Eastern Region in the wake of the Corona virus. The manner in which Ken Attafuah (An accomplice) even went ahead to defy the orders of the president to halt all such activities.

To the extent that we found a judge in this country who did not also recognize the dangers of Covid 19 but went ahead to grant a relief for the NIA staff to go to work. But for public outcry, the NIA would've been working, all in a bid to register more people from the Eastern and Ashanti Regions to own Ghana in numbers that will outweigh that of the other regions. Again an 'act of God' has quelled that motive and stripped it bare.

Mr Sam Okudjeto, please let your grey hair represent what it is, and don't allow your partisanship to cloud what is right and proper. I leave you with this scripture.

"Whatsoever things are True,

Whatsoever things are Pure,

Whatsoever things are Just,

Whatsoever things are Lovely,

Whatsoever things are of Good Report,

If there is any virtue or any Praise, Think on these things", Sir.

Columnist: Kojo Adu-Asare, Contributor
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