Why NDC Lost It Seems Corruption Does Not Count

I wonder if corruption is seen as a crime in Ghana anymore. The fact of the matter is, that if we were to take corruption seriously in Ghana probably more than half of the adult population would have to go to prison for either taking or offering bribes. So we let it be. Not only that, we actually expect our public officials to accumulate as much wealth as they can while “it is their turn” and pray fervently that we would be the next in line for the booty.



Maybe we need to stop using the word corruption – it has lost its real meaning in the Ghanaian experience. Let’s stop using expressions like financial malfeasance and misappropriation of funds. Let’s avoid the words bribery, extortion, fraud and unscrupulousness- they make crime sound like normal administrative practices in Ghana; and call them what they really are – thievery, awi, fiafito, jolo ee jolo. Maybe then, we would all sit up and take notice.



Allotey Jacobs, the central regional NDC chairman, is a man I’ve grown to like listening to on Adom TV and on various other radio stations for his sense of humour and grasp of the Fante language. He also appears to talk lots of sense most times. But when on one occasion he playfully tapped the back of Sam Payne, the Ashanti Regional NPP secretary on Adom TV and said “why are they not giving you any appointment? If you are not careful they will chop everything behind you”, I knew my country was in trouble.



In effect, the reason why people go into politics and lobby for posts is not so they can be of service to their country. It is only so they can also, in the words of Allotey Jacobs, chop! That is taken for granted. And interestingly, the more corrupt one is, the more money one has to induce equally corrupt and corruptible party functionaries to keep one in positions of responsibility and power in the party, in a never-ending revolving cycle, leading our poor country to its doom. And that is why, there may soon be no good people in politics at all – they might simply, not be corrupt enough.



In the wake of the release of Kwesi Botchway’s report on the NDC electoral defeat, I have heard several reasons from various quarters as to why the NDC lost. Some have blamed the then communication minister, Mr Omane Boamah, for not releasing information needed for campaigning. Really? Seriously? Others have put the blame on Lordina Mahama who was said to have usurped the powers of the then vice president Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur. Some have blamed John Mahama – he was too truthful, they say. Others have blamed Kofi Adams.



People have blamed NDC splinter groups and celebrity campaign teams who were overly rewarded financially at the expense of people at the grassroots, and actually did no work. Many have blamed ex-president John Rawlings – he deliberately sabotaged NDC with his public criticisms of the party and his new found admiration of President Nana Akuffo Addo.



It’s all well and good. People have the right to voice their opinions and perceptions. What nobody is talking about, however, is the rather serious issue of corruption! And you know why? Nobody cares about corruption anymore. It’s become a noble venture so long as you remain generous to others as you chop. Even the NPP, now they are in power, have toned down their hitherto vociferous utterances against corruption…it’s their turn to chop!



How on earth could we forget, that we had a president who was prepared to sacrifice his integrity and accept a Ford Exploration from a Bukinabe contractor seeking contracts in Ghana. If everybody in Ghana forgets, I will not, because I believe it is an impeachable offence. How on earth could we forget GYEEDA, SADA, guinea fowls flying to Burkina Faso, Woyome, the bus branding saga and the rot at COCOBOD amongst others?



Omane Boamah did not give us information? … Indeed!!


Papa Appiah

Ebenezer, Thus Far Has Akuffo Addo Brought Us

Since when did it become “politicising” to criticise a sitting president? Suddenly, there are several “wise men” in Ghana advising against politicising issues, especially when they involve criticisms of Nana Akufo Addo. And then you dare not attempt to defend yourself. You would be accused of “equalization.” There are attempts to gag us from criticising or expressing dissenting views by the sheer force of the verbal terror that would be unleashed on us. And it is only the beginning. There is worse to come.



Who else could we blame when the very next day after the NPP took over power, a senior police officer was beaten to a pulp in front of cameras and in the presence of military men right in the courtyard of the seat of government, the Flagstaff House? No one has been convicted of the crime. That one singular act showed a certain mind-set imbued into young male NPP members while in opposition and which subsequently, is beginning to bear fruit.

Since then, there has been one incident after the other - the impunity of the Delta Forces invading a Regional Security Office to molest a government appointee and then charging into a court to free their colleagues. There has been the impunity of a man like Abronye going round seizing people’s cars when we have security institutions in the country. There have been recent eruptions in Somanya, and then now, the murder of a soldier.



Following the unfortunate death of Captain Mahama, Owusu Bempah, the president’s “spiritualist”, came on air to attribute the killing of a young military officer related to our former president, to spiritual punishment for wrongs committed by the previous Mahama government. I have not heard a single condemnation of that politically charged statement. Its politicisation if it comes from Asiedu Nketsia and perfectly fine when the source is Owusu Bempah. And this is a man who advises our president and who, Nana Akuffo Addo holds in such high esteem as to have mentioned his name in his inaugural speech.



And then at the seat of government, we have the impunity of the clearest demonstration ever in our history of nepotism and tribal bias in ministerial appointments. Forget it if you are not from the NPP stronghold of the Ashanti Region or from Nana Akuffo Addo’s Eastern region. And if you happen to have an “Akufo” tucked somewhere in your ancestral name, then the world is your oyster in the new Ghana.



Dr Bawumia would definitely not admit it, but even he is feeling the heat. People did contribute large sums of money to the NPP campaign but money alone does not win an election. The vice president was almost singularly responsible for swaying public opinion against the NDC government with incessant intellectual analysis of the economy, much to the annoyance of the Mahama government. He is gradually being relegated to the background with Mr Osafo Marfo, a known tribalist, holding himself up as an alternate to the president at every opportunity.



And recently, Mr Kennedy Agyapong, NPP MP for Assin North and a known major financier of the party, has started criticising the vice president in public. In a recent TV discussion on Adom TV, he advised the vice president to stop the theory and concentrate on fixing the economy. Watch the space.



And so I am afraid. Something is wrong in Ghana. We seem to have moved from scandals and corruption and Ford Expeditions to something a bit more sinister. I feel uneasy about a subtle wind of change blowing across the country, more akin to a “democratic terrorism”. And if history is to be our guide, then Ghanaians ought to be afraid too, very afraid indeed.

Substitute one short man for another, both very eloquent and renowned for their oratory. Both took advantage of mass discontent and dire economic circumstances to drive themselves into power through the democratic route, with largely fanatical followings. Both loved their museums, cathedrals and acropolises, to serve as centres for the spirit of the nation.



Replace Owusu Bempah with Dr Jorg Lanz von Leibenfels, a former monk who had abandoned the Christian religion and had formed a new cult in a castle along river Danube and who remained an important advisor of the National Socialists throughout their rule. Replace the Invisible and Delta Forces with The SS men, a group of fanatical brutes who terrorised their people, then we have a recipe for disaster and Ghanaians ought to be very afraid.



Six million Jews may not be killed, but be careful if you are not an Ashanti or from the Eastern region.

Papa Appiah

Lexeve1@icloud.com