Opinions of Monday, 9 October 2023
Columnist: Kweku Ananse Mansoh
Some Ghanaians, in fact, most of them, at this point, can be classified to be suffering from Lima Syndrome.
Yes, Lima Syndrome. Hear me out.
We downplay how psychological facts we read in books play out clearly before our eyes in this nation.
Look around you. The current government has done so well in pushing the citizenry into this state. Watch…
We were so upset with our previous government that we couldn’t wait to get them out. In fact, we became abusers of that regime. We shouted, hooted, insulted, and cursed the government, the atmosphere created by the current one makes the abusers (Ghanaians) feel sympathetic towards their victim (then government).
Thus, it has become commonplace to have people think they were unfair towards their previous victims.
Do you want clarity? This is how it works…
Generally speaking, an individual (Ghana) may have Lima syndrome when they:
Are in the position of captor or abuser.
We were the ones in the position of an abuser in 2016 when the government's corruption and incompetence made it fashionable to rant like a bull!
Form a positive connection with their victim.
This is where we are in 2023.
It’s important to note that the term “positive connection” is very broad and could include many types of feelings. Some examples could potentially include one, or a combination of the following:
Feeling empathy for a captive’s situation (most Ghanaians feel empathy for John Mahama now because he was the obvious captive of the citizenry in 2016 and prior)becoming more attentive to a captive’s needs or wants (now Ghanaians seem to have become interested in what Mahama now wants or need.
I wonder if we have asked ourselves (what this captive wants beginning
to identify with a captive (it has become clear that the current regime’s failure makes identifying with JDM almost at a fashionable level where his incompetence pales in the face of this Nana Addo-Bawumia outlandish super incompetence.
Developing feelings of attachment, fondness, or even affection for a captive (finally, the then abusers are now prepared to vote back JDM as a sign of their affection for their captive)
If these are not enough to confirm Lima Syndrome in the Ghanaian populace, then I don’t know what else is happening.
If you ask, I think the worst mistake Ghanaians will make will be to vote JDM back into government in their bid to replace their lost hopes in this Addo-Bawumia government.
It will be best to replace the two parties, NPP or NDC, with a new face.
Yes, we think it is impossible and will cause chaos or something. Nothing will happen if we replace these two failures, it will be progress for Ghana.
Where we are now as a nation, we need disruption of old systems and the old ways, not destruction.
Disruption here is, to replace all MPs more than 8 years in Parliament with new brains. Imagine that for the moment.
Call for a referendum on abolishing this outmoded constitution and replace it with a newer version that restricts corruption, where no MP doubles as a minister. A clear separation of powers. No one crosses the line. MPs must be MPs alone nothing more!
Ministers must be ministers alone, nothing more.
All districts and municipalities elect their MMDCEs. This and all the reforms we need in our various institutions are what I believe will be the
new phase of a nation we want to see changed.
Ghanaians may commit another grieving error by going back for their captive!
So help us, God!!