Journey through Hell.

In the Bible, we read about the ordeal the Hebrews went through in the land of Egypt. W e also read that initially they felt they were part of the people and one of them, Joseph even became the “Prime Minister” of the land.
But a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph arose and set the Hebrews to task. He drummed it into their ears that they were butterflies and should stop deceiving themselves that they were birds. Thus, they were reduced to the level of ‘hewers of wood and carriers of water’.

A similar scenario similar to what happened in Egypt is being enacted right before our very eyes. I have traversed the length and breath of the country and everywhere I went, the verdict was always the same. “Nneama nnko yiye” (Things are not moving on well). Never in the history of this country have Ghanaians had is so rough as they are going through under this clueless, visionless and vindictive regime of President Mills. These are days of confused thinking and irrational policy implementation. The almost sixteen months of the NDC administration has been characterized by broken promises, seizure of legitimately acquired personal property of hardworking Ghanaians, sales of strategic national assets like the NIB Training School to party cronies at ridiculously low prices, reckless utterances by top government functionaries, vicious victimization of political opponents, fanning the embers of ethnicity, reckless dissipation of public funds, contract killings, lack of security for life and property, unrealistic increases in the prices of utilities, epileptic power and water supply and state sponsored terrorism.

Victimization of Political Opponents: Mills promised to be a father for all including those who did not vote for him. But his actions and utterances including top members of the NDC do not portray him as someone capable of fostering unity among the various components of the Ghanaian nation. His directive to political appointees to give preference to NDC members obviously does not make him a father for all. He has also stated publicly that those who do not share in his political ideology will have no place in his government. Added to this is the Regional Minister of Ashanti Region charge to party faithful not to hesitate to give dirty slaps to any NPP member who challenges them.

There have been retrenchments and dismissal of perceived NPP members from government employment. The Military and the Police service are the hardest hit in this regard. NPP members employed in programmes initiated during the Kufuor’s administration like the School Feeding Programme, the NYEP and the NHIS are being hounded out of their jobs almost on daily basis.

About three NPP sympathizers were slaughtered just a stone throw from the Police Station at Agblgbloshie market more than a year ago, but the Police, especially the Greater Accra Police Commander has refused to bring perpetrators of such heinous crime to justice.

Mismanagement and Maladministration: No sane Ghanaian will give this government even 20% for good governance. If the President is not aware of our problems, let him take a popularity walk through the streets and paths of our towns and villages and he will be shocked at what Ghanaians are saying about his government. The fact of the matter is that Ghanaians are dying slowly as a result of the “slow poison” they have inhaled from the Mills administration. No Ghanaian can survive under such harsh conditions. In fact, some Ghanaians have compared the conditions Nelson Mandela went through during his incarceration at Robben Island with conditions in Mills Ghana and have come up with the verdict that indeed Mills Ghana is hell while Mandela’s imprisonment at the so-called notorious island was paradise.

The Culture of Impunity: The culture of impunity which resurfaced when the NDC found itself in power the second time will be the bane of the party. Anyone who dines with the tiger will eventually end up in the stomach of the tiger. This is similar to the situation in Animal Farm whereby Boxer and Snowball used their physical strength and intelligence to help stabilize the revolution on the farm but ended up being consumed by the revolution. One should nor forget the struggle for political power and control of Russia establishment between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky which eventually consumed the latter. NDC youth and activists were called out to the office of the Electoral Commission and the streets of Accra. Now it is these same party activists who are now taking over state institutions. Since Government could not restrain them at the beginning, they have been emboldened in such acts. They have now turned their attention to their own party members go and dishing out to them a dose of what those activists have earlier given to their political opponents. The other day it was one top member of the party. Today, it is one MCE from Tamale who has been declared persona-non grata. Tomorrow it will be the turn of one Minister. Is it then that Government is going to act to restrain them or not? A bigger problem looms ahead if Government does not act with the quickest alacrity.

The kidnapping of Tuobodomhene: The Tuobodomhene who was on trial based on allegations that he had a hand in the attempt to assassinate the Takyimanhene was kidnapped on broad daylight at the court premises in Wenchi by about Eight macho men and sent to the Palace of the Takyimanhene where he was subjected to a horrendous ordeal on the instructions of the latter. The Chief alleges that he was stripped naked and tortured by the cruel and sadistic apparatchiks of this supposedly “imperial overlord of the Takyiman “Kingdom”. Two weeks after the violation of the Tuobodomhene human rights and the introduction of this terrorist activity reminiscent of both Kwame Abe, the legendary highway robber of Asante and Al-Capone, the never-to-be forgotten terrorist, gangster and cheat of the United States, the State had not deemed it fit to act, even though this vagrant abuse was given wider publicity in both the electronic and print media.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu 11 Spoke: Yes, he had to flex his muscles a bit. It was the catalyst that woke up the Government from its deep slumber. But the statement by the National Security Adviser is something I find extremely difficult to understand. That he did not hear of the incident until the Otumfuo spoke! Why? A whole national security outfit did not hear of an incident which had a very serious security implication fro the whole of the country! Ei, Asem beba dabi! So, if some foreigners have come to cause confusion in some parts of the country, they could have done so without detection! Is this what the National Security Advisor is telling Ghanaians? What is the nature of his job and that of the National Security Co-coordinator, for which they are paid with the taxpayer’s money? He is telling Ghanaians that if there had been some very serious security breaches, the whole security network would have been caught unawares! And they want me to believe that!

Takyimanhene’s denial and Matters Arising: The Chief later comes out to say he did not order the kidnapping of the Tuobodomhene. He blames everything on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu 11, Nana Obiri Boahene, and the Chief of Tuobodomhene. Haba! How could a chief of his caliber be afraid to face the consequences of his own action? Is he afraid of the repercussions of his unholy and act? If it had been in the olden days, his people would have forced him to resign. That he is afraid to look at mere mortals like “the rest of us” and state the true facts of the case as he sees it?
Does he realize that by his action of stripping a fellow Chief naked, he has desecrated the chieftaincy institution in the country? Who handed over the Tuobodomhene to the Police at Takyimanhene? Why was the Tuobodomhene not taken to any other Palace but that of the Takyimanhene’s?

Takyimanhene should be arrested!: Yes, if Government wants to restore confidence in his administration, it should do the proper thing by ordering the arrest and prosecution of the Takyimanhene immediately for kidnapping. Failure to do that, the New Patriotic Party should make it a campaign issue to investigate the role of the NDC Government and the security services played in the kidnapping and torture of the Tuobodomhene should it come to power in 2012. The arrest of the Chief will send strong signals to all and sundry that a Government which will not countenance any insubordination from anybody is in place and that things ought to be done with decorum.

Arrest Kwesi Pratt and Alhaji Bature: I am calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of these two gentlemen for being accessory to a crime of arson. When Nana Ohene Ntow , then NPP General Secretary gave a press conference during which he indicted the police for not arresting those who were alleged to have murdered some NPP sympathizers at Agbogbloshie market, the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Rose, Bio Atenga, ordered his “arrest”.
Kwesi Pratt and Alhaji Bature had heaped some vituperative comments on ex-President Rawlings. Alhaji Bature was even alleged to have gone to the extent of stating that the wrath of God would be visited on ex-President Rawlings. The next day his residence catches fire and the entire edifice is razed down. And the police have not deemed it fit to arrest these two gentlemen or even invite them for questioning! What kind of police Service do we have in the country? Are the two not suspects? They are and must be interrogated. The Police have used this law to detain many innocent Ghanaians on very flimsy issues. They must be arrested to restore confidence in the police service!

Reckless utterance by Government appointees and NDC sympathizers: The Takyimanhene is alleged to have said that he could do anything and get away with it because his Government is now in power. Later on he denies having made such a statement. Don’t we have his statement on tape to be replayed for everybody to know who is telling the truth and who is not? Earlier on, Togbe Afede had made a statement to the effect that under the NPP Government, the people in the Volta Region had felt like strangers on their own land, forgetting the fact that under Kufuor, he was made a Board member of the Bank of Ghana and the same President had been instrumental in making his pet electricity project see the light of the day.

The President himself has said that he regards the Volta Region as his second home. He has also stated that he cannot work with any person who does not share in his political ideology, thus making mockery of hiss inaugural statement that he would be a father of all whether they voted for him or not. The Ashanti Regional Minister has also issued a fatwa on any NPP member who opens his mouth too wide. “Bo nason na biribiara rennsi” (slap the person and nothing will happen to you)
Lies, Deceit and Propaganda at its best: At the arrowhead of this team with the sole responsibility of fabricating lies to deceive gullible Ghanaians is the Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. All he does on daily basis is to look for ways of making Ghanaians believe against their better judgement that what never took place actually did take place and the guy is good at it. You can give him credit for that. Recently, he came with another of such Ananse stories that the NDC Government has created 1,6000,000 (One Million, Six Hundred Jobs) within a fifteen month period. What does he take Ghanaians for? Mummified dummies?
If a Government of the NDC which is noted for its vindictiveness has created such jobs, who would be the primary beneficiaries of such a windfall? NDC foot soldiers, of course! But hear Issaka Amoani, spokesperson for the NDC Observers Pressure Grassroots whose action of barricading the NDC headquarters led to the sacking of the Medusa, Carl Wilson as Head of the
“We are foot soldiers of the party. We have been neglected. No jobs and no future for the youth”
What does Okudzeto Ablakwa have to say to that? If jobs have been created how is Government going to pay the newly-recruited workers? Are their remunerations captured in the budget? As if that is not enough, the NDC youth at Yendi smashed the windscreen of the Constituency Chairman’s car. Now, the Municipal Chief Executive has been declared persona-non grata in the metropolis. Almost on daily basis, one hears of one NDC Youth movement or organization venting their anger and frustrations on party officials or Government appointees for non-fulfillment of promises made to them.
Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, a Deputy Minister for Local Government says ‘Even in developed countries like the U.S. there is still unemployment, a problem which will not take any government one year, three months to solve”. Juxtapose this with Okudzeto assertion that the Mills administration has created one million, six hundred jobs and you will realize who is telling the truth.
One Mohammed Aboagye, an NDC youth leader in Tamale finds it nauseating that some government officials would award contracts worth several Thousand Ghana Cedis to themselves, and rather provide fertilizers for the NDC youth to go into farming.
The problem with this country is that we do not seem to learn from our past mistakes. After NDC lost power, the NPP carried out certain acts which did not augur well for the unity of this country. I would like to refer readers to my write-ups titled, Mr. President, I beg to differ” and “Please, Remember that Twenty Good Years at Nsawam Prison is no negotiable which were given wider publicity in most newspapers and websites. In the said articles, I appealed to patriotic members of the NPP to join their NDC members of Parliament not to approve further funds for the construction of the Presidential Palace until both Kwadwo Mpiani and Wireko Brobbey had rendered accounts of the Ghana @ 50th to Parliament. Readers should also read my write up on the Anlo crisis titled, “The man died” in which I took a strong stand against the attitude of the then Volta Regional Police Commander, ACP Bernard Guyiri Derry. In addition, there were many queries I raised about the handling of certain issues by the NPP government.
But can we say the same thing about NDC operatives and columnists? Who has come out to condemn the Regional Police Commander for her utterances and looking the other way when “crime” is being perpetrated against NPP members? What is bad is bad and will forever remain so.
Fanning the embers of ethnicity: Do we have to play the ostrich when infringements on the constitution are being played in broad daylight? You may condemn me for drawing attention to the ethnic canker that is being orchestrated with impunity against Akans in this country. People claim discussion on ethnicity is a “no-go area” and that anyone who initiates a discussion on such a sensitive topic is a saboteur. And that was the myopic motive why Kwesi Pratt and other panelist on a Peacefm programme being hosted by Kwame Sefa -Kayi descended heavily on me for bringing up such a topic. But were we all not in this country when some NDC newspapers published a list of appointees the papers alleged were Kufuor’s relatives and for that mater Ashantis? At that time, those panelist led by Kwesi Pratt did not see the need to condemn those papers for bringing up the ethnic dimension. If indeed Kufuor appointed many members of his family and for that matter, Ashantis into his cabinet, it was bad. But should the same mistake be repeated by Mills Government which has sworn to be father to all Ghanaians, irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic background?
Is it true that Akans are being removed from their jobs in the Civil and the Security Services? At the moment some Regions, notably, the Eastern and the Western do not have representations in the Mills cabinet while others have more than one and in some cases even two. Is this fair?
I have stated it before and I will do it again. The fact on the ground reveals a subtle attempt by the Mills administration to elevate the Ewes above all other tribes in the country. I have stated it before and I will do it again, giving the opportunity. I do not hate any particular person or group of persons for we are all creatures one Universal and Omnipotent God. But the fact remains that that Ewes have been given more appointments that any other tribe in the country and this is not good for the country..
Connivance of State Institutions in the escape of an alleged murderer: The NDC had made the arrest and prosecution of the alleged killers of Issah Mobillah a campaign issue. The outgoing NPP administration duly handed over the three suspects to the incoming NDC Government. But in less than two months after taken custody of the suspects, one of them “escaped” from lawful custody and the NDC Government did not deem it proper to inform the public about the “escape” . It was nearly eight months after that we were told. That was sufficient enough time to enable the “escaped” suspect to cover his “tracks”. And the “escaped” suspect happens to be an Ewe! What does the Mills administration take the rest of us for?
Does the Mills administration want to make the Ewes primus inter pares in the country? I am appealing to my Ewe brethren to draw attention to this seemingly innocuous but dangerous and unconstitutional practice of Government attempts to set up the Ewes against the rest of the country. Ex-President Rawlings saw the danger in that canker when he cautioned the NDC against electing mostly Ewes into their National Executives.
We are not “mumus” and cannot pretend not to notice what is going on around us. Neither are we going to adopt the “siddon look” posture as propounded by the Cicero of Esa Eko, the late Chief Bola Ige. As I have stated, everywhere I go during my journey to various parts of the country, what was predominant in discussions apart from the “Ennko yiye” chorus was the predominance of Ewes in all aspects of our national life to the detriment of other tribes in the country.
An Open Challenge: If the Government claims to be a listening one, it should accept this challenge in good faith and publish a list of all political appointees in the Civil Service including the various Boards and their Chairmen, the Security Services, Public Boards and Corporations, the Foreign Service including Ambassadorial and Ministerial positions. The list should indicate both the ethnic and regional origins of such appointees. It is only when this is done that Ghanaians will know whether the Mills administration is indeed for all Ghanaians;
Back to the State of Nature: Ghanaians are indeed back to the State of Nature where life indeed was very short, brutish and nasty. The Youth wings of the party in power under various names have virtually taken over the governance of some state institutions without let or hindrance. The MCE of Yendi has been declared persona-non grata in the metropolis and is hiding somewhere in Tamale. A fatwa has been issued against him. The MCE of Tamale was kidnapped and only the timely intervention of the Police saved him. Alhaji Bature, an NDC activist had called on the Deputy Chief of Staff, Alex Segbefia to resign over certain acts of impropriety concerning seized vehicles. The next day, an NDC Youth group by name ICT issued a statement calling on Alhaji Bature to apologize to the Deputy Chief of Staff or face its wrath. At Bolgatanga, two rival groups of NDC Youth have clashed over the Regional Minister, Mr Woyongo over claims that he had awarded a juicy contract to his nephew without due process. Earlier on, they had put the National Headquarters of the party under lock and key. Just this morning, we learn that the youth have taken over the tool booth at a place called Aboasi in Ashanti Region. At the rate which they are going about their “seizures” they appear unstoppable. Who will be the next victim?
Nkrumah’s exposition: What is happening today is a direct repercussion of what our First President said some years ago. “If a change is too long delayed, violence erupts here and thereafter. Not that man wills it but the past accumulated grievances erupt with a volcanic fury”.
Things Fall Apart: “Turning and turning in the wildening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer. Things fall apart: the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”. In actual sense, the Mills administration has used a knife to cut the cord that binds Ghanaians together as one people with One Great Destiny.
Use of Instruments of Co-ercion: The Mils administration believes it can coerce Ghanaians into a position of servitude through intimidation, and the gun. But one thing it forgets is that it cannot kill the spirits of a group of determined people. Despite the fact that the Americans, the British and the French possessed the most sophisticated weapons ever to be developed in the history of mankind, they could not go through the Ho Chin Minnh Trail. They were defeated by the Viet Congs.
Judgement has fled to brutish beasts and men have lost their reasoning: For the first time in the history of this country, an alleged murderer is pulled from the bed of a Deputy Regional Minister and till date the appointee is still at post. During the Akwatia Re-run Election, a man was seen firing two pistols into the sky in broad daylight to intimidate his political opponents. Till today, the man has not even been invited for questioning, not to talk of arrest. He is walking the streets of Akwatia – a free man. The NDC is reaping what it has sown. There can be no peace without Justice!
Conclusion: Mills is treading the same path Rohobeam did many years ago. When Solomon died, the Israelites, led by Jeroboam made an entreaty before the new King. Their supplication was simple: Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore, make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us lighter and we will serve thee.”
What was the response? He set aside the advice of the elderly and accepted those of the younger ones. He told the people: “My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lay you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips but I will chastise you with scorpions”.
This is exactly what Mills appears to be telling Ghanaians. In spite of our protestations that the burden being imposed on us is beyond our endurance, President and his Advisers seem to be oblivious of our sufferings. He has been imposing taxes on anything that has a name in the country on the already impoverished and malnourished Ghanaians. There appears to be no end to sufferings this clueless government wants to put us through.

What the Jews went through in the land of Egypt does not come anywhere near the turbulent pills the NDC Government is forcing us to swallow. The plagues that befell Pharaoh and the Egyptians pale to insignificance when compared with the living hell Ghanaians are being made to go through under this visionless and clueless regime which believes that force, threats, intimidations, “akakabensem” “atutrusem” and “patapaasem” are the instruments which will help perpetrate itself in power.

Will this be the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning of the contraption called The National Democratic Congress? Well, your guess is as good as mine.

Daniel Danquah Damptey ([email protected])