Opinions of Monday, 9 September 2013
Columnist: Allotey, Henry Kpakpo
When the Supreme Court verdict on the election petition was released, news went virile that the N.P.P had composed a victory song and intended to celebrate with it had the verdict gone in their favour. Some of us thought this was one of the usual things that go round with the intention to ridicule Nana Addo.
Imagine my shock and amusement when I actually received a copy of this victory song and realized it was indeed true. The whole of that Thursday I had to play it over and over again to actually convince myself this song was really recorded for the N.P.P and Akuffo Addo in particular. A victory song before a Supreme Court verdict? The composition of this victory song raises a lot of fundamental issues which we have to examine but first, let us look at the content of this victory song.
The song, which is actually a remix of one of Ghana’s finest musician Kwabena Kwabena featuring Samini starts with a message message to Nana Addo, welcoming him to the presidency of Ghana. It then goes ahead to taunt Tsatsu Tsikata, the council for the Third Respondents inviting him to meet Phillip Addison, the lead council for the petitioners for a game in the Supreme court. The song goes ahead to caution the presiding judge of the Supreme Court panel Justice William Atuguba to uphold the truth if he doesn’t want any problem.
The song then goes ahead to encourage Nana Addo to implement his discredited free SHS policy and touted his credentials as the best man for Ghana. The song then veered off into insults by lumping Justice Atuguba with the entire council for the respondents and ridiculed them as no match for Phillip Addison. It then ridiculed Asiedu Nketiah and Dr. Afari Gyan for getting drunk with whisky and making a mess of themselves when they mounted the witness box. It ended with profuse praises for Nana Addo and prophesied of Ghana being sweet like the sugar because of Nana Addo’s presidency.
Normally, such a song must be seen with the humor in it. This is the reason why it has not been discussed so much because it is being seen as irrelevant. But a closer look at the lyrics and contents shows it could have led to unimaginable violence if the petitioners had won the case and this song had been used as a victory celebratory song. Let us look at the content.
First, this song is in clear contempt of court when it lumped the presiding judge Justice William Atuguba with the councils for the Respondents. This feeds into the perception of the petitioners that Justice Atuguba was bias towards them and furthered the cause of the N.D.C. This song would have increased hatred for Justice Atuguba and encouraged extreme elements in the N.P.P to target him for ridicule and attack.
Second, the song, bordering on extreme ridicule for the General Secretary of the N.D.C and the Chairman of the Electoral commission would have given rise to anger in the vanquished N.D.C and lead to violence from extreme elements in the N.D.C.
Third, the song would also give questions as to how the N.P.P managed to compose the song in such a short time. Questions will arise as to whether the N.P.P already knew the verdict and how impartial the Supreme Court judges were. With the release of the Sammy Awuku tape, you can imagine the reaction of dissatisfied Ghanaians if the partiality of the judges had been suspected.
This song also raises fundamental questions that we need to ask:
First, was this song composed because the N.P.P was so sure of victory? If so, why? Why did they think the Supreme Court will definitely rule in their favor? Did they know something we didn’t know?
Sammy Awuku, a communications director of the N.P.P was captured on tape boasting that majority of the Supreme Court judges were on their side and they will rule in their favor. Sammy Awuku later came out to deny his own voice but doesn’t this song vindicate the position of Sammy Awuku that the judges will rule in their favor?
The attack on the judges by the N.P.P especially on perceived N.P.P friendly judges like Justice Baffoe Bonnie and Jones Dotse shows the N.P.P knew something before the verdict. To the extent of calling Justice Baffoe Bonnie a traitor shows the N.P.P may have compromised some of the judges who they were so sure of ruling in their favor they went ahead to compose a victory song1
So I ask: Was the composition of the N.P.P victory song rash or proactive? From the weight of my argument, I think it was proactive. The N.P.P knew they had already won the case because of pledges from some of the judges. They knew Justice Anim Yeboah, Rose Owusu, Julius Ansah, Baffoe Bonnie, Akoto Banfo and Jones Dotse were already on their side so became proactive by composing the song to celebrate their victory. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the saving hand of Jehovah God who dribbled them and secured the true verdict for Ghanaians. That is what you get when you play with the omnipotent Yawheh!
Anybody who wants a copy of this song should send me a whatsapp message.
Henry Kpakpo Allotey
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0243370764