German Parliament - The Bundestag

Twenty years ago, on 3 October 1990, the streets of Berlin were agog with people streaming into the city from all over the country and also beyond the borders of Germany. The Unter den Linden, one of Berlin’s most illustrious streets was packed with millions of people marching to and from the famous/notorious Brandenburg Gates (1).

The atmosphere was euphoric with lots of fun and frolic in the air. It was a real mela (feast). “Wir sind ein Volk” (we are one people) was a slogan that roared through thousands of throats throughout the day and continued late into the night. Beer and other potent fluids were gulped by the gallons. Many cows, pigs and chicken had to sacrifice their lives to fill the bellies of the hungry throngs that gathered in the city to celebrate the Deutsche Einheit (Reunification of Germany) (2).

That was 20 years ago. What is the situation today? German unity is a myth. Why?

Let me quote a former East German dissident whom I interviewed on the occasion of the 10^th anniversary in Berlin in September 2000.

Rev Friedrich Schorlemmer, from the Evangelican Academy in Wittenberg (the town where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses in 1517) explained: “Legally and politically Germany is a united country, but not in fact. The East Germans have always looked forward to unification but the majority of West Germans on the other hand are not interested anymore. The West Germans followed a very successful path and the people there were satisfied with what they achieved. The GDR (German Democratic Republic) collapsed politically and economically. One might say a dominance of interpretation, and economic power.

“This in turn is interpreted by West Germans as their victory in all aspects which has given the East Germans the impression that the country is dominated by the westerners. On the other hand, much has been done in reconstruction of run-down towns, roads and other social infrastructure. It is really great. But, that what is the centre of East German life – full participation in social life, has been shattered. Almost one in four adult of working age is unemployed and this is a very heavy burden”.

That situation referred to by the man in cloth ten years, has not changed. On the contrary, it has worsened and can safely be said that a large section of the population in the East are living below the breadline. Even those working have to be subsidised by the state in order to make ends meet. In the recent past, they have been joined by many areas in the West who have been hit by the global crisis.

One of the most galling problems with which the people in the East are confronted is the arrogance that blows over from the West. The Easterners are dubbed lazy, incompetent, and these insults go the whole hog. They are looked upon as poor second cousins. To be kept at arms length. The GDR was an “undemocratic, underdeveloped, dictatorial police state”. This picture is enhanced by Authoress Monika Maron in her book “Zwei Brüder” (Two Brothers), a collection of essays and speeches of the past 20 years. The language is bitter, full of hatred and very one-sided.

The fact is that Frau Maron was born in East Berlin in 1941 and had the opportunity of seeing things for herself before she skipped over to West Berlin in 1988, whilst many on the other side of the border are “guided” by people like Ms Maron and a very hostile press. Herr Klaus Wowereit, (Lord) Mayor of Berlin, has recognized this problem and made the following statement to a Berlin daily newspaper last week.

“In the West they refuse to accept any concept, other than their own, in regards to the East. The same applies to West Berlin, a city where people have the greatest opportunity of social intercourse. There are people in West Berlin, who even after 20 years (after the fall of the wall) have refused to set foot in the East”. Just a stone throw away from many areas of West Berlin.

For their one-sidedness, people like Ms Maron are feted and recipients of all sorts of awards and decorations in western society. But the outpourings of this lady has not gone unchallenged by people in the eastern sector and here are a few examples from reader’s letters to the press.

One reader asks: “Who gives Frau Maron the temerity for her contempt for the majority of the people in the East? Many like me, still see that there were lots of positive things in the land that has now disappeared – honest work, study facilities and achieving something in life. Frau Maron is possessed by hate. Hate can make you sick. It can grow like a cancer and eat you from within. Instead of dwelling so much on the past, the lady should direct her energies to the disastrous economic situation that is facing millions of people today”. Both East and West.

This sentiment is enhanced by none other than Matthias Platzeck, Premier of the State of Brandenburg and one of the founders of the East German dissident group Neues Forum (NF). He told the West German Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that in Brandenburg streets and suburbs have been spruced up, which the naked eye cannot fail to see. But what the people do not see is the destruction of industries, lack of industrial potential or research thereby resulting in high unemployment rates in the eastern sector in comparison to the west.

Herr Platzeck has risen very high in the political hierarchy of Germany. He was even elected national chairperson of the SPD (Social Democratic Party) which he joined in the early 1990s after refusing to join the merger of NF with the Greens of the West to form the Bündnis90/Grüne. Last week he let the cat among the pigeons when he declared that he was not in favour of unification. He wanted a better and democratic GDR. Due to their inexperience and naivety, they allowed Helmut Kohl to actually filch the revolution from them and set himself up as the Hero of the Deutsche Einheit.

The problem of the East German dissidents was that they knew what they were against, but did not know how to go about getting what they wanted. That made very easy

picking for the heavy guys from the West. Kohl, whose political obituary was about to be written after the disastrous results suffered by his CDU in the June 1989 elections to the

European Parliament, saw the opportunity and grabbed it both hands. He made wild promises

to all and sundry. It included a blossoming landscape in East Germany. The sad part of the whole thing is the people in the GDR and Eastern Europe believed him. It is also rumoured that huge sums of cash were in play. Maybe some day details of this aspect will be made public.

This is a repetition of precisely what Rev Schorlemmer said 10 years ago. “The social inequality in the GDR was not so pronounced as it is now. Today, the cleft between the haves and have-nots is growing immensely. We from the opposition did not want such a situation. What is interesting is that all opposition groups in autumn 1989 did not think about unity, rather on the transfer of Gorbaschov’s ideas into the GDR. We believed in Glasnost, Perestroika, in open information, but for the misuse of freedom for purely business reasons”.

The deliberate destruction of the industrial power in the East is, as many East Germans will tell you, lies at the feet of the Treuhand, a trusteeship set up to monitor and administer the economy that existed in the GDR. Rev Schorlemmer mentioned the collapse of the economy. But the question must be asked – did it collapse or was it collapsed?

These industries were a challenge to those existing in the West. The demise of the industrial base meant that jobs were rare and the only alternative was to move West in search of work. To the young people that was not a problem. Not so easy for the older ones. That is why many areas in East Germany are like the ghost towns one sees in Americans cowboy films. Those from the younger generation who were unable to make the journey are at a loose end and have become prey to the fascist/nazi recruiters who are very active under such circumstances.

Frau Waltraud Neuner from East Berlin, penned the following statement: “After the war ended in May 1945, I, and many thousands like me, hungered, worked, removed the rubble that covered the city, and watched the steady progress being made from day to day. There was the establishment of children’s crèches; kindergartens; shelter in the afternoon for school beginners under supervision until collected by their working parents; school-feeding; poly-technical training; vocational training combined with examinations for entry to institutions of higher learning; medical centres; hospitals; affordable rents and visits to cultural facilities. Then there was that fantastic tenant community where mutual assistance were taken for granted. And many such things. Where are they today? Now, we have the elbow society. Each one for him/herself”. Fantastic achievements by “lazy” people.

The Premier of the State of Mecklenberg-Vorpommern also reminded the world of the economic situation that exists in the East 20 years after unification. Erwin Sellering said:

“It is shameful that there is such a difference in wages for the same vocation (generally workers from the East receive about 60-70% of the wages that those from the West take home. More often than not in the same factory –ES). It is unbelievable that after 20 years

of unification we still have a Pension East and a Pension West”.

There is a tendency to compare German Unity with the demise of Apartheid in South Africa.

This comparison is absolutely false. South Africa has a whole of different ethnic groups, cultural differences, languages etc. The people were divided rigidly on ethnic grounds for centuries, so that there was very little ground for social mixing. Even the places of worship were segregated. Under these circumstances it is nonsense to frequently pose the question as to the progress of unity in South Africa. This will take time. It is an evolutionary process.

That is not so in Germany. They are one people with the same language (albeit different dialects), colour and culture. Yet Germany is making such heavy weather of this process.

I dare to say that it will take another four to five generations before this can be achieved to some extent. Hopefully.

Footnotes:

1)      It is from the Brandenburg Gates that the German armies marched into World Wars I & II that caused so much havoc and misery to millions of people the world over

2)      Now the slogan is “Wir waren ein Volk” (we were one people)

The editor-publisher of the so-called Insight newspaper also alleges that Mr. Rawlings had urged other top-dogs of the NDC, including Mr. Ato Ahwoi, to publicly challenge the three-time presidential candidate of the party.

First of all, the fact that such serious allegation – most of the Ghanaian media actually dubbed it “a revelation” – is coming at least two years later and then just on the heels of Mr. Pratt’s having been dispatched by the Mills government to head a delegation to the World Cup drawing in South Africa, should cause a lot of readers to sit up and ponder. But even more strikingly, what needs to be asked regards precisely why the NDC patriarch would decide to first text-message an executive member of the CPP to assist in resolving an internal problem of a party against which the latter was engaged in a fierce, albeit absolutely futile, contest for power.

For instance, was it simply because the text-messager/sender, who was, by the way, adamantly pushing forth the candidacy of then-former Vice-President Mills for the third consecutive time ( a la the so-called Swedru Declaration), was now, somehow, fully convinced that the CPP had a more winsome candidate than the NDC? Or just that what Mr. Pratt, by his latest allegation, is telling his audience is the fact that he had all the while been camouflaging as a bona fide CPP hack when in reality he belonged, heart and soul, to the NDC?

Interestingly, the squealer claims to be still in possession of Mr. Rawlings’ text-message, although he has yet to publish it. And on the latter score, the obviously logical question to pose is the following: Precisely why did Mr. Pratt choose to make his allegation on a radio program, rather than either “simulcasting” the same, or even first publishing the alleged text-message in his own Insight newspaper and then following it up with a live radio discussion?

The obverse side of the equation, as it were, regards the fact that Mr. Pratt does not tell his audience what his response to Chairman Rawlings’ text-message was; and even more intriguingly, what Messrs. Rawlings and Pratt have said and/or written to each other in the wake of Dr. Mills’ clinching of the presidency?

We must also highlight the fact that Mr. Pratt has always been widely suspected to be a mole/snitch in the pay of the Butcher-of-Dzelukope, ever since the latter launched his so-called revolutionary housecleaning exercise in 1979 and was, in fact, widely alleged to have acted as a decoy and caused the Pinochet-style execution and disappearance of tens of law-abiding Ghanaian citizens who may not even have known or been aware of Mr. Pratt’s bloody role in the Rawlings revolution.

Interestingly enough, while writing the preceding, the so-called Atta Story, reportedly told by Mr. Rawlings to the most recent NDC delegates’ congress in Tamale, flashed through my mind, being that I am also quite familiar with the old mortuary attendant who took courteous care of the mortal remains of my late mother at the 37 Military Hospital some twelve years ago, while the family made funeral and burial arrangements for the old lady.

Anyway, in the Rawlings version, the former premier is supposedly counseled by the now-80-year-old “Krachi”-Atta to give up his chain-smoking of only his wife and close associates know what. Atta is also supposedly helped, in turn, to quit his heavy drinking by the Butcher-of-Dzelukope, who heartily claims to have been good friends with Atta for quite a great while.

Unfortunately, in retailing the foregoing “Parable of Crap-Talk” to their target audiences, almost every one of the Ghanaian media organizations missed the entire point/punch of the story. Most of the reporters and correspondents of these media establishments simply thought that the former Ghanaian strongman was alluding to his much-maligned seemingly incessant heckling relationship with President Mills. But, in fact, what the smoke-tanked Mr. Rawlings simply meant was that like all human endeavors, Ghanaian politics is all about give-and-take, with Chairman Agbotui, of course, doing most of the giving. For, believe it or not, dear reader: Every butcher requires the devoted services of an undertaker, a mortuary man; which is precisely what the role has been for President Mills all these years that he has been trucking “shit-bombs” with Jack Jato Dzelukope and rapturously apologizing for the latter’s untold atrocities.

Anyway, about the only obvious thread linking Mr. Pratt, the shameless mole, to his perennial paymasters, of course, are their Afropean names.

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is a Governing Board Member of the Accra-based Danquah Institute (DI), the pro-democracy think tank, and author of 21 books, including “Ghanaian Politics Today” (Atumpan Publications/Lulu.com, 2008).

E-mail: okoampaahoofe@aol.com

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of the Editorial Board of AfricaNewsAnalysis.

Posted:February, 2010

Anyway, even as other scholars and historians, including this writer, have more than amply and creditably indicated, Ghana’s “Journey to Independence,” as Dr. J. B. Danquah felicitously cast it, was the symphonic handiwork of generations of Ghanaian leaders and the people at large. In brief, it is precisely this self-centered and cultish cannibalization of our collective genius and glorious achievements to which bona fide Ghanaian citizens like me have set themselves up to rectify and render inclusive. For, there is no meaningful knowledge and/or pleasure to be gained by deliberately falsifying the history of our beloved country, as the diehard Nkrumacrats appear to be hell-bent on doing.

And to be certain, until very recently, for example, not many Ghanaians were aware of the signal fact that it was Dr. Danquah whose meticulous research led to Ghana’s name change from the Gold Coast on the eve of our attainment of sovereignty. Likewise, many Ghanaians were not aware of the fact that it was Danquah who singularly spearheaded the struggle that led to the establishment of our nation’s flagship academy, the University of Ghana, including hundreds of thousands of Nkrumah-leaning graduates of Legon, and other allied institutions, who either failed to read the introductory pages to the University of Ghana Bulletin/Catalog or simply couldn’t care less about who the de facto Ghanaian founder(s) of Legon was/were. Equally overlooked by many Ghanaians is also the fact that both the universities of Cape Coast and Science and Technology were veritably created out of Legon’s Department of Education and that of Science and Technology, respectively.

And so for Mr. Mahama, whose father served as a regional minister under Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party (CPP) government, to call on Ghanaians to pretend as if March 6 is all about Mr. Kwame Nkrumah amounts to nothing short of a flagrant breach of scholastic integrity and the truth of history.

Indeed, no well-meaning Ghanaian can controvert or dispute the greatness and/or patriotism of Mr. Nkrumah, both on our national political landscape as well as that of the African continent in general; nonetheless, it is also worth observing that Nkrumah was neither a pioneer nor a one-man protagonist on both the Ghanaian political stage and the continental African political theater. Needless to say, the history of the Grant- and Danquah-led United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the seminal modern Ghanaian institutional matrix that baptized and inducted Mr. Kwame Nkrumah into the mainstream of Ghanaian politics is all too familiar to be regurgitated here, except, of course, to highlight the fact that viciously orchestrated propaganda by fanatical Nkrumaists and Nkrumacrats has precipitated an unpardonably bizarre situation whereby the rest of the legendary BIG SIX have come to be inexorably and consistently maligned as “Enemies of the State,” in the immortalized words of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).

In the aforesaid narrative, Nkrumah, the veritable protégé of the putative Doyen of Gold Coast and Ghanaian politics, becomes both the figurative personification of Ghana, an inviolable paragon, or benchmark, of sorts, while those who actually worked around the proverbial clock in the legal and constitutional realm to ensure that independence was achieved in our lifetime were conveniently, if also deviously, proscribed. Needless to say, it has been in blind and pathological pursuit of such patently false narration of the Ghanaian independence struggle that has ensured that March 6 would be made synonymous with the centenary celebration of Mr. Nkrumah’s birth.

The foregoing development is, of course, quite intriguing, notwithstanding the fact that such declaration has long been anticipated by this author. In fact, it was barely a year, or so, ago that I pointed out to the Atta-Mills government that March 6 effectively rendered any attempt to institutionalize an Nkrumah birthday as a national holiday decidedly superfluous. And so for Mr. Mahama to unctuously pretend that commemorating Nkrumah’s centenary birthday on the same day as Ghana’s independence is something new and refreshing, simply amounts to nothing short of the outright jaded.

Still, whether Nkrumah’s centenary birthday anniversary ought to be blindly celebrated as a momentous event that marks the effective decolonization of Ghana – knowing fully well that the deposed Ghanaian premier secretly and massively traded with Apartheid South Africa, even while also viciously accusing Nelson Mandela of being in cahoots with the Afrikaner regime – is one that I, personally, cannot abide. Likewise, I cannot abide the deliberate attempt by the Mills-Mahama Corporation (MMC) to rather unconscionably sell the myth of Nkrumaism to Ghanaian pupils and youths, in general, as the gospel truth.

Indeed, as I vividly recall from one of the simplified editions of the Nkrumah readers widely circulated in our elementary schools during the 1960s, the Show Boy appears to have brazenly envisaged himself as a rascally chap who once instigated every one of his schoolmates to stay away from school on the very day that the government supervisor of schools – or Education Officer – was scheduled for a tour-of-inspection of the Nkroful Roman Catholic Primary School. Such mischief, we were told by the self-styled villainous protagonist, was a payback to one of his teachers who had disciplined the young Kofi Nwia for being late to school.

Back then, even as now, I didn’t quite know exactly what to make of such patently reprehensible stories, particularly vis-à-vis what moral lessons the Show Boy, via his publishers, of course, sought to impart to us, the younger generation of his so-called New Africa.

Anyway, as Americans are wont to say, a pig decked with a lipstick is still a veritable denizen of the porcine race and species. In sum, for the sake of my immutable reverence for the truth of Ghana’s post-independence narrative, I will be staying as far away from any social activities organized by New York City’s Ghanaian community as possible. All the same, Happy 53rd to the nation that Dr. Danquah designed and Christened. Long live a refined and purified Ghanaian democracy. God Bless Our Homeland!

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is a Governing Board Member of the Accra-based Danquah Institute (DI), the pro-democracy think tank, and author of 21 books, including “Ghanaian Politics Today” (Atumpan Publications/Lulu.com, 2008).

E-mail: okoampaahoofe@aol.com

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of the Editorial Board of AfricaNewsAnalysis.

Posted: February, 2010

Ghana is located well clear of the major earthquake zones of the earth but nonetheless earthquakes have been known to occur in the vicinity of Accra which has experienced major shocks in 1862, 1906 and 1939 (magnitude 6.4) and numerous smaller ones, the most recent in 1997, 2003 and 2006. Thus there is good evidence of current tectonic activity associated with the Akwapim fault zone and, to a lesser extent, with the great boundary fault. It is not surprising, therefore, that as this region is under stress then earthquake activity is concentrated around Accra where the two fault systems intersect and where within the acute angle between them are numerous subsidiary faults; for it is here that the fracture strength of the ground must be weakest. Source: Mining Portal of Ghana.
Haiti’s experience should therefore serve as a wake up call to put our house in order. The Washington Times in an editorial queried why despite Haiti’s geological and geographical disadvantage it has neither a strict building code nor strict adherence to safety. Does that sound familiar? Going through our towns and cities, one cannot help but stand in wonderment of the acute ‘architecture of chaos’, which we adore. Something within our fabric resists sanity and order and any time the authorities try to instil sanity they do so, jungle style. So nothing ever works or so it seems.

Our market places pose a big casualty risk should an earthquake strike in the daytime. It is high time we introduced some level of sanity into our open markets. The lack of zoning and clear demarcations with emergency exits always increases the risk of having heavy casualties in a disaster. Market fires have more or less become an annual ritual in Ghana and no one seems bothered. No lessons are learnt after screaming and wailing (into thin air); traders reassemble in anticipation of the next inferno.

How cheap human life is in Africa or rather Ghana? Life is so cheap or so it seems that every caution is thrown to the wind hoping for safe landing. Why can’t we predetermine how we wish to land? Must we always crash land to recover? Unfortunately, that seems to be the routine in Ghana. Near misses are counted as ’lucky escapes’ instead of potential hazards to be treated. For instance, gaping potholes in our roads receive no attention even where reported till some ’big person’ fall victim. That attitude simply shows that we care less for the well-being of the ordinary citizen. Do you remember the poor commercial driver who was alleged to have accessed the motorway illegally causing accident to the then president’s convoy? Well, the guy died in police custody; yes jungle justice is rife in Ghana. If a country can treat its citizenry in this manner, then would we be genuinely portraying sorrow and show of concern if an earthquake like Haiti’s struck? Why should we suddenly pretend to be caring just because an earthquake has hit and the world is watching? And why should we pretend that but for a disaster that struck, life was all but smooth? It never was, because people experienced worse things on a daily basis that nobody cared about.

Haiti’s experience is an opportunity for Ghana to demonstrate to its citizenry that she cares about their welfare. I wonder how much of a blame a natural disaster (say an earthquake), should bear for collapsed structures left in its wake? The truth is most of those structures shouldn’t have been standing in the first place. The potential damage by an earthquake could be minimized if unworthy structures are responsibly removed. The fact remains that most unplanned cities and towns are a disaster waiting to happen. Earthquakes simply catalyse the operation. How would Accra cope in the face of a disaster like Haiti’s? Congested roads, haphazard settlements, sub standard construction, etc.,.

It is common knowledge that the McCarthy Hill area is earthquake prone, more like an earthquake volcano waiting to erupt, but what is the standard of construction there? Wouldn’t it be appropriate for government to require developers in and around the McCarthy Hill area to either erect earthquake resistant structures or put a stop to further developments? Another area of note is the rapidly changing skyline of Accra. What’s the guarantee that these high risers would fare better in the event of an earthquake? There’s no excuse not to have a rigidly enforced building code for Accra and indeed the country. Could we for once do away with arbitrariness and succumb to order and let reason prevail?

Ghana does not need an earthquake to strike before we know how unprepared we are. Take the annual flooding for example, which like the market fires is also now being observed as an annual ritual on the national disaster calendar. In spite of this we still justify the existence of an unprofessional disaster management team (NADMO) whose only acclaim is party bigotry and opponent victimisation. If the floods, predictable as they are continue to be a torn in our side, then only heaven knows what would happen in an earthquake, which is almost unpredictable.

THE GOD FRACTOR

May God help us not to experience an earthquake of any significant scale like Haiti’s. But are we more special than the Haitians, certainly not. I have heard suggestions (I personally do not subscribe to), that because of the prevalence of Voodoo and other satanic practices in Haiti, the earthquake was judgment from God. Callous as this may sound, if there were any iota of truth in it then Ghana would not be blameless under similar scrutiny. The recent rise in prominence of fetishism, sakawa and other occult practices in ways not seen since perhaps Osofo Komfo Damuah, leaves much to be desired. It shows the extent to which the nation has fallen from God’s Grace. I even hear a fetish priest one Bonsam (Satan), has launched his own ’gospel’ music (or shall we say Bonsam music). To fall from God’s Grace is to fall into His wrath. And as the Bible puts it;“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” Hebrews 10:31.

Before people pounce on me over this, let me immediately state that God does not need to send us earthquake as judgment to awaken our conscience. The spate of road accidents claiming precious lives, the annual market fires and flooding that also destroy lives needlessly all due to people’s dishonesty and negligence, is judgment enough for us to amend our ways. If we don’t then who is to be blamed?

People think God doesn’t love them when in actual fact they are too busy to heed HIS words.

Should we blame our own recklessness on God? It is interesting how quick people are to factor God into a life with misery and at the same time factor God out of a life with luxury. People usually don’t remember to say God is responsible when life is blissful, but when there is a disaster they query God’s existence. These people have not even accepted God’s existence in the first place, but use a disaster event as an opportunity to poke a finger at God. God is the Sovereign, Supreme ruler of the universe. He does His will and pleasure and the universe were created for His pleasure. He is answerable to no man. However, because of His love, mercies and compassion, He has made provision for man to experience joy, liberty and eternal salvation through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Some men have not accepted this provision, yet they dare revile God.

No nation pays their taxes to God. Taxes are paid to the government and the government in turn must provide for the safety and well-being of the people which is their social contract with them. The people must therefore demand of their government answers where they fail to fulfil their part of the social contract. Amazingly, however, people tend to blame God instead of learning the lessons and amending their ways.

Why hasn’t anybody called for the disbanding of the police force because armed robberies are rife? My intention here is not comparison of the Police with God. What I am actually driving at is the folly of saying there is no God or that God is ’wicked’ following a mishap. More often than not we haven’t even asked enough questions of ourselves and the situation to ascertain why it occurred in order to forestall a future recurrence. If we did, we would be keener on taking our leaders to task over non-performance and demanding higher standards of our own selves. Only after that could we dare dream of ever pointing a finger at God. But do we even have to come to that?

Shalom!

By Sammy Akwaka

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of the Editorial Board of AfricaNewsAnalysis.

Posted: February, 2010

And on the preceding score, of course, the reference is to the time-honored constitutional tenet, or principle, of the Separation of Church and State. It also appears that the President is mischievously attempting to play on the emotions of the Ghanaian Christian majority populace. It is also rather strange that knowing fully well that the font of modern Christianity is Israel – most notably the Israeli cities and towns of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth – the President, during his meeting with the Christian church leaders, had not productively suggested that his government of the so-called National Democratic Congress (NDC) would be prepared to sponsor an annual pilgrimage of Ghanaian Christians to the Holy Land, beginning in March of this year, when another week of National Prayer and Thanksgiving is scheduled for the Independence Square.

Or perhaps the former law professor of the University of Ghana supposes that simply corralling the leadership of the mega Ghanaian Christian community for prayer rituals every year is sufficient enough to constitute a realistic substitute for the kind of esoteric and transformative experience apt to be gained by an actual visit to the Holy Land.

We register the preceding plaint because just late last year, the NDC government threw massive financial and other material resources behind Ghanaian Muslims embarking on the Hajj, at about exactly the same time that the Atta-Mills administration was bitterly complaining about the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) having bequeathed Ghanaians an unprecedented budgetary deficit.

We also vividly recall the previous year, in the heat of the 2008 presidential campaign, when the NDC attempted to luridly politicize a confusion that arose over planning glitches in the Hajj among the leadership of the Ghanaian Muslim community. Then also, we breathtakingly witnessed the Olympian acrobatics performed, more notoriously by the Rawlings-chaperoned NDC, to curry favor with the Ghanaian Muslim community.

What is intriguing in all this, though, is the fact that in calling for the permanent institutionalization of an annual Christian week of prayer, President Atta-Mills is merely borrowing a page from the rulebook of the brutally assassinated General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, former Ghanaian head-of-state and junta head of both the National Redemption Council (NRC) and the Supreme Military Council I (SMC I). And not surprisingly, the prayer venue of the Independence Square, we must observe in passing, also remains pretty much the same.

We must also wistfully hasten to add the grim fact that being prayerful did not save the noggins of the Atwima-Trabuom native (I personally met Opanyin Kutu, the elder Mr. Acheampong, shortly after his son’s execution) when President Atta-Mills’ own former boss and mentor decided that, indeed, the professionally dishonored Mr. I. K. Acheampong was unarguably the most corrupt leader to have emerged on the postcolonial Ghanaian landscape. We must also add that just as President Atta-Mills is widely known to have his Rev. T. B. Joshua, then-General Acheampong was also known to have his Rev. Love.

In other words, our convicted contention here is that the President would do himself and the Ghanaian people who crowned him their premier far better service by studiously concentrating his efforts on the momentous affairs of the electorate, rather than impishly presuming to distract them by acting ultra vires. The President also needs to bear in mind that tired Akan dictum regarding punitive equity: “Abaa a yede bo Baah no, eno ara na yede bo Takyi,” which loosely translates as: “The same whip that is used in whipping Baah may also be used in whipping Takyi in turn.”

To be certain, the most appropriate moment for President Atta-Mills to have called for a national Christian week of prayer was just before he flagrantly breached his constitutional trust and authority by unilaterally appointing a 9-member Constitutional Review Commission, with a whopping budget of $ 3 million, to go about the business of attempting to revise Ghana’s Fourth-Republican Constitution over and above the heads of the members of our National Assembly. In sum, perhaps somebody ought to remind President Atta-Mills of the fact that for those of us staunch believers in Christian precepts and tenets, prayer is not something one undertakes as a lark or hobby, after real and serious work has been done.

On the question of the government facilitating the permanent institutionalization of an annual Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as well as elsewhere in the Holy Land, we firmly believe that such a move will be no crippling burden at all, since on the eve of the final soccer match between Ghana and Egypt at the African Nations Cup, hosted by Angola, the Atta-Mills government announced that it was flying in a 200-person cheering squad to back up the national team, the Black Stars, in their quest for the golden fleece.

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is a Governing Board Member of the Accra-based Danquah Institute (DI), the pro-democracy think tank, and the author of 21 books, including “Ama Sefa” (iUniverse.com, 2005).

E-mail: okoampaahoofe@aol.com

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of the Editorial Board of AfricaNewsAnalysis.

Posted: February, 2010

Not quite long after that incident, former president of Tanzanian Benjamin Mkapa took ill for several months and even jetted out of his country for medical treatment.

The former Zambian leader, Levy Mwanawasa, died after suffering a stroke while on a medical trip abroad.

Bed ridden with acute pericarditis at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, the Nigerian Leader Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua is battling for survival while a group of outspoken individuals including the ferocious Femi Falana are strongly calling on the President to transfer power to his Vice president Goodluck Jonathan.

I can authoritatively say that, anyone waiting for President Yar’Adua to throw in the towel on account of ill-health would have to wait a very long time because a recent statement out of Aso Rock (Nigerian seat of Government) brusquely dismissed any notion that the president was considering stepping down.

Most African leaders don’t leave office on the grounds of ill-health; they best do so in a casket. This follows a flawed logic that propounds a voodoo theory that: it makes greater sense to die in the lap of presidential luxury and privileges than die as an ex-president with the tendency of not being accorded the due respect even whilst in the casket.

I shudder greatly at an absurd assertion by some Nigerians that, former President Olusegun Obasanjo actually knew Yar’Adua would not survive his first term in office. Infact it is believed that he planted him on the ticket knowing that at his demise Goodluck would ascend, and power would revert to the Southeners.

Unfortunately, those churning out this falsehood forget that, Obasanjo has never seen himself as an agent of the ‘South.’ Indeed, it was on the basis of his perception as a ‘detribalized’ national figure, that leading elements from northern Nigeria pushed for his return to power in 1999.

Former Guinean president died after a long illness. But only a few days before his demise, Lasana Conté’s spokesman and the country’s communications Minister Tibou Kamara assured everyone of his good health.

Contrary to all the whitewashing, the president’s state of health grew worse during his final years in office. However, during Guinea’s 2003 presidential elections, Lasana Conté did the unthinkable. Bed-ridden and incapable of walking, the ballot box was taken to him in his car to cast his vote!

George Walker Bush, the former president of the United States, skillfully dodged “Shoe Missile” thrown at him by an angry Iraqi reporter. On the continent of Africa, very few presidents will be capable of such physical feats, although officially all of them are in “great shape” coupled with the fact that they perpetually keep their head down and their eyes glued to their speech even when delivering it at a funeral.

In 2005, President Abdulaziz Bouteflika was on admission at a French Military hospital for six days. The official Algerian report indicated that he suffered digestive problem contrary to the official medical report from the hospital which said that a surgical operation had been called for after the discovery of a hemorrhagic ulcer. Such factually fractured “official” reports run across the continent’s leadership spectrum.

The late president of Togo, Gnassingbé Eyadema, lived like a “Superman” Infact he once said that “I have never had any health problems, if not for a dysentery I once suffered in my youth” (English translation). Shamefully at the sunset of his reign, in 2003, he looked very sick, weak and skeletal. Nonetheless, his illness was never revealed to the Togolese.

During the preparatory stages to the NDC congress before the 2008 election, the rumours were that, Professor Mills was ill. In fact it was said that the root of that diabolical rumour could be found within the NDC party hierarchy.

The silence of men of conviction also seems to have empowered the audacious impunity of some pseudo-intellectuals to carry this ferocious crusade against the learned professor.

In fact, to leave this unchallenged is akin to staying aloof while darkness triumphs over light.

For the mere fact that, no one is above the radar of criticisms is not a panacea for vomiting putrid bile on an unblemished individual like Professor Mills.

It was sickening and overly hypocritical to hear some Ghanaian politicians openly discuss the health of then candidate Attah Mills on platforms and other media as a sick person.

Sick as he was, the discerning and intelligent people of Ghana defied all odds to vote him into power as president of Ghana.

Interestingly enough, the “Sick” president is still alive while we witnessed the demise of very “strong” individuals like Hon. Baah Wiredu (An epitome of excellence), Major Courage Kwashiga (The preventive Health crusader and a retired brave soldier) from Kedzi (my village), and Mr. Dan Lartey (Domesticator) – May your souls rest in perfect peace. These men never appeared sick or weak but just may be they were inherently ill.

Physical appearance should never be the basis to judge a person’s state of wellbeing. This mental gravitation is inimical to the growth of our society.

I saw the president stand on his feet for more than two hours answering questions (even though some journalist could not decipher what constitute corruption and misrepresentation) from senior editors at the last meeting at the castle.

Infact, what shows that a person is sick? Long live President Mills. In the mean time, please join me say a prayer for President Umaru Ya’radua. I wish him a speedy recovery.

May God give us all good health (3 John 2).

Nunya Akumey-Affizie

E-mail:brwncecil@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of the Editorial Board of AfricaNewsAnalysis.

Posted: January, 2010

Having enrolled and completed the British School in Togo, young Farouk proceeded to the prestigious University of London where he was domiciling in a Two Million Pound flat.

His father, Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab is a leading Banker and former government minister responsible for Economic Development of Cooperatives and Supplies between 1975 and 1976.

He later became a member of Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (1976-78). He left to serve as Executive Vice Chairman, Managing Director, and CEO of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) (1978-88).

Being the chairman of the Nigeria’s first Islamic bank, Jaiz Bank International Plc, which was established in 2003, he was described by The Times in 2009 as being “one of the richest men in Africa”, by The New York Times as “among Nigeria’s richest and most prominent men,” by The Telegraph as being “one of Nigeria’s most prominent bankers”, and by The Guardian as being “one of the country’s most respected businessmen”.

As a former student of Achimota College, Accra and the South West London College, London. Alhaji Mutallab served on the boards of several companies. He was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the Niger for services to the country, one of Nigeria’s highest honors as well as Italian Commander of the Order of Merit.

From the above, it is abundantly clear that young Farouk could never have carried out that dastardly act due to poverty nor hunger. Even though there was enough to eat and spare, there were two great ingredients missing in the growing up process of young Farouk and those are, Parental scrutiny and religious orientation.

It is very revealing from two out of the many write-up posted by young Farouk on an Islamic website that, he was in a state of oblivion and urgently needed a bearing and direction in order to clear the distortion in his mind about issues he considered very crucial.

On 28 January, 2005, Umar Farouk posted the following: “I have no friend. Not because I do not socialize, etc but because either people do not get too close to me as they go partying and stuff while I don’t, or they are bad people who befriend me and influence me to do bad things”. “As I get lonely, the natural sexual drive awakens and I struggle to control it, sometimes leading to minor sinful activities like not lowering the gaze. And this problem makes me want to get married to avoid getting aroused But I am only 18 .It would be difficult for me to get married due to social norms of getting to the late 20’s when one has a degree, a job, a house, etc before getting married. THE LAST THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS MY DILEMA BETWEEN LIBERALISM AND EXTREMISM (My emphasis). How should one put the balance right”?

Unfortunately after some few years of living a confused life, young Farouk found his balance on the side of extremism.

On February 5, 2005, he wrote: “I will describe myself as very ambitious and determined, especially in the Deen”.

On May 9, 2005, he finally wrote “The Prophet did say a time will come when the leaders will be the worst among the people. Indeed this seems to be the time….we are ruled by the worst of people, tyrants. May Allah help us and guide us all, and establish for us good leaders who fear Him”.

An “ewe” dictum tells us that, a testicle that would develop into hernia can be spotted from the first day of infancy. (Debatable though).

In the midst of all the brouhaha, the unfortunate happened when the Nigerian information Minister Ms. Akunyuli simplified the issues and cleverly shifted blame to Ghana where young Farouk was alleged to have sojourned before jetting to America.

My research has revealed that, Ms Akunyuli who is perceived by the Nigerian public as suffering from “Oral Diarrhoea” is a pharmacist.

I do have some pretty crucial questions bothering my mind:

Could it be factual that:

(a) Alhaji Abdulmutallab has a wife from Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama Bin Laden?

(b) Our ruling elite create an oasis of comfort for themselves and children, but in the process, end up having alienated children who are open to all manners of negative influences: prostitution (clandestine and open), drugs and the extremism.

(c) Loneliness is not an excuse to take people’s lives or attempt to do so be it gangsterism or terrorism. What would you say to village dwellers in Africa with no access to electricity, roads, water?

(d) The Nigerian National Assembly failed the Federal republic and largely contributed to the listing of Nigeria into the ’TERRORIST COUNTRIES OF INTEREST’ list by their failure to pass an anti-terrorism bill since October, 2009 when it was forwarded for their accent?

(e) Young Farouk attended the father’s retirement party, held in Lagos after the father reported him missing to the authorities? Did he alert the authorities to apprehend him for questioning?

Your guess is as good as mine. Lets all learn to confront issues head-on rather than apportion blames.

Thankfully, the Almighty God showed Himself strong and prevented the slaughtering of innocent persons on board the flight.

God bless us all.

Akumey-Affizie Nunya

E-mail:brwncecil@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of the Editorial Board of AfricaNewsAnalysis.

Posted: January, 2009

Virgilio Santos, an official with African Nations Cup local organizing committee COCAN told a newspaper “We asked that all delegations inform us when they would arrive and provide the passport number of their players. Togo was the only team not to respond and did not inform COCAN it was coming by bus,the rules are clear: no team should travel by bus. I don’t know what led them to do this.”

Well, Mr Santos if Cabinda is that unsafe for teams to travel by bus, was that restricted only to the Togo national team? What of the fans and numerous visitors who would throng the town? How are they supposed to travel and commute to and from matches?

What happened to the Togolese simply exposed the Angolan government’s mishandling of the situation in Cabinda and the earlier they own up and clear the mess, the better for us all in Africa.

CAFs decision to disqualify Togo is to say the least appalling and shameful.

According to the BBC, a Caf official said:

“The referee has been ordered to start the match and if Togo are not there, then they will be declared to have withdrawn and be disqualified.” It is not yet known whether Ghana will have to go through the pretence of preparing for the match and taking to the pitch. Shortly after the proposed kick-off time for Togo v Ghana passed a CAF spokesman confirms Togo are officially disqualified.

CAF´s proverbial Ostrich posture simply shows that it could do with some fresh limbs at its helm. Why were they (CAF) not proactive in managing the situation? All what CAF did was using tactical diplomacy to pressure Togo to agree to continue the tournament as scheduled irrespective of their emotional state. CAF rather should have shown leadership and postponed the entire tournament by say 2 days. That act would done the following;

*Show CAF as having oversight of the tournament.

*Show the seriousness of the matter.

*Placate the Togolese authorities that no stone is being left unturned in dealing with the situation.

*Allow the Togolese time to grieve and get over the shock.

* Demonstrate that the commercial interest of the tournament is not above the human lives at stake.

I hate to say this but between them, the Coach Driver, Press Officer plus Assistant Trainer did not have enough clout even in death to cause a postponement of the tournament. If some top, top player had died, maybe the response would have been different?

Although I think it’s good the tournament went ahead, a slight postponement even by a couple of days would have lifted the spirits of the Togolese and encouraged them that all are in solidarity with them. That way a return to the tournament should have remained an option to the Togolese once the mourning was over.

But Lo and Behold! for allowing themselves to be attacked by FLEC, the Togolese have been slapped with Disqualification. Most of us by now are used to bad officiating decisions during matches but this particular decision of CAF is a record breaker. Do we expect any better of their referees then?

By Sammy Akwaka

dermco2@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of the Editorial Board of AfricaNewsAnalysis.

Posted: January, 2010

The ceremony on Friday 4 December 2009, was conducted by South Africa’s Oscar Prize winner Charlize Theron and FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke watched by local and international dignitaries, including South African President Jacob Zuma. Millions watched it on their screens all over the world.

Here in Berlin* the hosts, Deutsche Telekom and the South African Embassy in Germany, invited a whole cross section of people to be witness to this magic event down yonder and enjoy South Africa/German hospitality. Almost all the Ambassadors of the countries who qualified for the draw, or their representatives, were present. So were sports journalists and TV stations; politicians and sport functionaries. They were welcomed by South African Ambassador Sonwabo Eddie Funde, with the words: “Woza” (come to South Africa).

As the time clicked on, (in winter, South Africa is one hour ahead) the atmosphere in the German Telekom Building was quiet, tense and restive. Time was moving slowly towards the great event. Pupils of the Nelson Mandela High School from Berlin displayed the banner of each participating country.
[PIC3M]
Although the ceremony in Cape Town was due to begin at 19:00 hours local time, the Kapies (Capetonians) already took to the streets in the early afternoon and the fun began. These Kapies are world renowned for their gaiety. Long Street, which bore the brunt of the thousands of frolickers is really a very long street. It is here that FIFA President officially opened the Football Mile. The fun and frolic continued till late in the night. Cape Town was not alone in its carnival spirit. Such gaiety was duplicated in other South African cities and villages.
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But, there will always be idiots around to throw a wheel into the spokes. Friday was no exception in Cape Town. A 68-year old German photographer was arrested for making a hoax bomb threat outside the venue where the World Cup draw was held. Police have withheld the name of the person and that of another man arrested for making two hoax calls to say that a bomb had been planted at the airport. Is this part of the Afro-pessimism that Cape Premier Helen Zille condemned? Especially Europe has been very sceptical about South Africa’s ability to stage this epic event.

To put this sentiment to rest, it will be appropriate to quote Swiss coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, who attended the draw. “I was in South Africa during the Confederations Cup and I saw how well organised it was. The people are very friendly and hospitable, and I am looking forward to that hospitality next year”.

In the pursuit of this Afro-Pessimism, FIFA President Sepp Blatter was constantly bombarded by western journalists over the past few years as to when he would put Plan B into action. He always replied that Plan A is South Africa. Plan B is South Africa. Plan C is South Africa – much to the chagrin of the reporters. On Friday, after the draw, Sepp Blatter felt like a peacock on heat. “I told you so. The world has to admit this country has the capabilities and the infrastructure, and they have never seen a draw like this before”. For once, the foreign media described the ceremony as “spectacular, slick and glitzy”.
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Although there is praise for the organisers that everything is on schedule, there are some dark aspects which have to be looked into. One of the most important of these concerns the role of the media. At issue are several clauses in the press accreditation agreement which will allow FIFA to revoke the accreditation of a journalist should his/her publication be responsible for behaviour deemed to be harmful to FIFA’s image or that of the local organising committee (LOC). In other words FIFA will not accept critical reporting.

This was a question put to Ambassador Funde. “In South Africa we have press freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. Therefore our government will find it very unpalatable whereby journalists are not permitted free coverage. I am hoping though, that the Agreement we have with FIFA will make it possible for us to be able to exercise the constitutional rights of the country. I am not aware of the details of the complaint and therefore am unable to delve deeper into the matter. One thing is clear though, we fought very hard for press freedom and this is a matter that will not be taken lightly by us”.

Another bone of contention is the right of local vendors who eke out a living outside the stadium walls by providing sports fans the opportunity of a small meal and a soft drink; souvenirs and other items. According to FIFA rules, these people will not be able to hawk their wares as they normally do.

Again Ambassador Funde: “When we agreed to host this event, FIFA put up certain conditions and we did the same. These apply very strongly in the areas of advertising and merchandising. For instance, you will not be able to buy South African beer, food or any other beverage anywhere near the stadium. FIFA has sold these rights to its sponsors who are allowed to recoup their investments”.

Asked to explain how far these parameters extend, Ambassador Funde explained: “I am not sure but I believe this applies to the stadium itself and its immediate precinct. But beyond that, its business as usual. I must stress though, that this is not unique to South Africa. Such conditions have always been imposed by FIFA wherever the tournament is held”.

According some economic experts here in Germany, the finals in 2006 were great sentimentally, but not a great tangible boost to the economy. FIFA always writes the rules and the host country has no choice but to follow suit. Whether the “indaba” in South Africa will have a lasting impact on the economy, only the future will tell. For now – enjoy the games.

*Colour was added to the event in Berlin with the presence of Jürgen Sparwasser. He was a member of the East German team that made it to the finals which took place in West Germany in 1974. As luck would have it, both German teams were drawn in the same group. The other two were Chile and Australia. Excitement was high when the two German teams were pitted against each other in Hamburg to decide the group winner. It was Sparwasser who scored the only goal of the match. He immediately became a hero, and a traitor, at the same time in both parts of Germany.

Here was the Cold War – in action. Even on the sports field. That goal embarrassed the hot favourites West Germany. It had the possibility of throwing them out of the tournament. On the other hand Sparwasser’s goal placed East Germany on top of the group. By virtue of that, East Germany had to meet Brazil in the next round and were knocked out. West Germany went on to win the title. What would have happened had they not lost to the East Germans? That would have pitted them against Brazil. In that case would Germany still have managed to win the title? Lots of if and buts. Speculation pure. The Wembley goal of 1966 is still a very topical subject. Especially here in Germany.

That is football.

Then also the Chronicle alleges that the K-Poly rector awarded his institution’s internet network system to a Nigerian ICT firm, called Socket Works Limited, which miserably failed to deliver on its contractual obligations.

Anyway, before I proceed any further, I must emphasize the fact that this article is merely an attempt to get behind the usually unsavory, and often mistaken, veneer of sensationalism that color many a mainstream media reportage around the globe. I should also hasten to add that I have absolutely no vested interest in the fortunes of Dr. Prah, with whom I personally have no acquaintance and whose name I had never heard prior to reading the aforementioned news report, one way or another. And still further, I should also point out that for me, a patriotic Ghanaian, the overriding motive in writing this piece is primarily to ensure that justice and fair-play are allowed unfettered rein.

On the face of it, the media report on the Prah affair appears to be a clear case of gross mismanagement or maladministration. The problem, however, arises when the K-Poly faculty union or, rather, the latter’s branch of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), is seen to be imperiously projecting itself in a manner more reflective of a vengeance-seeking organization, as opposed to the more apposite agenda of justice-seeking. One eerily gets this sense of the flagrantly unfortunate, particularly when the POTAG membership, through its executive officers, of course, issues the raw and crude threat of a showdown to the damnable effect that any attempt by the Polytechnic Council to extend the tenure of Dr. Prah by another four-year term would be fiercely met with a “sit-down strike.”

What further complicates matters is that POTAG seems to be amenable to reversing its decision which has, to-date, resulted in the summary removal of the embattled K-Poly rector who has been ordered to immediately proceed on a 204-day leave, pending a probe by a five-member panel chaired by Prof. Tuah of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The Tuah Commission may do well to thoroughly probe both the professional and/or collegial culture and climate that existed prior to Dr. Prah’s assumption of rectorship at K-Poly; and also, particularly, the culture and climate induced by the Prah administration. I highlight the foregoing because knowing the generally pathologically conservative culture of our nation as one born and raised in Ghana, it may well be that Dr. Prah is an immitigably progressive, or even an irrepressible revolutionary, administrator who just happened to have ruffled the “peacocky” feathers of some very well-connected and influential faculty and staff on the K-Poly campus.

And if, indeed, it so happens that Dr. Prah had, in fact, breached established contractual protocol by initiating and/or negotiating no-bid contracts, then inasmuch as a punitive/disciplinary measure may be quite in order, the extent to which such laid-down procurement protocol may be riddled with woefully unacceptable bureaucratic red-tape, thus making it next to the impossible to smoothly facilitate the rapid development of our higher educational institutions, may also have to be fore-grounded, if only the latter is to healthily ensure that the obnoxiously regressive ones among our citizenry are not insidiously and deviously hampering our national development agenda and criminally shortchanging our dear and beloved nation at large.

The curious timing of the Prah saga may well be tinged with political and/or ideological vendetta; consequently, it may not absolutely be out of order, at all, for the Tuah Commission to envisage and vigorously and dispassionately pursue this seamy aspect of Ghanaian culture as one that is ineluctably integral to its terms of reference.

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English, Journalism and Creative Writing at Nassau Community College of the State University of New York, Garden City. He is the author of 21 books, including “Intimations of Love” (Atumpan Publications/Lulu.com, 2009), his latest and 16th volume of poetry.

E-mail: okoampaahoofe@aol.com

The opinions expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of the Editorial Board of AfricaNewsAnalysis.

Posted: December, 2009