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Opinions of Monday, 1 April 2013

Columnist: Quaye, Stephen A.

Mr. President,”so many things to say right now”

By: Stephen A. Quaye.

TWENTY FOUR hours prior to the celebration of this year’s 56 Independence Day anniversary, I managed to put an article titled,” CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY IN CRISIS” out there drawing the president and the ordinary people’s attention to the crisis facing the country presently.
First was what have become the habitual casualties recorded nationwide during the celebration parades held in the regional capitals as well as the district capitals.
Every year during the celebration of the Independence Day, tens of members of the contingents as well as ordinary people collapse at parade grounds which are not a good thing to keep on recording every year.
This year alone, how many people were recorded to have collapsed during the parade throughout the country? Over one hundred and twenty members including security personnel, students and ordinary members who pulled by to witness the occasion according to Daily Guide’s report.
What was the cause of the collapse of these patriotic citizens at the anniversary parade as provided by the health personnel? Was it not the same explanation? Oh it was due to the high temperature from the scorching sun whiles others refuse to take their breakfast before coming hence the collapse.
If that is the case then can’t we programme the celebration activities in a way to avoid these numerous occurrences that are recorded every year by holding the programme in late after noon where the sun has gone down?
How does the president feels sitting under the canopies with heavy fans blowing cold air on him whiles contingents keep falling on the parade ground? Anyway that is a suggestion.
There have been so many things to say right now since Mr. John Mahamah was sworn into office as the president of the republic this year. Though his presidency is being challenged at the Supreme Court, until the final ruling comes out, he is the president at the moment.
From the promise he gave to fellow Ghanaians during his swearing in ceremony, everyone thought he would have hit the road trying to put all the necessary measures in place to see the country moving forward instead of remaining stack.
Unfortunately, he decided to relax in his comfortable couch at the castle to receive well wishers who thronged the seat of government to shake hands with him and pop Champaign whiles the problems facing the country keep on getting worse.
All the news that were coming from the seat of government was chiefs and traditional elders from cities and regions have paid a courtesy call on the president John Dramani Mahamah to congratulate him of his election as the president.
For the past two months, you flip the pages of the national newspapers and you see all sort of congratulatory messages from companies, councils, societies and traditional authorities taking full page to draw his attention that they were with him.
No but what happened before the Eastern Regional chapter of the NDC attacked the Okyehene Amoatia Ofori Penin, who is the president of the Eastern Regional house of chiefs?
Advising the president to accept whatever ruling the supreme court passes did not go down well with the party gurus then the insults right?
What is so funny is that all these while that the chiefs apart from Okyehene Amoatia Ofori Penin were going to drink Champaign with the president, none of them raised concern about the serious nature of avoidable accidents on our roads.
None of them was reported as raising serious concern about the shortage of pipe born water in the system, the intermittent hydro electric power cuts, aviation fuel shortage, undue delays of payment of salaries and allowances that has resulted in many strikes, youth unemployment and what have you to the president.
The late reggae legend Bob Marley, in one of his songs explained that when the persecutors crucified Jesus Christ, they thought all was over not knowing that there would be so many things to say about him right now.
The NDC crucified Nana Akkufo Addo so much that his chance of winning the just ended election was blocked by electoral fraud. The NDC party handed to itself power thinking all shall be easy and well for it to take Ghanaians for a ride.
Oh no, it has handed to itself a whole lot of crisis that it has to work around the clock to fix if it claims all was well and that they needed another four year term to make things whole.
There are so many things to say to the president right now telling him that the sarcasms will not move the country forward.
End.