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Opinions of Tuesday, 24 October 2017

Columnist: Rockson Adofo

No wonder Ghana is in such a decrepit state

File photo; What good thing has Otumfuo done to merit a hero's welcome? File photo; What good thing has Otumfuo done to merit a hero's welcome?

For a nation to become strong politically, economically and socially, much depends on the attitude of its citizens.

If I do recollect very well, without my retentive memory failing me, the late President of Russia, Mr Boris Yeltsin, once said, every strong nation in the world was built on the sweat and the blood of its citizens.
Have Ghanaians ever bothered toiling to build their nation to appreciable standard? I doubt it very much!

I am a full blooded-Ghanaian of Asante origin by both maternal and paternal birthright. However, I find the traditionally-obliged kowtowing or prostrating to our chiefs even in the event of such chiefs unreasonably lording themselves over us quite worrying. Such attitudes that forbid us to question our chiefs or elders or to stand up to tell them their faults have over the years contributed to strengthening the hands of our chiefs while weakening the subjects.

This condescending attitude by the ordinary citizens has directly energized our chiefs to wreak havoc on our ecology as well as committing repugnant crimes with impunity.

Are not our chiefs the orchestrators, if not the masterminds, of the destructive galamsey going on in Ghana? Is it not the chiefs that sell knowingly-litigious farmlands and building plots to unsuspecting Ghanaians?

Is it not these same chiefs that were supporting the despicably corrupt former President John Dramani Mahama to execute his nation-ruining corrupt practices to the detriment of about 98% of the Ghanaian population through their acceptance of cars and other gifts from him?

As they took gifts from him, they did not only help to prop his position but also, to fool their subjects into believing that former President Mahama was doing well whereas actually, he was performing criminally abysmally hence the difficult economic situation faced by Ghanaians today.

In spite of the obviously deplorable behaviours by our chiefs, some Ghanaians out of ignorance or idiotic infatuation with tradition are still revering these corrupt chiefs.

I would not have published this write-up if people had not phoned to seek my views on why Ashantis gave their “Overlord” Otumfuo Osei Tutu II a hero’s welcome this week when he returned from his foreign trip to countries including the United Kingdom.

I cannot tell if they did give him a hero’s welcome but if they did, then to me, they had erred a big time. What has he done to merit such a welcome? Is it not the show of expression of inferiority on our apart? Why should they offer him emotional support just because they think he has wrongly been accused of money laundering?

By such show of support, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will never realise his shortcomings but will rather see his actions heroic hence he will do bigger illegal things. He will take lands and things that do not belong to him.

He will transfer his money overseas while Ghana is crying for investors to come and set up companies to create jobs for the citizens. Could he not use the money he is so spiriting off to foreign countries for safekeeping to create jobs for his Ashanti subjects?

Being that unpatriotic, some Ashanti subjects are still prostrating to him singing his praises through hero's welcome. His subjects are entitled to their views despite such opinions being potentially denigrating of them.

What is a hero’s welcome? By definition, a hero’s welcome is a very enthusiastic reception from a group of people who show their admiration for something good that you have done. Going by that dictionary definition, may I pause to ask the fascinated fans and subjects of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II what good thing he has done to merit such a welcome from them?

Should we not cease supporting evil by our untoward attitudes as hereby indicated in the show of this reported hero’s welcome; Ghana will continually be exploited to the hilt by a few selfish individuals including our politicians and chiefs.

I am entitled to my opinion as you are entitled to yours. I do not expect you to cut your nose to spite your face just to please Rockson. However, if your nose is ugly, can’t I say it?