Rejoinder- Ghana Telecom- Pull Him Down Syndrome

I wholeheartedly agree with Kofi?s analysis of the PHD syndrome that prevails in our society. It has greatly assisted and helped to block our development process at the same time acting as a blockage on innovation and progress. Like Kofi, I do agree that the current Asantehene has brought ?respectability and dignity ? to an institution which he rightly portrays as partly responsible for Ghana?s problems. Akosah is brutal in his destruction of the ?chieftaincy institution? I quote ?Chiefs are primitive in an increasingly modernized world. They embody our collective stupidity, they are corrupt and in sum irrelevant. Well done, Kofi you have opened the Pandora?s box.
First, I want to be absolutely clear that I respect all my elders that is how I was brought up. It goes without question that hailing from Nkawie; I owe my ?traditional allegiance ? to my Chief in Nkawie and then to the Asantehene. I also owe a bit of allegiance to my senior brother the Nkusuohene of Nkawie Nana Antwi Adjei Kufuor whom I respect as my senior brother and also as the Nkusuohene. I have no quarrel with the institution of chieftaincy.
Second, it does not bother me if the Head of the Asantehene is placed on Ghana Telecom card as long as the majority of ?shareholders? i.e. (Ghanaians do agree with it) You see, most Ghanaians will be offended that the head of the Ashanti king has been placed on a national card owned and paid for by all Ghanaians. As an Ashanti who loves my king, I am delighted for him. As a Ghanaian who respects the democratic institutions of our land, I would have preferred Parliament to have debated the issue and for our elected representatives to have reached a consensus.
I am absolutely certain that the majority of MPs would have voted for the head of the Asantehen to be placed on the card. It is not good enough for Nana Akomea to justify an undemocratic action by referring to the PHD syndrome. One of the causes of the PHD syndrome in Africa is because like the proverbial crabs in a bucket when one gets to the top to use an English expression ?it pisses on all those still at the bottom?. Like the pigs in Animal Farm ? some of our ordinary folks are treated with utter contempt for being poor. If they complained about their abject poverty there are quoted the useless proverb of ?All hand are not equal? instead of ?all hands are useful?. No wonder, the accolade given to the Asantehene has raised eyebrows.
You see, I have always believed in fairness. With military governments they can behave in undemocratic fashion and offend the sensibilities of everyone, as they are immune from the ballot box. I quiet remember the brouhaha that was caused when the unelected, undemocratic and tyrannical PNDC government named one of our Circles after the late President Sankara.
Now to my real dilemma? If the institution of Chieftaincy is in such a state as defined by Akosah why do we or why must we tolerate it? Why should a ?modern democratic state ? tolerate a system that is not meritocratic? The only reason why our ?so-called corrupt, unelected, till death do us part PHD, archaic chieftaincy institution survives and co-exist peacefully enjoying the trappings of luxury is simple: IT HAS STAYED OUT OF POLITICS.
One of my former students wrote an interesting thesis on the ?Relevance of traditional chiefs in a modern democratic state? ? I do not intend to print his conclusions, but it made interesting reading. Debates are still ongoing on the role of the Church of England as an established church in a secular society where we have multiple allegiances.
Let us not hide behind the misused concept of ?development ? in having a grown up debate on the ?role of the traditional chieftaincy institution?. All systems are fallible including meritocratic systems. However, no society has moved from the feudal stage into a scientific world still hanging on to a hereditary system. Hereditary systems are based on lottery and chance. I thank the Almighty God that the ?hereditary principle? this time brought up Nana Osei Tutu, a dynamic and wise leader
However, let us be blunt; the Ashanti nation could have ended up with Nana Akwasi Agyemang, as the Asantehene ? I rest my case against hereditary systems.
I do not intend to speak for the majority of Ghanaians, but my humble advice to our wise and noble traditional chiefs is ?Please stay out of politics- you are not elected?. You earn your respect and trust by being non-partisan and giving wise counsels in camera. YOU ENTER INTO THE WORLD OF POLITICS AT YOUR PERIL
To the politicians, my advice to them is simple: you were elected by the people to govern the affairs of the nation, by all means consult with our elders; statesmen and traditional chiefs before taking major decisions but bear in mind in the end the buck stops with you.
The time is ready for Ghanaians to engage in a constructive debate on the ?Role of our Traditional Chiefs in the Space Age? and how they relate to elected governments.
I prefer a meritocratic system to an inherited one, as I do not believe in a system of ?lottery and chance?. However, the current Asantehene, Okeynehene, and a few more of our traditional chiefs have proved that the hereditary system can sometimes produce statesmen and women.

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