Opinions of Friday, 25 May 2018

Columnist: Rockson Adofo

Anas Aremeyaw Anas comes out hitting corrupt officials hard again

Anas Aremeyaw goes to painstaking lengths to uncover corruption and crime in Ghana Anas Aremeyaw goes to painstaking lengths to uncover corruption and crime in Ghana

If a handful of Ghanaian journalists were as honest, dynamic, dedicated to duty and were ready to serve Ghana and humanity as Anas Aremeyaw Anas is doing, corruption would be history and a thing of the past within months. However, most or almost all of our Ghanaian journalists are unethically corrupt; often aligning themselves with politicians and governments that will grease their palms with money to support them even if the government and such politicians were corrupt, irresponsible and pursuing their myopic, selfish and insatiable greed.

Anas stands out taller than all the Ghanaian journalists put together when it comes to fighting corruption by flushing out corrupt officials from their hideouts or from their underhand dealings or engagements.

If we could get ten journalists of Anas’ integrity, ten maverick politicians of Kennedy Agyapong’s (Hon) status, two Presidents with aversion to embezzlement of State funds and assets hence incorruptible like His Excellency the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, ten honest, visionary and industrious persons like former Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffour, and ten no-nonsense persons like Rockson Adofo who does not suffer fools kindly, Ghana would be a heaven on earth but not a dilapidating shithole country.

The problem that is dragging Ghana backwards is nothing less than corruption. Corruption in all its forms and shapes is the bane of the socio-economic development of Ghana and her entire African sister countries. It is not that God did not create us (black people especially Ghanaians) properly but it is just that our infatuation with get rich quick, have more luxury cars, more mansions and have more beautiful girlfriends, are what is causing our downfall as a nation and a people.

Therefore, I am supportive of anyone and any means that can get rid of the exacerbating near-institutionalised corruption from Ghana to facilitate our chance of prospering as a nation and a people. Subsequently, I say, more grease to the elbows of the unique and proud journalist son of Ghana. Blessed be the womb that conceived and gave birth to him.

If my memory will serve me right, I once heard that Anas was going to expose the bigwigs behind the devastating illegal surface mining (galamsey) going on in Ghana. It was alleged that he has captured them already on recorded video and that some big Kings and chiefs plus some parliamentarians were going to be affected. I think Mr Kweku Abdul Malik Baako, Anas’ mentor, even made mention of it and promised when it was going to be made public. If my recollection is right, then where is that video and when is the exposure scheduled to take place?

I hope with Anas, he has no believe in the dictum, “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. Should that belief creep into his professional determination to rout out official corruption from Ghana, then all his tedious works will in the end amount to much ado about nothing.

Galamsey is so destructive to our water bodies, virgin forests and farmlands as well as being pollutant to the air that we breathe. Therefore, it is proper that we fight to uproot it. It is these chiefs who allocated the lands to the Chinese and their complicit Ghanaians to cause such harm to the nation’s ecology. There is therefore the need to expose, shame and if possible, destool such irresponsible and visionless chiefs who by stupidity and quest for quick buck, have sold or leased most arable fertile farmlands to these greedy foreigners with their Ghanaian agents and assigns to spoil the nation.

If indeed, Anas has any such exposure on some bigwigs (politicians, traditional chiefs etc.) engaged in the ruinous galamsey, please bring the video out. I shall entreat him not to shield them from exposure. Once you compromise on the fight against corruption due to the prestigious status of a person in the society, then all your attempts will have come to naught, for it is these bigwigs who are the masterminds and orchestrators of corruption in Ghana.

I cannot wait to see the day that Anas will expose the well-placed persons in Ghana who are behind the galamsey. The fight is not easy but should we not relent, we shall surely see light at the end of the tunnel. How far is it true that the military taskforce designated to enforce the ban on galamsey have some of their members rather taking money bribes to assist the Chinese and others to rather carry on with the galamsey activities?

Unless the President exercises his Executive powers bestowed on him by the constitution as he has used in Kwasi Nyantakyi’s case to resolve some difficult and annoying problems, he will in the end have nothing to point to as his major achievement. Alfred Agbesi Woyome is still walking the streets of Ghana a free man. Mrs Charlotte Osei after her own incriminating revelations, she is still at post all probably because of some alleged personal intervention by some “powerful” member of the President’s family.

Whoever is interceding to prevent the woman from intensive investigation and if found guilty prosecuted, is digging the grave for NPP to be buried in sooner.

Once more, I tip my hat to our ace investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the believer in good name is better than riches. I salute his entire Tiger Eye team for jobs well done!