The National Democratic Congress’ Setting the Records Straight led by Fifi Kwetey is calling on Nana Akufu Addo, “the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party to disclose details of his curriculum vitae (CV) which are not clear.”

According to Mr. Kwetey: “Specifically, why is it so difficult to know where he was between 1958 when he finished secondary school and September 1964 when he entered the University of Ghana? By the way we have here a copy of Nana Addo’s CV full of gap and have here a detailed year by year CV of NPP’s Sheick I.C. Quaye so we can all see how complete a CV must be.” (Source: starfmonline, October 11, 2016).

http://starrfmonline.com/1.10013777#channel=rss&source=kitnes

Fellow countrymen, can Mr. Fifi Kwetey be trusted with records? Hermeneutics is a subject that deals with interpretation of text or records. In hermeneutics, records are either written or preserved orally. The point of reference is very important in hermeneutics as it assures the authenticity of the information given out to the public.

Individuals keeping or interpreting records in hermeneutics must not be bereft of integrity. Fifi Kwetey is the man who admitted before parliamentary appointment committee that he was a vitriolic liar who, out of his inordinate and uncompromising ambition for power malevolently and duplicitously destroyed his political opponents. Some of the victims of his atrocious lies include high profile citizens like President John Kufour.

Falsity and truth are mutually exclusive, notwithstanding the fact that the two concepts are not independent of “unity in opposition” (truth is significant because of falsity). A liar cannot protect records because records are there to preserve truth. Therefore, it is hermeneutically naïve and philosophically weak for such a person to go closer to records let alone setting it straight.

Thus, Mr. Fifi Kwetey’s political chicanery on Nana Addo’s CV must be ignored because he lacks the credibility to talk about people. The government must refrain from foisting Mr. Kwetey on Ghanaians when dealing with issues of national importance because per his own admission, he is without dignity when it comes to truth.

On Nana Addo’s CV, that his personal document and nobody has control over what he puts on his own records. A good CV and an academic certificate could reveal the level of intelligence of an individual but not an epitome of individual’s intelligence. The American experimental psychologist, Edwin Boring (1819-1968) so ignorant about psychometrics (the study of measurement of mental process and capacity) defined intelligence as “what the tests test.”

The definition of intelligence as what the tests test is very narrow and will not suffice as a good alternative to the concept of intelligence. In Ghana, our perception of intelligence is predominantly based on “what the tests test”. This is very unfortunate.

Professor Howard Gardner of Harvard University propounded his theory of multiple intelligence. In the view of Gardner, intelligence is individual’s ability to fashion out a solution to a problem in a given cultural setting.

Gardner talked about eight (8) fold intelligence. These include: “Visual-Spatial - think in terms of physical space, as do architects and sailors. Bodily-kinesthetic - use the body effectively, like a dancer or a surgeon. Musical - show sensitivity to rhythm and sound. Interpersonal - understanding, interacting with others. Intrapersonal - understanding one's own interests, goals.

Linguistic - using words effectively. Logical -Mathematical - reasoning, calculating.” Readers can check from following link for more details. http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html

Gardner in his later research added naturalistic intelligence: relating to the interactions in the natural environment, as do an ecologist. Although Gardner failed to explain how these eight (8) fold intelligence could be measured, the multiple intelligence theory makes more sense in modern society.

Academic certificates are very important, nevertheless we must look beyond academic certificates when thinking about leaders. Both president Mahama and Nana Akufu Addo, per their experience, all qualified to lead Ghana. The most important thing is that individuals aspiring to be president must not be virtually illiterate. I thought Mr. Kwetey would have used such platforms to enumerate the achievements of his party rather than raising an avalanche of needless allegations on NPP’s candidate.

In the view of Max Weber: “one cannot prescribe to anyone whether he should follow an ethics of absolute ends or an ethics of responsibility.” Mr. Fifi Kwetey cannot prescribe responsibility for Nana Akufu Addo as to how the latter must design his CV or resume. Our politics must focus on issues not on personal attacks.

Personally, I don’t like the idea of describing our president as incompetent. We can disagree with him but not to tag him as incompetent. God Bless Our Homeland Ghana. “I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing.” (Socrates).

Writer's e-mail: padigogoma77@yahoo.co.uk