Part 2 of 3: Transparency, accountability and consequence

Ghanaian diaspora looks forward to returning home for good, someday, not so far in the distant future. As law-abiding sons & daughters of the motherland, we pay our taxes faithfully elsewhere, pushed first by the fear of God, & then in some instances, by Uncle Sam. Besides our despots who were groomed or manipulated locally at home, or on the continent, some of our forebears who made it to the white man’s country, survived & lived such rigorous & impeccable lives, sometimes returning & clandestinely abusing their own people. ABREWIW! Remember when we had in our very own backyard the People's crusader of impecunious means and humble origins exacting misdirected vengeance and untold atrocities? And when this our savior turned into an un-vetted, overnight hero sitting in the lap of luxury? How does that add up in the minds of Ghanaians? Of course, corruption was rife, before then; there is no denying that. But it was no different, well after that storm had passed. Some of us may have been too young to remember, or not even born. We already have erased this memory & have him posted everywhere, or have parks named after him. It won't surprise me, next comes the statue erected in his 'honor'. For the sake of 'peace', we have already had the coming together of the country to observe and do the right thing by him. It is said, that, it has to be attached to a tree for us not to have felt it too. Beyond the polite giving of deference, where do we start with Nana? Already swimming in the lap of luxury & privilege, as he is used to, he is also waiting in the wings, to be hailed as the next hero. For we have so short a collective memory. He has made sure his legions of officials are also well taken care of, even where we could afford to, and well-representing – fitting of anyone associated with his office or his administration. Meanwhile, we have right under Nana’s nose some poor, innocent kids sitting and absorbing toxic fumes from electronic waste at Agbogbloshie. Having said all that, the above two administrations are in no way the same. Now, what was Paul Kagame smoking when he banned the use of plastic bags, & broni wae wo imported used clothing? Nana is said to have said that some of his people might go unclothed, so to let the dross – excuse me to say, and double entendre herein. Kagame’s parliament’s quota for women has been far exceeded, whilst somewhere else on the continent we have our wisdom of a bloated government. Again, the lack of audacity to act is apparent. And now, back to Kagame. We do not want his head to get swollen. For besides his laudable achievements, his detractors point to his heavy-handedness – rightly so, or unsightly? So, what was Kagame smoking? I am looking hard, searching and scanning our sub-continent for our living (current) and prominent women and men heads of state, of repute and to celebrate. Those who can stand up and be counted. And it is difficult. For a moment, we had Abiy Ahmed Ali who accomplished bringing his people together after a score of years of war only for development to be brought to a screeching halt by another internal conflict. Then there was our recently deceased leader John Magufuli, of blessed memory, who, in spite of his anti-corruption drive, also suppressed press freedom, had no regard for women’s rights, and adopted an anti-science posture in the midst of the real threat of COVID-19. The 6th Region diaspora is also looking to Ghana as a gateway, and to the continent, now. The Chinese got in before, in their numbers, having seen how much the British, the French, the Americans, etc made off and are still reaping where they have not sown. The shackles of colonization and remnants of Jim Crow may not have made apparent the welcoming arms of mother-Africa, after the likes of W.E.B. Dubois’ and Maya Angelou’s move, making their imprint. Some exemplary figures worthy of mention, all raising up the continent today, in their quest for accountability are PLO Lumumba, the voice in the wilderness of Africa calling for increased consciousness; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, championing the cause for the youth worldwide, and in particular, on the continent; the feminist Nuruddin Farah leading the charge against the status quo, and finally but not the least, the fierce and indomitable Former Permanent Representative of AU Mission to the USA, Ambassador HE Arikana Chihombori-Quao on branding her legacy of pan-Africanism. We have big shoes to fill, bringing about the much-needed change to mother Africa.