Political Campaigns And Insults

?Abuse a man unjustly, and you will make friends for him.? ?Rowe

If the saying ?coming events cast their own shadows? is anything to go by Ghanaians need to brace themselves for a very nasty electioneering campaign in this years general election. The political temperature is already at fever pitch- and believe it or not we are about eight months shy of the November Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

The main contenders in the race are hurling accusations at each other like nobodies business, bringing each others record under the microscope and making a pitch for political power.

The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) wants a renewed mandate while it?s most potent rival, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is desperately seeking another shot at the Presidency it lost in 2000.

I have nothing against political parties working themselves into lather in their bid to win political power because like they say politics is all about power. It is about winning elections. It is an onerous responsibility for one to lead a nation, which makes the character of the person seeking that role very crucial. Well let us save that for later.

I have been following the campaigns of the two major parties with a certain degree of amusement and trepidation too. I have been amused by the trading of accusations. The insults on the other hand worry me a lot. I have lived in the era where rabid words like dzimakpla, gbemalewo, rascals, punks etc were the choice words of the political leadership at the time. It was an unfortunate period in our history.

Leaders from both sides of the spectrum lunged attacks and insults at each other with careless abandon while the media and civil society looked on helplessly.

One incident that has raised the specter of this happening again especially in this political season is the reported interview involving Dr. Tony Aidoo. I wouldn?t go into the details of what he said since a lot has been said and written about it already.

TONY AIDOO AND HIS MOUTH

Since Dr. Tony Aidoo entered the political arena close to a decade ago he has carved out quite a reputation about himself with his rabid tongue. Most media organisations have conjured up several epithets to describe the former Professor at the University of Cape Coast.

For all the years the NDC ruled this nation, Dr. Aidoo was its quintessential hatchet man. When the NDC party machinery needed someone to represent the party at forums to discuss issues on the economy, politics or even on the party?s record, Dr. Aidoo was the point man. They trusted him to deliver the goods and he never disappointed them.

His opponents faced him with trepidation because Dr. Aidoo was one who could land on his adversaries like a ton of bricks.

The NDC top brass loved what he did and never once disavowed him even when people protested.

When asked about his relationship with Dr. Aidoo, former President Rawlings made a lot of complimentary remarks about him. In his words ?the two of us bonded the moment we met.? He said both have a strong affinity for each other. I would be fair to the NDC and concede that it needed people like Tony Aidoo and to some extent Mr. Bosumtwi-Sam of blessed memory to face the might and force of the blossoming private media which was very critical of the Rawlings administration.

This was crucial to its political survival because every negative story about it in the ?opposition press? (an unpopular label credited to Mr. Totobi-Quakyi) was cannon fodder for its opponents in the election hence the use of Aidoo and the late Bosumtwe-Sam for some leverage in the political sweepstakes. The NDC was right to claim credit for this political master stroke until it used it ad nauseum. Ghanaians just grew tired of it and voted for change in 2000.

REACTION FROM MILLS CAMPAIGN

Was I shocked about the recent incident involving Dr. Aidoo? No. Using his tongue to take down his opponents has been his modus operandi (MO) over the years.

But I was surprised about the official reaction of the NDC and particularly the Mills Campaign in the aftermath of the publication of the interview in the Gye Nyame Concord.

The Mill campaign has not come out to condemn the incident. All we have heard so far was that he rebuked Dr. Aidoo on the quiet which he has since denied according to media reports of Monday last week.

The campaign of the former Vice President ought to come out to condemn the incident for the following reasons.

First it has to set the record straight in terms of where it stands on the use of decent language in political campaigns. The Mills campaign cannot close its eyes on what Dr. Tony Aidoo represents in the NDC especially when juxtaposed against his record in the past decade.

People might interpret the incident as a regurgitation of the NDC?s modus operandi used in its 8-year constitutional term but which cost them the 2000 elections.

Flowing from this point one could make the argument that the Mills campaign still believes the old ways of the NDC could still work the magic and even possibly act as the party?s secret weapon in its bid to win the Castle.

Stating its position on the issue would satisfy public curiosity and would also set the records straight in terms of where Professor Mills stands on political insults and political decency.

Dr. Aidoo has every right to criticize his opponents and even hurl fire and brimstone on them. Where his right to speak should not extend into is the use of expletive words on anybody be they an ordinary citizen or in this case the President of the Country.

Doing that means disrespecting the highest office of the land and whoever occupies it now or tomorrow.

I hope reasonable voices in the NDC represented by the likes of Hon. John Mahama, Baba Jamal etc would come out and condemn this. As long as it benefited from the ?exploits? of Dr. Aidoo, the NDC never disavowed him and his actions.

That was before 2000. After suffering a humiliating defeat at the polls the NDC decided to re-invent itself by extricating itself from the overbearing personality of former President Jerry Rawlings. The shift of emphasis and focus from former President Rawlings to Professor Mills in the NDC commercials released during the intervening days of the run-off period was a prelude to this paradigm shift.

Today most people in the NDC share the belief that Mills should be allowed to run his own campaign and be his own man.

Like the Campaign Director of the Mills Campaign rightly said elections are a referendum on the government in power and not the party in opposition. The people of Ghana believe that. What keeps Ghanaians and some well meaning supporters of the NDC scratching their head over is whether the Mills campaign would move to condemn politics of insults and disassociate itself from people like Dr. Aidoo who have made it their MO to hit below the belt.

There are so many issues that our politicians can address in this year?s electioneering campaign. There are social issues like unemployment, high cost of living, falling living standards, health issues, economic issues like inflation, high cost of running a business in Ghana, macro-economic instability. Added with issues of educational reform and funding, high mortality rates, low life expectancy, poverty, high illiteracy rate should give our politicians a plate full of issues to talk about.

Resorting to insults is a cheap way to address these issues. Politicians who indulge in them and those who patronize their actions belittle the intelligence of the electorate and like it happened in the 2000 elections the electorate would use their thumbs to send the message that political brinksmanship would not be rewarded in our politics.

Respect is a two-way traffic, it is also earned. We have to make efforts to build bridges and not to burn them.

It is true that all is fair in love and war but it is not always so. The lessons of the 2000 elections are still fresh in the minds of all Ghanaians. Ghanaians have attained political sophistication and those who take it for granted do so at their own peril. A word to the wise is enough.