The adage ‘A leopard does not shed its spots’ has full expression in the condemnable conduct displayed by Prof. Kwesi Yankah at the recent anti-corruption conference organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The show of street partisanship in his obnoxious keynote address is not a recent phenomenon but an old habit perpetuated by him over a long period of time. It is not surprising therefore that the professor failed to live up to expectation yet again, as he decided to resort to merely rehashing the street talks and partisan propaganda regarding the issue of corruption and how President John Mahama is dealing with the canker in his government.
Readers will recall that in the run-up to the 2012 general elections, Prof. Kwesi Yankah was the main speaker at a similar forum organized at the British Council in Accra by the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Danquah Institute (DI). It was at that forum that he put up a spirited defense for Mr. Nana Addo Akufo-Addo’s infamous ‘all-die-be-die’ cum ‘yen akanfuo’ tribal tantrums.
Prof. Kwesi Yankah had said rather shockingly in his keynote address at the DI forum that by his ‘all-die-be-die’ cum ‘yen akanfuo’ comments, Nana Akufo-Addo was only encouraging his followers to stand firm in protecting their party’s interest in the elections and that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the NPP flagbearer had said.
In that speech, the varsity don made sure he downgraded the National Democratic Congress (NDC) amidst vilifications and the casting of innuendoes and insinuations whiles he did everything in his power to try and make the NPP and its flagbearer look good in the eyes of the Ghanaian electorate.
Prof Yankah also failed woefully at the time to prove his intellectual capability of analyzing the ‘all-die-be-die/yen akanfuo’ comments as being potentially dangerous for this country, when there was no doubt that in making those comments, Mr Akufo-Addo was fully aware that he was inciting ethnic violence in the elections. The varsity don rather chose to give his tacit endorsement to the unfortunate pronouncements by the desperate NPP flagbearer.
What Prof Yankah did at the IEA forum recently was only a progression of a pattern of conduct that he has demonstrated time and again. That conduct suggests without ambiguity that he would rather prefer to put his intellectual credibility on the line by pushing an NPP agenda for political power, albeit in a most despicably dishonest manner, than to prove his competence as a professor who will not deliver a speech on any subject devoid of well-researched and realistic facts that can stand the litmus test.
Obviously, the man just does not like the NDC and he makes no effort to hide his abhorrence for the ruling party and its governments. For him, the NDC must come down at all cost. He just does not want to see the party in power.
On the contrary however, he has demonstrated clearly that he loves the NPP with passion and will go to all lengths to whitewash the opposition party and try to project it in good light. Nothing else matters to him so far as what he does may eventually inure to the benefit of his political party and its wobbling, third-time, presidential candidate.
Against this backdrop, could Prof. Yankah’s recent outbursts be any wonder? We say a big NO! The man is on a mission. He has been on this mission for some time now and most probably will stop at nothing in his pursuit for political power for his beloved NPP.
Indeed it is clear. Prof. Kwesi Yankah’s intellectual and moral judgements are clouded by unbridled partisanship- and let’s wait a minute! That in itself is a form of moral decadence.
Otherwise, how was it possible that all that a whole professor could do when given a good opportunity to speak on the issue of corruption, was to compile mere allegations of corruption in the streets- most of which emanated from the opposition NPP circles overtime anyway- put his own spin on these rumours and presents them to his audience as the real facts, and on the other hand, choose to pretend not to be aware that most of the authentic issues of corruption in this government were exposed by the government itself and are being dealt with according to the rule of law?
It is time the Prof Yankahs of this world get it straight that the days of the former President Rawlings are over. No NPP loudmouth educated elite can hide under the cloaks of intellectualism to engage in open deceit of the citizens of Ghana any longer in the name of academic lectures and keynote addresses at various forums. His conduct was despicable and shameful to say the least. In fact, it was an affront to intellectualism in this country. His main intention of pushing for a regime change so that the Akufo-Addo-led NPP can come to power in the 2016 election cannot be hidden. He must bow his head in shame.