What Do Togbe Afede and Samuel Okudzeto have in Common?

Yes, the NDC is a great party in the sense that it has been able to breed moles which she exports to other parties. Like the defunct Soviet Union, the party takes the art of propaganda, misinformation and spreading of deliberate lies very seriously. If the leadership directs that all should move in a particular direction, so be it. Like soldier ants, they all move like Zombie in either a straight line or zigzag formation. Any voice of dissent is vigorously crushed. It is either, 'You are for us or against us”. So it is like “they” and “the rest of us'.

NOW TO THE QUESTION:  What do Togbe Afede and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa have in common? Ask any person And the answers will flow freely – greed, deceit, manipulation and insatiable lust for power.  We have been taught and read in the Holy Bible that the greatest liar that ever lived on this sinful world of ours was Ananias. But having seen, observed, heard and read about the demeanor of these two 'honourable' gentlemen, I strongly feel that we owe Ananias a post Humous apology.

Sometimes, I begin to wonder what spirit might have entered the body and mind of Togbe Afede to have made such an utterance which has the propensity of cementing the cracks that already exist among Ghanaians. And to think that such utterance could come from a chief, who, many of us had believed, erroneously at that time that, he was detribalized and could be counted upon as a true Ghanaians in all its ramifications. Togbe Afede until that remark, had appeared to me as a total Ghanaian for his remarks, utterances and actions, since his installation as Agbogbemafia of Asogli State had portrayed him as a unifier. He had traveled across the lengths and breath of the country preaching peace and unity. Courtesy visits were paid to other traditional rulers - all in an effort to cement the bond of friendship that exists between the Asogli State and other traditional areas.

We had known him for what we thought he was. But now, like the NDC, Togbe Afede has shown his true colours. This is a chameleon type of a Ghanaian that one should be afraid of as soon as one runs into him. Just flee! Do not wait for a rescuer for the next person you meet might pretend to come to your rescue, but do not be deceived. He might be one of them! Togbe Afede talks of being strangers on their land of birth during Kufuor's administration. O God, how mean could people be!  And that is why the Bible admonishes us not to put our trust in man, for man will fail you, but God will neither fail nor disappoint! “SÑ” akok×› didi wie a, na ne werÑ” afri akroma”. (When the cock eats to its satisfaction, it forgets about the hawk.  Togbe Afede, according to available information, was penciled to stand on the ticket of the NPP during the 1992 parliamentary elections which was boycotted by the NPP. Now the question is, was his heart and head totally for the NPP or he was to be a mole planted in the party? Or could it be a case of 'Ghana must Go' bags having changed hands? I may be mistaken but that is how it appears to me.

And if one would ask, in what way could the Asogli State be regarded as a land without development?. The projects undertaken by the Kufuor-led NPP administration are there for all to see. Even if the projects completed within the Kufuor's era were not initiated by the NPP, at least one could take solace in the fact that such projects were not discontinued by the then incoming NPP administration but were completed There are many areas which voted massively for the NPP but were denied amenities, my area inclusive. But we have never made an issue out of it. We are bidding our time with the hope that our time will surely come.

Was Toge Afede not made a member of the Bank of Ghana's Board of Directors? As if that was not enough, when the Asogli overlord had his dispute with VALCO over the sitting of his electricity project, did ex  President Kufuor not take personal interest to ensure that the project saw the light of the day? But lo and behold, our honourable chief has an office at the seat of power and so should say words which would be 'appetizing' to the appointing authority to show appreciation for his new status.  Personally, I felt the utterance by our honourable Chief Togbe Afede was the unkindest cut of all. The point is that Togbe Afede, prior to that bombshell had enjoyed an undisputable reputation among his subjects and Ghanaians from all walks of life. And that is what makes his action dangerous and unpardonable. Infact, like Cassius in 'Julius Caesar', Togbe Afede has been contriving to demonize and bring Kufuor and the NPP low with his utterances. He is moving towards the re-emphasizing the erroneous impression that Kufour and the NPP hate people of the Volta Region. But that is a fallacy!

What is bad is bad and cannot be good. Let all Ghanaians, irrespective of political and ethnic affiliation condemns the chief for this act of indiscretion. That was not an occasion to be political. Togbe Afede should come out and retract the statement with profound apologies to all Ghanaians.

And whoever wrote the speech for the President on that occasion should not be given an award for commonsense. Why should he write that the Volta Region is the second home to the President? Which is his third home? And if any where he goes, he comes out to say this is my so so and so home, which would be his last home or region? What would be his response if he gets to say the Eastern Region and the people ask him where he places the Region? And surely this question would be asked at many and different visits. What is going to be his answer?

Back to Togbe Afede's issue. The late Victor Owusu, in the heat of a public debate in Parliament lost his poise and referred to Ewes as an inward–looking people  – an utterance which dogged his political career like an albatross. The people never forgave him inspite of his explanations and numerous apologies  Now, let me also say that Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is indeed a lucky “boy” for without any experience whatsoever, the 28 year old ‘boy’ who just collected his first pay cheque was handed the juicy portfolio of Deputy Minister for Information. But his antecedent, if viewed seriously, would not have put him any where closer to that ministerial portfolio. Infact the position of deputy Image maker of government should be the last thing, one should associate with such an individual.  And to be candid, this appointment is one of the many minuses dogging the Mills administration.  Who does not know the confusion he caused amongst the various institutions under the umbrella of National Union of Ghana Student? This Okudzeto, against all norms in a decent student movement, granted an interview on Radio Gold to claim that the NUGS had deliberated and had taken a strong position against the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill (ROPAB). This was his own personal view which he tried to foist it on the entire student body in the country. Then came the Legon SRC election in which Lord Hamah was in the process of clinching the presidency. Here again, Okudzeto put his diabolical plan into action when he issued a statement on behalf of NUGS (on the unions letterhead) calling for students to join in the protest/ demonstration against the disqualification of Lord Hamah. The Dean of student Affairs had earlier issued a statement to disqualify him from holding any elective post on campus on account of his involvement in Examination malpractice.  By committing the entire student’s body in Ghana to a statement which was his own personal view, he lost the respect of his immediate constituency – the SRC of Legon which announced its withdrawal from the NUGS. He therefore became a General without an army. He had no constituency and so was asked to step aside.  And this is the person, the Atta Mills government has found fit to “annoint” from a country of more than twenty million people to man the highly sensitive position of “turning government black things into white”. This government image maker is a complete unmitigating disaster just like his tenure as NUGS President. His tenure as NUGS President was characterized by rancour, bickering, disaffection among the students body, arbitrariness and high handedness, lack of respect for constituted authority, deceit, clandestine acts and ‘running a one man show’ - all in a bid to satisfy the lust and greed of an individual –Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.  And like Togbe Afede who rode on the back of the NPP to become what he is , albeit through deceit, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa rose to prominence through guile and deceit. Like Absalom in the Bible who rebelled against his father, King David by warming his way into the hearts of those who had come to see the King for some form of redress, this young man had through some form of guile, deceit and perhaps threachery, been able to warm his way into heart of Honourable Dan Botwe, MP for Okere Constituency who took him to meet some NPP MPS to demand assistance to enable him prosecute his agenda of clinching the NUGS Presidency. He sold them the dummy that he was a strong NPP activist and needed assistance. Dan was taken in by this seemingly innocent boy’s looks and smiles and so appealed to his colleagues in NPP to assist him and they did! This is authentic and if anyone doubts it, he should ask Honourable Kennedy Agyepong. They could ask Honourable Okudzeto Ablakwa himself if he did not go to Parliament House to collect “ex gratia” from some NPP MPs, Honourable Kennedy Agyepong inclusive. If Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa wants to live by the tenet of the honourables, then he should come out clean of it. Did he receive monies from some NPP MPS or he didn’t?  I am not bothered by his asking for assistance. After all, we are enjoined by the Holy Books to be each other’s keeper and as can be seen by our kind gesture to Brother Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the NPP abounds in such philanthropists. They are many in the party who would not hesitate to render assistance to those in need whether they believe in our tradition or not.  But what I am against is the attempt to use deceit to actualize one personal ambition and that was exactly what the deputy image maker of the NDC attempted to and actually did. Why did he not come out straight to ask his benefactors for assistance instead of selling the dummy that he was an NPP member? Why does he have to resort to lying to get what he needed? Why didn’t he go to his colleagues within the NDC camp? And is he not one of such people who have spoken so loudly against the rich on the society? If someone works very hard and enjoys the fruits of his/her labour, what is wrong with that? Yet never a day passes without NDC officials and their cronies referring to the NPP men and women as thieves. Student activist Kwesi Adu, Brigadier Nunoo Mensah, now National Security Advisor to President Mills and a host of others never ceased to refer to Britain, the U.S and many Western countries as exploiters, yet, when their lives were under threat during the Rawlings regime, they did seek refuge in Britain.  And if after the NPP had helped him to actualize his inordinate ambition of becoming the head of student body in Ghana, a position which he clandestinely used to feather his political nest, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa could turn round and hurl insults on men and women of the Dankwa-Busia-Dombo tradition, old enough to be his great grandfathers and grandmothers, then the country is in for a very big trouble. I know that pay back time will soon be here with us:  This ‘small boy’ of a deputy image maker of the Mills administration has arrogated unto himself the power to deliberately and arrogantly spew forth falsehood, without any conscience. He does it so perfectly well with all the passion so much so that somebody remarked that the way Okudzeto Ablakwa is going about his work, it appears he has a secret agenda of carrying  out an unfinished business of his forefathers  The minority in parliament had held a press conference in which they accused President Mills of presiding over a government of gangsterism and criminality. What is wrong with such a statement? Is the government not looking the other way whilst acts of gangterism and barbarism are perpetrated right before our very eyes? Instead of the government calling these agent provocateurs to order, it has so far refused to apprehend them, thereby giving tacit support to these criminals. This is what we go through for it has become a daily routine. If it is not Nana Akufo – Addo’s car which was snatched yesterday, it is that of Chief Kufuor. Decent people in a decent society do things in a decent way, and although we claim to be civilized and well groomed, what we are witnessing in the country today does not portray us as such.  Now, the Minority did not say that President Mills is a criminal. What they said was that Mills was presiding over a government of gangsters. Now if an operative of Mills administration accosts a member of the previous administration and asks him/her to hand over the key to his/her vehicle and if inspite of protestations the driver, owner of the vehicle and submission of relevant documents pertaining to ownership of the vehicle, the operative refuses to bulge but insists on seizing the vehicle, what would you call such an action? Isn’t it gansteerism? And if we say it, what offence have we committed?  But the response in the form of a retort from the NDC Deputy image maker, Samuel Okudzeto Ablaka is the mother of all insults! It is like using a sledge-hammer to kill a small fly. Now listen to this ‘small boy’ carved in the image of Rehoboam.  He alleged that the presidential candidate of the NPP only returned two official four wheels drives that were in his possession for more than a year because he realized that the security agencies were closing it on him.  “Even former President John Kufuor hijacked official vehicles and motor cycles of the President of the Republic to his house. These are the gangsters and criminals and not President Mills and his team.”  What an insult! Yes, and I mean it. Let it be known by all men who are truthful to God and their conscience that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo never kept any government vehicle in his house beyond the period granted him after he had left office as Foreign Minister. Those vehicles were handed to the appropriate authorities and had been in the fleet of cars at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Checks at the Ministry would have confirmed this fact, but this novice of a minister, who, perhaps to please those who appointed him and to undo other sectors ministers and get the accolade that he is the best amonst the lot quickly rushed to Press to announce his “catch and findings”..

My candid advice to this NDC kid on the block is that he should not muddle the friendly waters he came to meet and then turn round and accuse others of having done so. He should not engage in mudslinging his political opponents. The political terrain is rough, rugged and uneven with lots of thorns, rocks and stumps. Running and rushing are the last things any seasoned politician should engage in, lest the earth opens and swallows him/her up. Tolerance, diplomacy and the use of bread, butter and honey are the ingredients my brother, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa needs to make him succeed in his assigned task of polishing the rough edges of the Mills presidency.  The ancient sages believed in the use of the above ingredients to achieve their aim. They were very well-versed in the use of proverbs and parables to explain and solve difficult and somehow intractable situations. But the modern trend has just about eliminated the use of diplomacy and such ingredients from our political dictionary. The use of ‘gra-gra’ and ‘buga-buga’ tactics will take us poles away from our set goals. In earlier times, the cane became a sine qua non in the classroom. Any adult could flog any child he/she saw misbehaving on the streets and the parents of the child will express their appreciation to the adult for attempting to steer their child unto the straight and narrow way. But now, that policy is outdated. Just go and beat up somebody’s child on the street for misbehaving and see if the law will not catch up with you.  He, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa should not think that he is lord and master of all that he surveys, for when the chips are down, he will be called upon to give account of his stewardship. And what credentials is he going to present before an enlightened audience? That he insulted people who were old enough to be his grand papas and mamas? That he was doing his master’s bidding? It is just like the excuse the executioner uses to justify his spilling of human blood. – that somebody has to do the job. And if somebody has to do it, why should it be you, Okudzeto of all persons? Is he the only person capable of doing the hatchet job? What about good old Tony Aidoo? What about the professional liar, Fiifi Kwetey? The sort of lies Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa peddles on the screen of television sets and the pages of newspapers are so flat and amateurish that my three year old child will find it difficult to believe.  Why should a young amateur and novice take upon himself the job of mudslinging and maligning his political opponents? There are much more aggressive men and women in the NDC who will say what the party wants to hear but would act otherwise in secret. It should not appear that Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is spearheading the congress of evil men and women in the NDC. That “accolade” does not fit him well. It would appear as if he was dressed in borrowed robes.  Let the novice Deputy Image Maker of the government get his facts right before he comes out to misinform the public and later render apologies. The apologies are becoming rather superfluous. Issuing threats and ultimatum to adults who have committed no crime or offence is an act of irresponsibility. How did he feel when after his ‘buga-buga’ and ‘gra-gra’ show, it was proved beyond all reasonable doubts that his accusation lacks merit or substance?. It is like a teacher who after ‘dishing out’ facts to his students, he realizes or it is pointed out to him that he has given out “apo bone”? How does he face the class to tell them that what he has given them is “apo bone”? Such a teacher loses his respect and credibility before his students and the entire student population that very day. And so it is with Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Togbe Afede and others who have decided to rewrite the history of this country with their lies.  Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has, by his acts and utterances within the first one month of his appointment revealed his unpreparedness and unsuitability for his assigned portfolio.  To conclude this piece, let me pose this question again. What do Togbe Afede and Samuel Okudzeto have in common? Nothing more than intrigues to throw the tenets of democratic principles and credentials to the wind. Since their unmerited appointment, it has been numerous attempts to demonize and criminalize ex President Kufuor, Nana Akufo-Addo and top members of the New Patriotic Party. They have attempted in various ways to do just that and their unspoken words appear to be “they deserve it” or “it serves them right”. Unfortunately there are some Ghanaians who see nothing wrong with the posture taken by these two gentlemen and others of their kinds to be antagonistic to those holding contrary opinions from their own. They want to act God and unleash the venom they have harboured in their system over the years upon their perceived opponents.  But I have some words of caution for the likes of Togbe Afede and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. To everything there is a season and a time for everything. What goes up must surely come down. Today is their day, but tomorrow will be ours. The Israelites were in Egypt and when they cried to God, He hearkened to their voices and delivered them from slavery. The National Democratic Congress will never remain on top of Mount Olympus for ever. Angels are supposed to be bright, though the brightest fell.

We, members of the New Patriotic Party are watching with glee, all the intrigues and abracadabra being played out by the NDC-led government and have the belief that in no time, they will exhaust all their tricks in their ammunition depots. We are determined in our united crusade of bringing back to the faces of Ghanaians, the smiles which have disappeared and been replaced with despondency.

There is a tomorrow for you, Ghanaians!

Daniel Danquah Damptey Danieldanquah_damptey@yahoo.com 0243715297