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Opinions of Saturday, 18 July 2009

Columnist: Prof Lungu

Respect Whistle-Blower & State-Witness PC Appiah-Ofori!

For the Ghana-centered person, P.C. Appiah-Ofori, MP for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, personifies the voice, conscience, hopes, and aspirations of the people for a truly accountable and transparent Government of the People! Therefore, it was rather amusing reading on Ghanaweb and in other Ghanaian media that a Dr Charles Yaw Yeboah, former NPP MP and Mr. Ofori Asamoah, NPP MP have jointly filed a lawsuit against Ghana’s premiere whistle-blower and anti-corruption crusader. The report is, Mr. Appiah-Ofori discussed on Ghana radio that another MP informed him that some NPP ministers received $5000 incentive bribes for their votes on the sale of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone, thus contravening existing laws.

One thing is clear – all Ghana-centered persons who want corruption, bribery, and nepotism kicked out of the halls of government are totally in PC’s corner! Forget about the die-hard NPP hacks who will tell you membership in a political party is more important than the Commonwealth of the People of Ghana. and will waste our time with pointless arguments and articles.

In fact, we ask that Prof Mills, the NDC government, and the committee established to look into the GT sale quickly get on with the job – transparently, and accountably. They must rewind the Vodafone case on its most significant front – the legal front. After all, don’t we all know that Mr. Appiah-Ofori’s protest against the fire-sale to Vodafone since the beginning has never been the bribes received, serious an offence as that might be.

No. The essence of PC’s case since the beginning is the idea that the entire deal was rammed through Ghana’s Parliament against the letters and spirit of the Constitution of Ghana. That has always been the essence of PC’s protest. The so-called $5000 bribes would then be merely incentives that provided the avenue for Mr. Kuffour’s government to quickly secure the illegal votes. Nothing more!

Undoubtedly, any jackass can file a lawsuit claiming harm through defamation!

Undoubtedly, any fool can grandstand and conceal themselves behind people whose first inclination is to hide official records and restrain the free exchange of information owned by the people. These are the same people who specialize in hiding in mansions built with pilfered public treasures and have no respect to for other adults, other peoples’ children, and women in general.

Yes, any hot-shot can attempt to muzzle a Ghana-centered individual from exercising his/her free-will to help protect the public interest in the face of “corruption is perception, therefore, conduct investigations at your own cost, then tell the government what you found.”

What garbage!

And so, less than 10 days after the departure of President Obama of the United States from Accra, less that 10 days after these MPs stopped clapping in agreement to do right by Ghana by banishing corruption, the people of Ghana themselves must now decide. What really drove Dr. Yeboah and Mr. Ofori Asamoah? What are they fighting for? Is it because they want to help find the truth or is it because they are thinking first about their fat stomachs and sorry behinds?

Are these plaintiffs serious at all? In the first place, they tell us they have been defamed but then, they totally neglected to persuade Mr. Mpiani, their reported-NPP pusher, to accompany them to the court house. Or did they forget that the story says it is Mr. Mpiani who distributed funds to NPP ministers in order to secure votes in shameful time?

Can the plaintiffs tell us with a straight face why Mr. Mpiani is missing from the docket? Do the plaintiffs think that the committee investigating the case will also neglect to “call” Mr. Mpiani on a number of fronts? Why don’t these two spare all of us time and ask Mr. Mpiani to go to court with them?

And who are these supporters of the plaintiffs? Take the case of Mr. Daniel Danquah Damptey who, just the other day, provided confusing arguments bothering on intolerance, sexism, and total conflation of private and public lives the other day. Do these people understand that private and public lives are not the same. Don’t they understand that PC know the difference, that the difference is Ghana-centeredness?

Dear reader, search all pieces penned by Danquah Damptey and come and tell us if you find anything abut the issues Mr. Appiah-Ofori has been championing – transparency, accountability, and a strong, no-compromise anti-corruption posture. There is nothing in that record.

Isn’t that telling?

Maybe Danquah Damptey is still dazed from Akufo-Addo’s defeat at the polls. Maybe he is still in “a trance like manner like what happened when Peter was told that he should not call what God has cleansed unholy…,” whatever that means. No, sir, you do not have “the mandate to open the eyes” of anyone in this world, Ghanaians in particular, with that intolerant posture. And to single out “woman,” to suggest that a woman should not be proud of her body, to proclaim that a woman in “old age” is worn-out and has no “beauty”! Goodness grief! How about your mother?

But don’t we understand that? Is it not his hero, “Impeccable-Pedigree”-Akufo-Addo who asked us to find out from his women how good he was in bed in order to figure out his ability to perform in the public realm? These are the same individual who want us to take them serious even as they are hell-bent on belittling Ghana’s most important and consistent anti-corruption crusader.

Nice try, fellas!

Fact is, Mr. P.C. Appiah-Ofori has over the years served the people of Ghana very well. P.C. has for years challenged members of his own party to do good by Ghana. That is a most commendable attribute of an exemplary human being who empathizes with all the people.

But PC is now being ridiculed for his service to Ghana.

We dare say that the Danquah Damptey’s are certainly in shock. Ghanaians, through Prof Mills and the NDC government, now have a fantastic Obama-time-opportunity to reverse the tide. They have a responsibility to stand by Mr. Appiah-Ofori. They have a responsibility to utilize his knowledge, expertise, and experience to prosecute the Vodafone case and any others issues that may come up.

In fact, from the point of view of the Ghana-Nation, Mr. P.C. Appiah-Ofori is a key whistle-blower, a crucial witness of the State who deserves respect and recognition. So get off your behinds and quickly get to the bottom of the Vodafone mess, NDC. We are talking about those significant Ghana-centered issues.

Yes, Mr. P.C. Ofori-Appia is Ghana’s premiere champion.

Yes, respect and honor Mr. P. C. Appiah-Ofori!

© Prof Lungu, Okinawa, Japan, 6 March, 2009. Prof Lungu and www.GhanaHero.com are Ghana-centered. Please visit www.GhanaHero.com and tell us what you think. Read, listen, learn, and reflect!