The Voter Ain’t No Animal in Ghana – Preparing to vote in November, 2016

4 mins (read)

Kwabena Brako-Powers (Author, Blogger, Life-Enthusiast, Traveler)

I am careful to pass judgment on the segment of society we have tagged ‘illiterates’, or ‘uneducated’ Ghanaians. It isn’t that I am being too careful, but that I am mindful – not to willfully take it that persons who have not made it to the classroom are uneducated. What strikes me, profoundly, is the way we assume – without logical bases – the argument that such persons could not make any meaningful contribution to issues of national development – especially anemic decisions of the government and stoic stance of President Mahama towards corruption of its ministers. I have, personally, found these persons to have a better way of appreciating issues than the so called ‘intellectuals’.

On Monday, I sat in a white Sprinter bus heading for Accra – quiet unusually – this one looked different or it appeared different from the usual debates that engulf buses in the capital. I knew I had found sanity for the first time in Ghana – where I am free from mind viruses such as corruption of government officials, or teeming unemployed youths in the country. I snaked my right hand into my bag to fetched The Mind of the Strategist – a book written by Kenichi Ohmae from to read. As we reached SCC near Weija, the driver tuned in his radio to a political discussion. A man was heard defending the government’s decision to bring in the two Gitmo ex-detainees to Ghana. He was often interrupted by another person, who was identified as a communication member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). As the presenter asked the government communication team member to end his presentation, a man who was sitting a row in front of me sighed. He later laughed loud as though cheering his favorite player play his passion out. I almost heard his throat screamed for help as his voice sounded dry or something like that.

He turned to a woman beside her and murmured something in Twi to her. She smiled and looked aside. Sensing he’s found a partner, the man ventilated his opinion on the Gitmo two in Twi questioning why government officials failed to conduct due-diligence on the matter as significant as this. This time, it was loud enough to arrest our attention. ‘Even though we’ve not been to classroom before, yet we can tell a liar’, he said in Twi with his eyes fixed on the woman. The woman led out a loud sigh – the one replete with enough questions left unanswered. ‘This government will kill us. Why is America not accommodating some of the detainees?’ she asked mixing the Twi and English in an uncomfortable manner. She tossed the word ‘detainees’ as though she was scared of pronouncing the word. It was imperfect, however, those of us in the car got what she meant. Perhaps not expecting any response. The driver who was then watching the inside mirror erratically, let out a word or two to cheer them up. The conversation was educative as more people joined in. All along, my eyes were locked in on them. Saying nothing, but taking all in as though a baby being fed by the mother.
As the bus got to First Light near Accra Academy, I got down and made way home. On my way, I began to reflect on some of the issues raised by the other passengers. They didn’t sound political – an unusual news to my ears. They spoke in a manner that sounded nothing, but patriotic. They had their patriotic barge on, and dispassionately delivered their points to my itching ears. What motivated our national leadership to acquiesce to the decision to accommodate ex-detainees of Guantanamo bay here in Ghana? Why didn’t they conduct due diligence before agreeing? How come some top security officials of the country were not consulted before the decision was taken? Is this decision of our leaders in the best interest of our nation or their selfish interest? These and many other genuine questions beg asking. I was stunned to notice that these questions were tossed by persons we claimed to be ‘uneducated’ and ‘illiterate’ in our society. How come the ‘loud’ and ‘know-all’ intellectuals at the helm of affairs of the country didn’t see this coming? And how come the so called ‘communication experts’ in the ruling party’s communication team did not predict the bad press a decision of this kind would generate for the president?

Bad meals have been served us for many years, and its repetition in our political life is an indication of the lost power of the ordinary Ghanaian voter or something like that. We’ve suffered as a people for the bad decisions of our national governments. Often, instead of soliciting our opinions, they end up selling to us what they feel and narrowly think. And when we talk back at them, they call us names – ‘lazy Ghanaians’, ‘ungrateful Ghanaians’, ‘forgetful Ghanaians’, or ‘weak thinking Ghanaians’. We’re almost always wrong when we speak up.

As we march into November, 2016 for the Presidential and Parliamentary Election, are Ghanaians going to make yet another mistake to end up being labelled all sort of things? Or are we going to demonstrate, evidently and loud enough, that the ‘voter ain’t no animal’? We need to do more than our willingness to vote. We need to prepare to vote and this entails being critical with what these political parties tell us. The voter ain’t no animal in Ghana. Let us be guided by the needs of future generations in the choice we make for the nation. God be with us.