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Opinions of Wednesday, 11 July 2018

Columnist: Michael Jarvis Bokor

When the conspirators and co-conspirators jump at each other's throat after the deed

Former President John Dramani Mahama Former President John Dramani Mahama

Folks, have you noticed what I have? If not, let me wake you up to the reality unfolding right in front of our eyes that points to the kind of future that the various forces that ganged up in their conspiracy and evil propaganda against John Mahama and the NDC to put Akufo-Addo in power are leading us to.

There is no doubt in my mind that the ganging up of those in the clergy, mass media, civil society groupings, mushroom anti-NDC political parties and just any other entity to put Akufo-Addo in power has reached a crisis point now that Akufo-Addo is exercising that power.

That crisis point is glaring. They are fighting each other over issues dear to our democratic experiment and damaging to their own credibility and future. As an observer of what is unfolding, I am poised to explore it all and make my voice heard. Here is what has emerged thus far:

1. MASSIVE COALITION AGAINST MAHAMA AS AN INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT: What these pro-Akufo-Addo elements did in this regard helped Akufo-Addo's mafia-style of seeking political power but is fading really fast now that the dust is settling to prove that Akufo-Addo has nothing new for Ghana's progress.

Talk about his government's inability to initiate any new development project and his commissioning of those established by Mahama, calling them "Ghana's projects".

Consider the re-naming of projects already commissioned by Mahama and you should know how hollow Team Akufo-Addo is. What has it been able to do thus far as a ground-breaking move to establish its own credibility as far as infrastructural development is concerned? Nothing!!

Remember that Ghanaians need such infrastructural development to have value-for-money (the taxes that they pay).

And now that their own incompetence is obvious, they can't bear public criticism.

2. SPLIT IN THE RANKS OF THE ANTI-MAHAMA CAMP: Here, folks, there are many areas of interest. Happenings indicate that the Franklin Cudjoes and Bentils as well as "disguised pro-NPP politicians" in the clergy such as the Rev. Emmanuel Marteys and Mensa Otabils, not to mention the mass media cabal spearheaded by Kweku Baako are operating at cross-purposes. What initially united them is now turning out to divide them. Why? Because reality has sunk that the cause pursued by them isn't any different from what they expended energies and resources condemning to Akufo-Addo's advantage.

Franklin Cudjoe and his IMANI (Ghana or Africa) have stood up to challenge the sordidness going on under Akufo-Addo and this frontal attack hurts the NPP camp, which explains why Cudjoe is no more their "darling boy".

(Whether it is about policy issues or adroit moves to fleece the national economy, IMANI has been playing a frontline role to expose Team Akufo, which it hates to the marrow. (I hope they don't do anything to snuff him out).

3. FIGHTING CORRUPTION WITH THE WRONG TOOLS: Not only are the forces that put Akufo-Addo in power at each other's throat in terms of disagreement over how Akufo-Addo is handling affairs but there is also a clear indication of a disconnect between them and Team Akufo-Addo.

Under Akufo-Addo's watch in less than 2 years, many scandals verging on corruption have occurred that a functional democracy would have punished. Not so. Akufo-Addo has exonerated all the culprits, even against glaring evidence. Be it the Agyarko case or the visa racketeering in the Commonwealth Games in Australia... or just any other, Akufo-Addo has freed his appointees from blame, contrary to what his own followers in the media, etc. have bared to prove that something really wrong happened for which heads must roll.

Folks, boil everything down to the Anas expose of the rot in the GFA and Kwesi Nyantakyi's neck-breaking revelation of the 5-3-2-1-bribe-sharing mechanism.

Anas did his best only for him and Kweku Baako to be caught in the warp that kennedy Agyapong and the elements of the Team Akufo-Addo mafia network are turning upside down. Agyapong has done all he can to discredit Anas and to put him on the spot for punishment instead. What is that and why is it so?

Kweku Baako's rants against Agyapong have made me wonder what is happening. Why are these elements who were once united in their diabolical plot to ditch the NDC and John Mahama on the basis of corruption now at each other's throat when Anas' work is to expose corruption for the perpetrators to be known and punished?

And why isn't Akufo-Addo keen on punishing the perpetrators instead of just putting in place cosmetic measures against Nyantakyi, even though he is walking about a free man and the GFA is in limbo? Having just reinstated Pius Hadzide and the others implicated in the visa racketeering episode, Akufo-Addo is telling us that the plot thickens.

4. BANTER BETWEEN FREDDIE BLAY AND TOGBE AFEDE: No doubt exists that Freddie Blay has questions to answer as far as the mode of acquisition of the 275 buses for each of the NPP's constituencies in Ghana is concerned. We have already damned him to hell; he has defended himself, which satisfies Akufo-Addo.

In adding his voice to the discourse, Togbe Afede questioned the morality behind what Freddie Blay did only for him to be flayed by Blay. In his damning retort, Blay tore into Togbe Afede, describing him as a "Johhny-Just-Come-to-Business" who might have made his wealth by selling palm wine. Huh!! High water marks here.

5. MANY OTHER GREY AREAS EXIST: There are many other issues cropping up for monitors like us to know how the very forces who united to kick the NDC out of power are rushing for each other's throat in less than 2 years of Akufo-Addo's rule. Something terribly bad must be catalyzing such neck-wracking moves. I wonder what it is; but I will be happy to see it all unfold so Ghanaians can learn lessons from them on how not to pander to absolute subterfuge packaged as redemption.

As the economic situation worsens in the country and the government does "paper politics" (quoting empty statistics on GDP growth and what-not), we are happy to note that the eye-opening moments are emerging as well.

And as these forces tear each other apart, they give us that window through which to see their wily political moves. And we will do all we can to hit their underbelly as exposed to us.

Folks, as is already emerging, we can prepare ourselves for more of the head-butting in the camp of all those who conspired to put Akufo-Addo in power but can't now agree on how to sustain him in power. As the "fundamentals" of the economy expose their super incompetence, I hope they will take off their dirty political blinkers and see the situation better.

It is easy to twist facts for political advantage but not easy to work with such twisted facts once in power. I anticipate more in-fighting among these motley pro-Akufo-Addo groups that will expose their mediocrity and political mischief all the more. Then, Ghanaians will be given the picture to guide them in their search for the dedicated leaders to move the country out of the woods, not the hungry wolves parading the political landscapes as the redeemers that they are not and will hate to be.

They are now a house divided against itself that cannot stand. Poor souls who can’t even agree on a common formula for sharing the spoils of “political war” so they don’t expose themselves to destruction.