In the sudden wake of COVID-19 spreading across the globe like a wildfire, Ghana like many other nations cared less, most especially when there wasn't any recorded cases within the African regions.
Even though some African leaders foresaw the need to take strident measures to curtail entry of the virus, other leaders still sat unconcerned in their usual lackadaisical posture calculating how to either loot their countries or win the election.
Subsequently, when Ghana recorded her first COVID-19 case on the 12th of March, 2020, our President addressed the nation assuring us to remain steadfast as his government has committed an amount of USD$ 100m towards the fight against COVID-19. An amount which turned out to be an "audio" money because his cousin Ken Ofori Atta addressing Parliament in the following week contradicted the president in a revelation that the money is now under a loan process to IMF & WHO.
As our cases continued to escalate, the president in his own wisdom and that if his advisors, addressed the nation on government's outlined precautionary safety, placed a four week ban on public gatherings and social events such as weddings, funerals, church & mosque activities. Applying the same wisdom he decided to extricate night clubs, drinking spots and other funny public engagements. Let's assume he was mislead to think night clubs and drinking spots have less than 25 participants.
Intriguingly, whiles citizens felt the need to respect the president's order, Prof. Ken Atefuah and his officials (Some of the "we have the men") were busily executing another presidential order. A presidential order to register citizens in the president's strongholds for the Identification cards, which according to Jean Mensah will be the prerequisite for voting. When the President was asked by one Reverend Minister whether or not he's aware the NIA has defiled his orders and gone ahead registering people, he boldly look in his face and lied that he's oblivious of the act. Let's again assume the president was uninformed about the development so he couldn't order his boys to stop.
As though that was not enough, two citizens thought it wise and instituted a legal action against the NIA. they prayed the court to among other reliefs place an interlocutory injunction on the NIA registration. Taking into cognisance the fact that the act will endanger the lives of the people as it posed a threat of spreading the COVID because over 100 people crowd the premises to register each day.
Fast forward, the Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame appealed the High Court to allow the NIA continue with its operations using the president's private law firm, Akufo-Addo,Prempeh and Co. And it's all over the news that the court has granted Godfred Dame's relief and have seen the NIA sharing fliers to other communities with the Eastern Region for registration. How can we forgive him for such callousness? So if he didn't hear the rain rain drumming hard on his roof, didn't he see it when he came out? This is what hypocrisy can do.
This is how cruel President Akuffo Addo and his cronies can be. They have beein lying to all of us before & after elections and even whiles in government. They lied to us when Nana Addo said he's concerned about the next generation but not the next elections, he absolutely meant the direct opposite of what he said.
We're in a country where leaders no longer think about the welfare of the citizens but the "warfare" of the next election. By hook or crook, by living or dead they must win the election... Such wickedness!
They said we shouldn't politicize COVID-19 like the NPP did during the Ebola outbreak in 2015 yet they're the major culprits.. Always using press conferences to conceal their evil deeds from the public. The few serious ones have been muted certainly because they don't subscribe to their wickedness..
They said we shouldn't spread fear but our leaders keep lying to us concealing every truth and playing an angelic role in our faces.
And all of a sudden, our Clergy, some CSOs, National Peace and Christian Councils who hitherto were so verbose in criticising the erstwhile government are now blind, dumb and deaf. This is the level of hypocrisy we've gotten to. And don't be surprised if you awake up one morning to see our nation submerged in a pool of hypocrisy.
The way and manner in which these people reason and offer advice leaves the younger generation wonder where wisdom had fled to.
So are we still expecting God to listen to the national fasting and prayers sanctioned by a lying president? Judas Iscariot must be laughing by now.
Every indication has proven that our current leaders don't care about what happens to you and I. It's therefore incumbent on us to now protect our lives and secure our future. A future that promises to be great and provide an enabling environment where all will thrive, regardless.
Let's all advice ourselves and protect our lives in this moment of global pandemic. Bear in mind that those asking you to go queue to register for NIA cards wear nose masks and sanitizes their hands frequently even in their enclosed Chambers. You have not been provided even with a tissue to cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough yet you're going to join over hundred people for registration when you don't know who has the virus and who doesn't. If you ever fall victim to this insensitivity of the government, and contract the virus, you'll die a very painful, useless and worthless death.
We thought the President was once again misled to say he wasn't aware of the NIA breeching of order. But to allow his private firm to be used to perpetuate evil against the people of Ghana, that is unpardonable, for wants of better words for better expression. It is undoubtedly true that the people of Ghana are not angry enough but such hypocrisy, moral decoys and political incongruities must not be countenanced at all.
Eluhi was absolutely right when he told Job in his book chapter 32 verses 9 that "it is not growing old that makes people wise or helps them to know what is right". As he said in the verse 8 that "But it is the spirit of Almighty God that comes to human beings and gives them wisdom".
Indeed if it was growing old that gives wisdom, Ghana should have been Paradise by now since we were told some three and half years ago that "Y3 te Sika so nanso k)m de y3n" (To wit, we're sitting on money yet we're hungry).
It is okay for a man to make mistakes but when these mistakes are repeated severally, it's no longer referred as such but as wickedness. Ghana is sinking under this current governance and until they're told boldly in the face that they've failed Ghanaians, they'll continue to show disrespect for humanity, law and order!!
As a people, we need a national development plan. A plan that leaders would not sit in Accra and assume for the people what their priorities are. We are talking about a national development plan build on the foundation of concensus building. One that leaders will provide an avenue for the citizens to SPEAKOUT and not holdback, one that will provide the people an opportunity to meet key stakeholders and decision makers to interact one-on-one outlining their grievances, needs and wants to be addressed respectively. It is only through this means that we would have a well thought out national agenda to execute to restore the lost hopes and inspire the people to do more. A better alternative that will salvage this great nation from the whims and caprices of insensitivity, socio-economic and political mishaps. With this, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr "we would be able to hew out of the mountain of despair".
Thank you.
THE WRITER OF THIS ARTICLE IS CALLED TETTEH DJEM BISMARK. A FORMER NUGS COORDINATING SECRETARY, YOUTH ACTIVIST AND A POLITICAL ANALYST.
0245799748
bismarktetteh27@gmail.com
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