THE ARROGANT SERVANT THAT THREATENS THE MASTER -ASK

When a servant begins threatening his master to be allowed to serve, there is need to raise eyebrows. There is the need to be suspicious of the latent motive for that force.

Over the past many years, we have been inundated with threats from a group of politicians who see the power to govern as a right rather than a privilege.

As believers in democracy and the rule of law, the tenets of any democracy cannot be lost on us. The rights of the citizens to choose their leader and have him govern cannot be taken away from them nor suppressed. Every democrat knows that the power to govern lies in the masses. To this end, democracy has been defined as government of the people, by the people and for the people.

The moment any democrat assumes supremacy over the electorates, it posses danger to the survival of the very people whose interests must be safeguarded by the democracy.

It has become worrying, that, individuals in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who are seeking the mandate of the people, would engage in threats to the survival of all in the event that they lose the 2016 elections. The recent comments by the National Organizer of the party, MrJohn Boadu to the effect of beating people and preventing them from registering and voting in the Ashanti region, is in bad taste and must be condemned by all well-meaning democrats. It is a recipe for violence in this democratic nation of ours.

Not only him, just within the week, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) called on all youth leaders of the various political parties to take charge of their various youth front before, during and after the general elections.

Moments after the meeting, interviews conducted with all youth leaders exposed only one youth leader who apparently is not ready to control his front, Sammy Awuku the National Youth Organizer of the NPP. His references to the committees of the Electoral Commission which was of no relevance to the call by the IGP reveals one thing ahead of the election – desperation.

There are historical basis to this posturing. Readers would recall how this same youth organizer then, retorted that, he had closed his ears and minds to the 2012 elections to the extent that any thing declared for the NPP apart from a win, was a flawed result.  We seemed to have forgotten about this, but indulged the pretending individuals to take us through a needless legal tussle that lasted 8 long months.

Not only that, you could also recall Anthony Karbo virtually threatening to unleash a replica of Afghanistan on us if the NPP was not declared winner of the elections of 2012.

Chief among these calls was the almighty all-die-be-die declared by the leader of the opposition NPP Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, coupled with his declaration that at all costs, the NPP need to win the elections of 2012.

In the wake of that, the party’s National Chairman at the time, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey virtually threatened, with reference to the Ivorian case that, Akans in Ghana would rise for their birthright just as their colleagues in Ivory Coast did to ensure the NPP was declared winners of the 2012 elections.

Not only that, we witnessed the declaration by a Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong to the effect that, Akans should rise up and adopt cutlasses and clubs to annihilate Gãs and Ewes.

We sat down as a people and watched these unfortunate comments pass. Today, as we approach another election, the desperation has reached its crescendo as the party presents a retiring candidate for the 2016 elections.

As we approach this election, messages of peace would be preached. The political leaders of the major political parties have a responsibility to the citizens of this country. Reference could be made to the apparent pretence of the candidate of the NPP ahead of the 2012 elections where he virtually conditioned his acceptance of the election results on a platform at the instance of the Asantehene Otomfour Osei Tutu II.

We cannot approach this election with such posturing. It would be a danger to have a political leader who would close his eyes and ears on violent behaviors from within his party and rather point fingers at minor issues elsewhere as had been the case.

The people of Ghana must understand one thing, they have the right to choose who ever leads them. That should not be done on the basis of threats. No one has the right to rule this country. In elections, ideas matter. The best of ideas must be placed on the table, evaluated and then a mandate given to those whose ideas are in line with the desires and aspirations of the masses.

As it stands now, the opposition New Patriotic Party had been in government before. They have a record. They must he measured on their record under the 8 year rule. An assessment of their published achievements would give an idea what they have in stock for Ghanaians.

Today, the running mate of the NPP is going round promising to reduce taxes. They are condemning external borrowings. That is a message. However, that message must be scrutinized and tested before taking a decision in their favour or otherwise. How the NPP according to him would reduce taxes on the importation of all products and at the same time, encourage the progress of local industries according to his flag bearer, is a matter of interrogation. That is what would lead this country towards achieving the best.

As it stands, the importation of rice and poultry products under this government, had gone down dramatically. You cannot, and I mean the NPP, cannot reduce taxes on the importation of rice and expect local rice to receive the patronage we are seeking. This is because, producing locally is expensive. It had become lucrative because government has made a conscious effort to make their products cheaper as compared to their foreign counterpart products.

Should the dynamics change, which producer would wish to expend much to produce before going to the market when same products can be imported at much cheaper price with huge profits in the end?

So, we can have a direction for this election. We must demand an issue based campaign devoid of threats. It is important to allow sense to lead us. Come, speak some sense, and allow the electorates to decide, not threats.

ASK