Ghana’s day of shame
By: Nyalemegbe, Yaw Mensah
Mr. Kennedy Agyapong being carried away to the BNI Headquarters
It was about three years ago in a lecture hall popularly known as NNB2 at the University of Ghana, Legon. Up on the stage was a man I’d begun to respect from the very first day I’d stepped into one of his lectures. This respect was not for the mere sake of him being my lecturer, but for the insightful way in which he went about his teaching.
The day’s lecture was a course in Political Science coded POLI 318; Identities and Conflicts in Africa….We the students simply called the subject Conflict. Mr Frimpong or Kaakyire as we affectionately called him was an expert in his field…
He taught the course with no reference to any book or notes; everything seemed to be engraved right on his brain, and we soon found out the reason for this…Mr. Frempong was a fugitive of war; he’d experienced first hand destruction and atrocities committed in countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone, and had had to flee the latter with none of his personal effects when the violence broke out. He taught this course with a passion that only a first hand experience of the devastating effects of war can give you…We studied many different types of conflicts, and came upon the realisation that all around us in Africa, there have been many different causes of conflicts, but the most frequent, and most disastrous kind was ethnic conflict… Yesterday, Ghana witnessed something which stinks of bigotry, ignorance, hatred, and is hugely distasteful.
Ethnicity is a nation wreaker, and anybody, caught to be dabbling in such distastefulness should be denounced and dealt with in no uncertain terms. It was with huge grief and a heavy heart that I sat and listened to a recording of something I could barely believed had been spewed out live on air, and most distressingly had been allowed to air (what is happening to our media ethics) yesterday.
We must not be deceived; it is exactly such bigoted statements which led Rwanda down a path of untellable distraction, and we must not believe our country to be beyond this.
Unfortunately Ghana has a history of high profile people making irresponsible and reckless statements which have the tendency to send Ghana down dark tunnels; in 1979, Victor Owusu made his famous “Ewes are an inward looking people” diatribe, which was as offensive as bigoted speech can get. One would have thought that moving on from our turbulent beginnings as a democracy, Ghanaians as a people would have progressed and moved away from ethno-centric ideology and thoughts. But alas, in 21st century Ghana, we have again had to subject our ears to very similar and uncalled for statements; Kennedy Agyapong’s proclamation alluding to the fact that Ewes and Ga’s are not fit to live within this country. That such a statement could come from such an influential personality within our political infrastructure is worrying on its own. But what is most shocking and alarming to me is the speed with which young and able-bodied Ghanaians rushed to the defence of something which is most indefensible. Not only did they defend and justify his actions, they camped around the police headquarters chanting war songs and threatening fire and brimstone, if he was not released. I ask, if these youth do not see anything wrong with Agyapong’s statements and would rally to his cause regardless, where is Ghana headed to?
Equally alarming and disturbing is the sheer unethical journalism displayed by panellists and hosts of Oman FM yester night.. . Some may say Agyapong was obviously acting in response to another incident, but regardless of the provocation, to respond with ethnically laced remarks cannot and should not be tolerated in any form, given the potential explosive effect such bigotry can and has produced elsewhere before. I sometimes wonder, why we cannot live and tolerate one another and see ourselves as one people; after all, the term is Ghanaian, isn’t it? What is written in your passport? Is it Ewe, Ga, AKan? Or is it just plain Ghanaian? It’s time we grew up, and learned from the many examples of disaster ethnicity has caused around us. It would be a crying shame, if after all this, we still allowed blind sentiments to blur our reasoning, and lead our country down the abyss. Edmund Burke said, “Evil flourishes when good men say nothing”, I challenge you, good men and women of Ghana, arise and say something, not nothing. source : Ghanaweb
Short URL: http://thechronicle.com.gh/?p=43828
Mr Mensah I like your write up. But let me ask where were U when Nii Lante and his crooks were preventing people with Akan names from registering at Odododiodio? If people like U had condemned it maybe (just maybe) Ken would not have made those stupid declarations. And the president should also take some of the blame for his I am not a police officer comments.
Mr Mensah, I also like Edmund Burke’s saying ”Evil flourishes when good men say nothing. So in our quest to say ”something”, let it be constructive, un-biased and problem solving oriented. For when two Elephants fight (No politics intended, lol) it is the grass that suffers. And here the 2 ”Elephants” in question are NDC and NPP Political Parties. As one people called Ghanaians, let’s not behave like the provebial Ostritch by only looking at the problem and not the ROOT CAUSE of the problem to help us resolve it. I plead and urge all Ghanians not to allow politics to divide us but to live at PEACE with each other ( Hebrews 12:14). God bless our Nation GHANA.
Kofi, I do not agree with you when you asked of Mr Mensa’s whereabouts. What you should know is that ‘two wrongs do not make a write’. If what happened at Odododiodio was wrong, it does not give Mr Agyapong the impetus to incite one ethnic group against another. What he did is wrong and should be condemned to prevent others from doing same else there will be no Ghana for us all. May be you will remain in China.
Your write is the same double stantard attitude some of you have taken. As my friend have just said, if you people had condemed the stupid things Nii Lantey was doing and if the President was on top of his job what Ken said wouldn’t have been said. I do no agree to what Ken said but if we push people against the wall, they are going to react voilently.
Why the Ewes are so hatefull of Akans and espectially Asantes?This NDC government is an Ewe lead adminstration, how many Akans are in there? Even though Akans are the collective majority tribe in Ghana. How come all the Army Comanders in the Country are Ewes? They are dominated in the police, immigration and Ceps too. If a woman has been beating under instructions from the President aide and the President comes out to say that he is not a policeman to arest anybody. This means people should take responsibilty for their own safety.These stupid things against Asantes should be ceased.
Name!! what Ken said cannot be defended by any stretch of imigination but as Kofi wrote how did you feel when Nii Lamptey and that so called minister were PHISICALLY PREVENTING people with clear AKAN names from registering? These are some of the issues that brought conflict in Liberia. Did Kaakyire tell you about how indigenous Liberians were not allowed to stay in areas like SINKOR, MAMBA POINT and CONGO TOWN all suburbs of Monrovia city? so when Master Sgt Doe started those ‘NONSENSE’ majority of the people supported him. SO Ghana day’s of shame was not that Friday but NDC and its PRESIDENT decided to treat some people as outcast. There is ANLOGA in Kumasi and ask the Ewes there how there are treated. Can we have ASHTOWN in HO?
IT IS NOT A DAY OF SHAME. IT CLEARLY INDICATES HOW FAR WE ARE BEHIND IN MODERN POLITICS AND GEARED TOWARDS THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE COUNTRY TO PROSPERITY.
HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF, HOW MANY GHANAIANS HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ THE VERY CONSTITUTION THAT WAS DESIGNED I N 1992 TO GOVERN THEM.
IT IS A PITEOUS SPECTACLE WHICH NOTHING CAN JUSTIFY IT.
POLITICAL PARTIES ARE A CRITICAL MEANS BY WHICH CITIZENS PARTICIPATE IN THE GOVERNMENT AND IN REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY.
AS A RESULT. MEMBERS OF POLITICAL PARTIES ARE SUBJECT TO A VARYING DEGREE OF REGULATIONS.
AN EXPLOITED, OVERBURDENED, INNOCENT AND IGNORANT PEOPLE ARE INCAPABLE OF PLAYING A KNOWLEDGEABLE INTELLIGENT PART IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. THEY ARE CARRIED AWAY BY SENTIMENT. THEY ARE LIABLE TO FALL PREY TO AMBITIOUS FANATICAL POLITICIANS AND POLITICAL PARTIES.
THE PROBLEM IS, IT HAS BECOME A FASHION FOR ANY ONE TO BECOME A POLITICIAN IN THE COUNTRY.
WHEN THIS HAPPENS,THE POLITICAL PARTIES BECOME BREEDING GROUNDS FOR PEOPLE LIKE THAT OF THE THE TYPE OF AGYAPONG TO LEAD THE PEOPLE ASTRAY. IN THE COUNTRY FOR THEIR OWN SELFISH INTERESTS.
IT IS TIME THE COUNTRY COMES OUT WITH POLITICIANS WHO ARE DETERMINED TO BRING CHANGES, IMPROVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE COUNTRY.
WE DO STILL HAVE MANY HURDLES TO CROSS.
FOR IF, DEMOCRACY IS NECESSARY TO PEACE, SOCIAL JUSTICE IS NECESSARY TO DEMOCRACY,
Fellow Ghanaians, Our elders and respectable members of the National House of Chiefs have spoken, Reference Daily Graphic Source and Ghanaweb General News of Saturday 21-04-2012. Please, Let us pay heed to their good advice to the Police and Political Parties for PEACE and TRANQUILITY during this present time of electioneering campaing. They have well spoken, God bless them.
I FEEL HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED WHENEVER I SEE PEOPLE TRYING TO DEFEND THE INDEFENSIBLE. KEN’S RANT AND VIRTUPERATIONS WERE TOTALLY WRONG AND IRRESPONSIBLE, LET’S CALL A SPADE A SPADE. KEN IS NOTORIOUS FOR SPEWING DANGEROUS COMMENTS WHICH WOULD ONE DAY LEAD THIS COUNTRY TO THE ABYSS. THE EARLIER HE IS STOPPED THE BETTER.
HE SPEWS DANGEROUS ETHNIC COMMENTS WITHOUT THINKING OF THE CONSEQUENCES. THIS IS NOT HIS FIRST AND I BELIEVE UNLESS HE IS DEALT WITH DRASTICALLY IT WILL NOT BE HIS LAST.
I DONT SUPPORT WHAT NII LANTEY WAS ALLEGED TO HAVE DONE. EVEN IF THAT IS TRUE ACTION LIKE KEN’S SHOULD NOT BE USED TO CREATE GREATER DANGER TO OUR ONE AND ONLY MOTHERLAND, GHANA.
BY THE WAY, WHO CAN PROVE THAT NO GHANAIAN WITH AKAN NAME WAS REGISTERED AT ODODODIODIO DURING THE RECENT BIOMETRIC REGISTRATION. THIS IS PART OF THE VAGUE SCHEMING BY POLITICIANS TO DISCREDIT THE EXERCISE SO THAT THEY HAVE EXCUSE IN THE FUTURE TO CAUSE MAYHEM WHEN THEY LOSE IN THE 2012 ELECTIONS.
MY DEAR GHANAIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS, LET’S BE CAREFUL WITH THESE POLITICIANS. THEY USE US TO DO THE DIRTY JOB FOR THEM BUT VANISH INTO THIN AIR WHEN THE GOING GOES TOUGH.
WHOEVER STEPS TOO FAR AGAINST THE LAW LET THEM FACE THE FULL RIGOURS OF THE LAW, WHETHER HE/SHE IS FROM THE NDC, NPP OR CPP, PERIOD. GHANA IS GREATER THAN NDC/NPP OR CPP.
You condemning Kennedy for what? Nii lante started it all. Ghana is becoming full of ostriches and sycophants. One sided long story writers.