Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups or other forms of power relations among individuals such as the distribution of resources or status. In summary, it can be said that politics is the management of people, goods and services.
By this definition, anyone, who heads or manages people, goods and services, is a politician. In this day and age, politicians are only said to be those who belong to political parties and called partisan politics.
Lately, everyone is blaming this group of politicians for short-comings in society. They are tagged as greedy, corrupt and incompetent.
Some nurses in Aflao Central Hospital, could fraudulently demand eight times the legal fee from a dying patient and stood by and watched till the patient died. Nothing much is now said about these nurses who manage patients so in effect they are politicians.
However, should any partisan politician do wrong, much less than the Aflao nurses, the roof will be brought down. In my opinion today, I will dwell on the partisan politicians.
The condemnation of politicians in these times is at dizzy heights. But then one may ask, where do politicians come from? Politicians do not belong to royal gates which will automatically make anyone born in such homes, a politician at birth. So, where from they?
Politicians come from any home, whether in homes of the high and mighty or the homes of the wretched poor. So, how did they get there? It is the community who got them there.
Here is a scenario: two boys grew up in the same community and they both had different characters. One led a very good life that his parents were always proud to call him “son.” The other always topped the list of bad boys and he defied all rules and regulations.
The calm one got through to the university and later became a lecturer. The rascal, disappeared from town, much to the delight of everyone, for at last peace, has come.
The lecturer visited home very often and through his connection, a few developmental projects were done. He was admitted to the Council of Elders.
One day, the rascal came home in the most expensive car and with goodies for almost everyone. He was fully loaded with cash and started buying lands, which he quickly developed. He had not really changed but this time with his money been splashed around, the community including the chiefs and elders accepted him and even tolerate his bad manners.
At meetings of elders to deliberate matters concerning the community, the rascal’s word is taken over the well-thought-out word of the lecturer. Money talks!
Soon he joined a political party and was elected a Member of Parliament (MP). Fortunately, or unfortunately, his party won power and he got a ministerial appointment.
One fine day, the community woke up to find out that three-quarters of their lands were gone. At least, a dozen of the young ladies had been impregnated by the MP and those he sent to school abroad were actually working there like slaves, with the ladies made sexslaves.
The Lecturer was called by the Council of Elders, to help find the way forward. And it was then that they realised that all the times he opposed the rascal’s proposals during meetings, was for a good reason.
If only they had listened to him, instead of chasing money. At that moment, there was nothing he could do, since the chief and elders had duly signed documents, giving away the go-ahead to sell the land and none of them was given any money out of the sales. Their plea that they did not know what they signed cannot restore the lands.
Readers, to the best of my knowledge this story did not happened.It is just to illustrate that the community gets carried away to elect someone they know was not a good chap from childhood.
Every four years, Ghanaians are given the opportunity to choose who should lead them in the constituency and in the nation. Before that, the parties elect parliamentary and presidential aspirant during primaries, and here too, some people sell their votes.
Delegates go in for the highest bidder and not the one who can naturally do the job and do it well. They present a bad product to society, and because of money, society picks that product as its choice.
An average politician may spend over GH¢8 million in a parliamentary race. All this money goes to individuals in society. He eventually wins and becomes MP and later maybe a minister. Certainly, his first option is to make up for the money spent. This he can achieve through very fair means, especially where he could broker deals, or he can use foul means as well.
It is very wrong for the electorate to demand money before voting, because in the end, hardship visits the land.
Today, politicians are called foul names, but who created the politician? If society has the opportunity to pick a good person from the lot, but due to greed and love of money, it picks the wrong one, then who is corrupt?
It certainly cannot be the politician, but the ones who made the ordinary Ghanaian become a corrupt politician. A politician is created by society, so society must take the blame, if that politician is corrupt.
Hon. Daniel Dugan
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.
