INTRODUCTION…
June 15, 2015.
To
begin with, I want to congratulate the largest opposition party, the New
Patriotic Party, in the spirit of democracy, for conducting an election (Parliamentary
primaries) in manner that can be said to be largely successful.
Their
elections cannot be anything below almost perfection, viewed within the context
of their recent internal challenges.
Except for the pockets of violence that nearly
marred the serenity of this democratic ritual, not even their invertebrate political
rivals can deny that their parliamentary primaries has been successful, largely.
Personally,
the unending power crisis had taken its toll on my phone. It didn’t take long
for my battery to pass away. I had to part ways with my phone, minutes into monitoring
proceedings, using the radio feature.
Left
with this fate, I couldn’t help but wait until the luxury of light arrived.
Once, it did, I did not spared nothing in my quest to monitoring the reports
and the intelligent commentary that were being run on the various media
networks.
While
I will not put out any media house for mention, I will commend them for owning
up to their agenda setting responsibility by keeping their avid viewers and
listeners on the speed with reports on the elections
Observation
With
the few monitoring that I did, the following are what I gather. Some may be
lessons. Others may speak to how far we have gotten in our democratic pursuit. Whatever
way, my intelligent readers view my observation, I want to aver that we still
have a lot of work to do as people if our quest for a free, democratic and
equitable society should be attained.
WHAT I GLEAN FROM THE
ELECTIONS
1. Hope for Our Democracy
Except
that the outward show of magnanimity in defeat was mere for the cameras, almost
all the incumbents, indeed, contestants who had lost their bid, expressed their
readiness to support the winning candidate. These signs sends glimmers of hope
into our fledgling democracy and I will not mince words to commend all the
players for their roles in ensuring that peace and some considerable measure of
decorum prevailed in the elections of June 13, 2015.
Politicians
owe it to us. Indeed, it is part of our social contract with them. Thus, while
are bear the somewhat discomfort in obeying the laws and redeeming some
financial obligations as citizens, political actors are also enjoined not to
act in the way that destabilizes the peace and security that is equally and
fairly shared by both the rich and poor alike.
The open show of statesmanship by some losers and
the restraint with which the winners celebrated their victory leaves me with
the hope that Ghana’s accolade as a bastion of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa
is not a façade.
2. The myth of institutional
memory
In
the run up to this primaries, many attempts albeit unsuccessful, were made to
get some old brains retained. Proponents of these advocacy held that
institutional memory was not only critical but key for the work of parliament, therefore,
keeping these big shots will go to deepen our democracy credentials as they
were more abreast with the workings of the august chamber.
In
a stark show of solidarity, some of the ‘Mugabes’ in the other political divide
were reported to have also made the same call, openly declaring their support
for their colleagues in a manner that is unusual and atypical of our kind of
politics.
Like
some others who were opposed to this proposition, I had a cause to question the
constitutionality or otherwise of those attempts. My position was simple. Much
as I accept in principle that institutional memory is critical, I did not see
through the proposition that the only way of ensuring same was to keep non
performing parliamentarians under the guise of keeping institutional memory.
Beyond
the point that any attempts in that direction would have been
counter-productive to the spirit of fair play and level playing field that the
leveler of democracy provides, I thought memories are better kept in books or
any other digitized repository than in human memory.
What
if some of those who would have been protected by this clause had died, been
indisposed or have conducted themselves in a manner that required that they
resign? Will that means we cannot keep an august house like parliament running?
In any event, can’t the human memory always suffer some setbacks?
I
thought that attempts to cover some bigwigs in parliament was not only
unconstitutional but doing same would have exposed our myopic view of democracy
and opened us to a butts of memory in the international world. Beyond these, my
respect for documentation and reading never bailed my opposition to this proposal.
Not
only have the delegates vindicated some of us who dissented to ‘let my elders
stay’ principle, but more so, they have served the strongest indication that
competence will not be sacrificed on the altar of many years of being in the
chamber. Thus, no one who hide under the pretext of protecting institutional
memory will never be condoned or protected by delegates.
3. Monetization of the
Ghanaian Politics
In
my maiden book, ‘Dates with my Eyes,’ I devoted a whole chapter to assess what
has left our politics so monetized.
Coincidentally,
the piece was informed by a debate the Honorable Speaker of Parliament, Doe
Adjaho, had sparked regarding the issue of monetization. In the said piece, I
questioned why the Speaker chose to lament the consequence of the menace
without paying attention to the causes of the problem. My position was simple.
Much as I agreed with the Speaker’s
assertion that the retention or otherwise of a Parliamentarian depended much on
how much one could dole out to his/her constituents rather than how competent
they were, I still thought his failure to pay attention to how parliamentarians
contributed to the menace was erroneous.
In
this elections, reports were rife on how many hands had been exchanged for
votes. Some aspirants were said to have doled out cars, building equipment’s,
cash packages, many but for space.
It
appears to me that the losing of some lost because they couldn’t stand in the
batter trade of a monetized elections.
While
I sympathize with those who could not win owing to the above reason, I want to
caution those who have raised the expectations of delegates by doling out wads of
notes or some valuables not to complain when demands come mounting on them if
they win the parliamentary seats, eventually.
A
popular Ga song by a Kwahu man, Adani Best comes to mind here. I will not dare
try to write Ga, I know next to nothing in that language. I will only refrain
the translation that I gather from a friend.
‘‘Once
you train a lionet(young lion) to grow, be ready to be mauled once it develops strong tooth with age.’’
What
some of these aspirants have done by doling out fortunes to delegates with the
view to influence them, can be juxtaposed with the story of the lionet who is
reared only to maul his master.
In
most cases, the financial mauling that some of our politicians are inflicted
with are on account of the training they give to their followers. The earlier
they came to this realization the better is it for them and our democracy.
If
there is any lesson, I think the need for the politicians to realize their role
in the menace of monetization of politics is key and until our politics become
principle based, attempts to, nib to the bud, monetization can only be a
mirage.
4. We are ready to fight if
you can’t mentor us.
Any
time I pick on the subject of mentorship in Ghana, I become very emotional.
Personally, I think many who are looked upon to provide mentorship to the teeming
youth of our country have and continue to fail or live up to expectations.
We
seem to have many bosses than mentors. This I find very disturbing.
Personally,
it is sad that I cannot make mention of one person who takes particular
interest in what I do. The more I want to get closer so I can learn from some
of the people that I perceive or deem as mentors, the wider the chasm between
myself and them widens.
I
do not think I am alone in this view. The individualistic nature of the world
today has come with an attendant loss of great mentors.
Regrettably,
the menace is in every walk of life. Even in our churches today, it becomes
difficult for one to look up to an elderly for a mentor.
Politics,
in my estimation, has received its own dose. To me the fact that many young
people wading into front line politics is indicative of a vote of no confidence
in the leadership or mentorship of people who have seen many years in the
political game.
What
I gather is a strong indication that the youth of this country is on the move
to wrestling power from the older generation, most of whom have blatantly
refused to provide mentorship to many of these young ones. The lesson is very
profound and simple. If the elderly will not assist us, we will have no other
option than to assist ourselves.
In
the elections of June 13, 2015, that is the signals I picked.
Forgive
and correct me if I am wrong but the fact is that most of the people who had won
majority of the seats were young people, many of whom had joined the fray to
unseat some long serving parliamentarians.
I
cannot at this point arrogate unto myself an all-knowing posture .The fact is
that I barely know 10 of the newly young winners who have now assumed a
parliamentary candidate status. Except for the few whose media presence had
been so conspicuous to ignore, I do not think I would have had any firm
knowledge of them or even be able to commit to memory their names.
But
their dominating media presence and the fun-fair that characterized their
campaigns in the cases of George Andah, Anthony Abayifaa Karbo, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
and Francesca Oteng-Mensah, were enough to mitigate my deficiency of not being
able to keep names.
The
lesson here is simple. If the current crop of leaders are to be sustained, they
must learn to not only lead well but most importantly provide mentorship to the
up and coming. Otherwise, they should always be mindful that their position
will be challenged by the young generation without any modicum of courtesy.
5. POSITION IS NEVER A
POSSESSION
Sometimes,
when some people get drenched in the luxury and privileges that comes with
holding a position, they barely accept the view that positions are everything
except possession. In some cases, the power becomes an opium that blinds them
from truly seeing the realities. For this victims, they tend to believe that
the above assertion is only a rhyme, couched only for its artistic purpose.
This
tends to make them almost insensitive to the plights and the needs of those
whose vote shot them into the realms of leadership. They usually lose any sense
urgency. In fact, their lack of respect for time and its role in the affairs of
things leave them with shivers anything their tenure is under siege.
Until
our leaders accept that leadership position is a time-bound opportunity of
service they will always feel unsatisfied and the thought of losing grips or
hold of their leadership positions will become an incurable nightmare.
If
there is any lesson I have learnt from the polls of the New Patriotic Party,
the lesson that positions are time-bound or not possessions cannot be lost out
on me. Any leader seeking to remain relevant and impactful must be conscious of
this reality. I strongly hold that with this consciousness, Africa can see more
impactful leadership than we are currently beset with.
Samuel
Osarfo Boateng,
(Author, ‘‘DATES WITH MY EYES’’)
Blogger,
Freelance Writer and Researcher.
www.samuelcreasta.blogspot.com
