"BUSUMURU" KOFI ANNAN: WHERE ARE YOU WHEN GHANA SO DESPERATELY NEEDS YOU?

It is said that the media is the fourth branch of government. And in genuinely democratic nations, they play an important watchdog role, in society. Sadly, however, it does appear to most independent-minded Ghanaians, that the role played by our local media, is rather that of watchdog for the political elite - across the spectrum.

And as as a practising journalist myself, I have always marvelled at the fact that so many in the Ghanaian media, don't seem to appreciate the fact that as the fourth branch of government, it is a prime responsibility of the media, to ensure that in what is a developing nation with high aspirations, those who rule Ghana, ought to be completely honest individuals.

(Incidentally, dear reader, being an avowed egalitarian and republican, who loathes inherited privilege - because it is the greatest enemy of a meritocracy - I absolutely refuse to use that dreadful and fawning phrase: "Fourth estate of the realm" to describe the media's place, in society. Nkrumah's Ghana is not a kingdom - it is a unitary republic. Period.)

The Ghanaian media, instead of toadying to our political elite for personal gain, must constantly scrutinise the actions (in both the public and private spheres), of our leaders. For those actions impact directly on the lives of all Ghanaians: who elected them to manage their nation's affairs efficiently, and effectively, on their behalf - utilising taxpayers' money with due care.

And by definition one needs honest leaders for such an undertaking. We do not want or need hypocrites as well as apparently-respectable individuals, who lie and take unnecessary risks in their private lives, to be our leaders, as we enter the second decade of the 21st century - lest they also lie and take unnecessary risks in handling the people's affairs: repeating the vicious circle of endless corruption that has stunted the growth of our potentially great nation.

And why, you might ask, dear reader, is that so important? Because such politicians invariably take actions, when in office, which are not beneficial to our country - precisely because they are reckless and hypocritical individuals in their private lives: as well as blatant liars.

Take the issue of government lands for example. Our current leader stated publicly during the early part of his tenure, that the state would return all land it had acquired, but which were no longer needed for the original purposes for which they were acquired, to their original owners.

Yet, somehow, in Accra, powerful figures with the right political connections are acquiring such lands: much to the dismay and anger of the Ga Dangbe people.

For many a Ghanaian patriot it was an astonishing statement for the leader of Nkrumah's Ghana to make - astonishing, because not having money to pay for those projects, was the only reason why they were never developed - but that is not to say that we will never have money as a nation, in the future, to use those lands for the projects they were originally acquired for!

And no sooner had he made this astonishing statement, than (as if on cue!) land belonging to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), at Kwadaso, which important crop research was being undertaken on, started being sold illegally by greedy traditional rulers.

And as we speak land owned by the state is still blatantly being sold illegally, by some traditional rulers, in our second city. Yet there has not been a single prosecution resulting from such blatant illegality!

But as in all things to do with state policy under this regime (of mostly unreconstructed tribal supremacists - our local version of the odious white supremacists of the Western world!), whiles one set of privileged law-breakers gets away with such illegality in one part of our country, the opposite, is the case, elsewhere in the nation.

The question we must ask the hypocrites amongst those who now rule our country, is: just where is the agreement between the state and the private entity, which took over the Aveyime rice project's assets - which include land belonging to the people of Aveyime?

And why, if it is the case, that certain traditional rulers in our second city, are selling some of Ghana's state-owned lands there illegally, and are getting away with it, does the same principle in which they take refuge, not apply, in the case of the landowners of Aveyime?

Why are some people more equal than others before the law in our democracy - in which the rule of law is said to prevail? Why is there so much hypocrisy in this nation today, I ask, dear reader?

The fact that we must not tolerate politicians who take irresponsible risks in their private lives, and lie blatantly too in their private lives, because they might also take the same irresponsible risks, and tell the same blatant lies, too, in the performance of their public duties, is the reason why so many patriotic and decent-minded Ghanaians, condemned the cynicism inherent in the reappointment of Dr. Richard Annane, to the cabinet.

How could decent-minded Ghanaians be so insulted, dear reader? It is those self-same cynical men in the inner circle of our current leader, who prevailed on him to reappoint Dr. Richard Annane, who are the hypocritical politicians, who have been manipulating the machinery of state, for the personal aggrandisement of certain traditional rulers.

Their complete disregard for the constitutional edict, which prevents traditional rulers from interfering in the running of our country (by playing favouritism with traditional rulers from a particular part of our nation), has apparently even led to a number of those traditional rulers - some with overweening personal ambition - deluding themselves into thinking that they actually are sovereigns: when as a matter of fact, in the final analysis, in the Republic of Ghana, it is the citizens in whom sovereignty ultimately lies! Hmm Ghana - menua, ayeasem oo!

Thus, in the light of all the above egregious examples of bad governance, there has never been a greater need in our national life, for more exemplary leadership to be in place at the heart of our national government.

It is crucial, dear reader, that we have leadership of the highest calibre in place, after the next Ghanaian leader takes office, in January 2009 - when the present largely incompetent and tribalistic lot are finally turfed out of office in December 2008.

Which brings one to Mr. Kofi Annan's concerns for good governance in Africa. He reportedly asked where Africa's leaders were, when it became clear to all thinking individuals on the continent, that there had to be outside intervention, in order to help resolve Zimbabwe's post-election impasse.

After nearly eight years of the substitution of propaganda and barefaced lies, for good and purposeful government, which has finally brought us to our knees and led mother Ghana to the sorry pass she has now come to, Ghanaians now insist that only good and honest leaders, ought to rule them.

Ghana needs imaginative and caring leaders who will use revenues from our oil and gas industries (both of which ought to be nationalised as soon as it is practicable to do so: after paying off the private investors fairly!) to transform Ghanaian society - and make this a nation whose citizens all enjoy a good quality of life: not just a few powerful and greedy oligarchs.

We must clip the wings of the high net worth stooges for neo-colonialism, in our country, who grow rich fronting for foreign business interests: who in the main are only here to rip mother Ghana off. And we must also do same for their (well-paid-for "kickback-specialist") cronies and lackeys amongst our political class: who are firmly in their very deep pockets!

And as regards Mr. Kofi Annan's stated concern for good leadership in Africa, the long-suffering Ghanaian masses too would like to ask Mr. Kofi Annan, just where he currently is - when his nation so desperately needs him?

The time has now come for Mr. Annan to put aside his (perfectly understandable) personal wish to be left alone to enable him continue enjoying his retirement with his wife in private (spending much of his time in her native Switzerland). But his country needs him - and that, as they say, is that!

There are many many Ghanaians for whom it is a national tragedy, that the nation which produced Mr. Kofi Annan, cannot get him to serve it as its next president - and it seems, unfortunately, that he is intent on denying his native country, the opportunity to benefit from the leadership qualities he possesses: and which made the international community elect him twice to serve as the UN Secretary General.

And the saddest part of this tragedy is that it is so obvious to all Ghanaians that he has more gravitas than all the presidential candidates currently vying for the presidency in Ghana put together. And he also towers above all of them - and dwarfs them completely, too.

Yet it appears that he does not want to come back home to settle here permanently and fight to take up the mantle of leadership - and provide the kind of exemplary leadership which major historical figures such as Nkrumah; Gandhi; Lenin; Churchill; Ataturk; Mandela; Castro, to name but a few, provided for their nations, at the most critical periods in their history.

Why, does Mr. Kofi Annan not love his country, too? And does he not see the important need to ensure that the next leader of our country is as honest a man and as towering a figure as history's most important political leaders - which only he presently happens to be in the current firmament of Ghanaian politics?

Does Mr. Kofi Annan not remember that Dr. Nkrumah put the interest of his people above that of his own personal considerations: and rather than electing to stay on in the UK to further his studies, and work to ensure a comfortable future private existence for himself and his extended family, returned to the Gold Coast to ensure that ordinary people, not the greedy and tribalistic progeny of the pre-colonial feudal elites, ended up ruling Ghana?

One of the greatest ironies of all time, dear reader, is that providence made his retirement from the UN coincide with the very point at which Ghana has to elect a new president!

And it is also precisely at the juncture of Ghana's history, when it is imperative (if we are to succeed as a nation, going forward, after the discovery of significant quantities of oil and gas off our coastline), that this country is led by a man of his calibre - yet for some extraordinary reason Mr. Annan is not showing any inclination to come to his country's rescue. Why?

A few weeks ago he was asking where Africa's leaders were, at the height of the post-election crisis in Zimbabwe. Well, today, ordinary Ghanaians are also asking the same question of Mr. Kofi Annan: where is he when his country needs him most?

For now more than ever, as we enter the next decade, Ghana needs an honest and wise leader, who has the following qualities: has an international stature and can command the respect of all the leaders of the world; has a wide breadth of knowledge of all the major developmental issues in the era of global climate change; and above all, is completely honest in his commitment to the national interest: and the welfare of all the people of Ghana, irrespective of tribe or social class.

It is crucial, if Ghana is to succeed, that Ghanaians bring to an end, the era of the many clever men and women who enter politics only to cynically pursue their personal wealth creation agenda: as well as that of their family clans and high net worth cronies, by stealth - at the expense of the ordinary people of Ghana (as has virtually been the case, thus far, since 1966!).

And above all Ghana needs a leader who commands widespread respect amongst Ghanaians at all levels of society. Mr. Kofi Annan just where are you when your country needs you so desperately?

May God bless and protect our homeland Ghana always. Long live freedom! Long live mother Ghana!