FORMER PRESIDENT RAWLINGS’ PRE-ELECTION HOPES AND FEARS!

On the 28th of November 2008, the Ghana News Agency reported from Ho, the Volta Regional capital, that the former president had said that: “"Everywhere people are shouting for a change. An NDC victory wind is blowing," said former President Rawlings. He accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration of dissipating funds, amassing wealth, while the ordinary man suffered from want of basic needs.”

My reaction: I do hope to God that Professor Atta Mills will have the courage to ensure that the bad old days when corruption under the NDC regime reached its apogee, does not return, if he becomes Ghana’s next president - for no future regime will survive its full tenure: if it disappoints ordinary Ghanaians and is as corrupt as the present ruling elite has been, thus far.

Ghanaian democracy as we know it, will not survive if we continue to see outrageous acts of corruption, such as that fraudulent so-called VALCO/International Aluminum Partners sale and purchase agreement, which was railroaded through parliament by the presidency - just to further the personal wealth-creation agenda of the few powerful and tribal supremacist crooks, who dominate this regime so completely.

There are many of the “never-do-well-spongers” from yesteryear, who lived off the fat of the land at the people’s expense, during the tenure of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who are waiting in the wings anxiously - looking forward again to living in state properties for free, buying vehicles for peanuts from the Customs, Excise and Preventative Service (CEPS) vehicle auctions to sell on for fat profits, get contracts to build some of our infrastructure even when they don’t qualify, etc. etc..

Well, some of us are also waiting in the wings, determined to be as critical of the next NDC regime under Professor Mills, as we have been of the present NPP incompetents, throughout their tenure - if there should be a return to the crookedness that made Ghanaians vote the NDC out of power in December 2000: and for which reason they might also vote the present crooks ruling Ghana, out of power, this December, too.

With respect, we are serving notice to the former president and his friends that those of us who have resisted the present crooks in power all these past years (and at great cost emotionally - in terms of strained relations with some family members - and financially too: in terms of deliberately blocked opportunities, because we refuse to sell our conscience!), and have been critical of the current ruling regime consistently, will resist the next government too, whichever party wins the presidency - if the next president turns out to be a J.A. Kufuor Mk11.

Some of us loathe the present incumbent, our “Hypocrite-in-Chief”, President Kufuor, precisely because throughout his tenure, he made common cause with those of his tribal Chiefs whose secret agenda is to return us to the dark days of slavery: and impose the mostly unsavoury wolves-in-sheep's-clothing progeny, of the pre-colonial ruling elites on us again, by stealth.

We have no intention of tolerating a similar kind of president ever again - and we certainly will not tolerate Professor Mills becoming a J.A.Kufour MK11. We will not sit down and watch him turn nepotism into a fine art – and flood the public sector with his favourites: by filling the plumiest positions in it with members of his family clan.

We will resist him if tries to impose any of his tribal Chiefs on us - and if he was to attempt to turn his family into Ghana’s wealthiest family clan: with a combined net worth in the stratosphere and valued in zillions of dollars, we will definitely force him out of power through people power. Period.

Ghana’s political parties and its political class must understand clearly that not all Ghanaians are the “My-party-my-tribe-right-or-wrong” myrmidon-types: who are too thick to think and too blind to see, what is going on in our homeland Ghana. Is it not their uncritical and sycophantic support of political parties that encourages our political class to continue worshipping at the “cult-of-the-mediocre” with such fervour?

We are all aware that our country has ended up becoming more or less an elected dictatorship: largely because the 1992 constitution was specifically designed to enable a military dictatorship morph into an elected civilian regime - so that the dictators of old could continue ruling Ghana with the same extensive powers they had when they were military dictators.

Our present Hypocrite-in-Chief, President Kufuor’s eight years of tyranny-by-stealth, has, as Frema Busia's brilliant eloquence has shown us all, finally exposed that fraudulent document for what it truly is - an enabling document specifically designed as a legal-cloak to provide a comfort-zone to enable clever and hypocritical tyrants to hold us to ransom, with impunity.

In the final analysis, just where has that landed our country today, dear reader? Today, are we not the favourite African playground of foreign commercial interests - whose ever-grateful governments say we are the star of Africa: because we are led by Africa’s leading stooge for neocolonialism and a self-seeking super-lackey of Western commercial interests? Hmmm, Ghana - eyeasem oo! Who needs leaders afflicted with the "house-nigger-mentality" virus, I ask, dear reader?

Let our political class understand clearly that there still exist Ghanaians who do have values - and are independent-minded patriots who really do love their country. Patriotism is not something some of us merely pay lip service to - we are actually prepared to die defending the peace, unity and stability of our country.

So let those of them who think they will turn Ghana into a Kenya after the elections, and let our country burn because their dreams of coming to power did not materialize, quickly revise their notes. They would be far better off rather working hard to ensure that the election is not rigged, in the first place.

Whatever the hopes and fears of our former president are, let him remember the popular saying that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Let him and his party be vigilante during the counting of the ballot papers after the polls close this December. We will simply not tolerate a resort to violence by any political party after the December 2008 elections. Period. A word to the wise…

Hmmm, Ghana – enti yeawiye paa, enia? Asem ebaba Ghana debi ankasa! May God bless and protect our homeland Ghana, always. Long live freedom! Long live Ghana!