NATIONAL SECURITY: PHRASES "ATTA MORTUARY MAN" & "OH, UNCLE ATTA " NOT PRESIDENT MILLS' REGISTERED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES!

I am hoping against hope, that the story about the seizure by the security agencies, of some CD's is false. The current fashion in certain circles in Ghana (amongst some of the folk-in-hgh-places), is to collude with those hacks whose conscience is available for hire to the highest bidders, to plant spurious stories on Ghanaweb and elsewhere on the world wide web.

I find it hard to believe that in the internet age, those charged with protecting the security of the Ghanaian nation-state would be so short-sighted (and shoot themselves in the foot too), by attempting to stop two comedy films from being distributed - when it can simply be posted online on YouTube. How absurd can one get?

Many Ghanaians felt embarrassed and scandalised, when ex-President Rawlings told that macabre joke about his friend Atta, who apparently works in the 37 Military Hospital mortuary, to delegates at the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) national congress at Tamale, last year.

That same sense of fairness amongst Ghanaians, led to many of Rawlings' political opponents, and even those who one would count as his enemies, calling on him and his family, to commiserate with them when fire destroyed their official Ridge residence, last year.

Luckily for Ghanaians, not only is President Mills the most honest and humblest leader (as well as one of the hardest working!), since the overthrow of Nkrumah in 1966, but in addition, also has a keen sense of humour.

I am sure that in his quiet moments at home, President Mills will ask his dear wife, Naadu, one simple question, when he hears reports that some high-handed busy-bodies in his regime, are rumoured to be preventing film-makers from using titles such as, “Atta Mortuary Man” and “Oh, Uncle Atta” for their films.

It will not surprise me in the slightest, if the president were to turn to First Lady Naadu Mills, and ask her if the aforementioned busy-bodies think that he has registered the two phrases, “Atta Mortuary Man” and “Oh, Uncle Atta” as his intellectual properties, globally.

Let those who serve as appointees of serving presidents, in governments of the day in our democracy, who seek to prevent some Ghanaians from exercising their constitutional right to free expression, remember that the more liberal a society is, the more prosperous it is - as wherever there is a competition of ideas, the best cutting-edge ideas always come to the fore - and drive such societies forward.

Such high-handed and bizzare actions, have no place in Ghanaian democracy. If there is any truth to the rumour about films being seized because they have titles that allude to the subject of ex-President Rawlings boorishness at Tamale, then those who are responsible for such seizures must bow their heads in shame for such needless PR own-goals.

Indeed, they have shot themselves in the foot: They must always remember that Ghanaians aren't fools - and desist from those Orwellian excuses they think will save face for them in this shameful and shabby affair. What incompetents some of those government PR geniuses are proving to be - with their foolish complacency. Pity.

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