There Are No Sovereigns In Ghana - The Leviathan In Which Sovereignty Resides In The Citizenry

Now that the Asantehene is safely back home in Ghana we can all comment on the disgraceful attempt to damage his reputation - and pray that those behind it, if any, are exposed. This blog wishes him well.

To begin with, for the sake of the reputation of our nation's banking industry, we must strongly condemn those who currently run the Ghana International Bank's (GIB) London operations from its Cheapside offices in the City of London.

Their astonishing flip-flopping and verbal contortions during their appearances before the Employment Tribunal hearing the case of unfair dismissal, and alleged failure to protect a whistleblower, brought against them by self-admitted cash-bagman, Mr. Mark Arthur, has made the GIB a laughing stock amongst bankers in the City of London.

By their shameful conduct, they have proven that they would definitely come on top of the medals table - and bag the most number of gold medals - in any Global Banking Fibbing Olympics. Ebeeii.  Shocking conduct.

By their own admission, when  giving evidence before the Employment Tribunal, they implied that for years our vampire-elites have more or less used the GIB as a conduit for smuggling vast sums of cash siphoned off our corrupt system, in hard currency, to stash into their offshore bank accounts overseas.

Clearly, the Bank of Ghana would be wise to advise that the government allows it to close down the London operations of GIB and transfer its assets and liabilities to the GCB from which it was spun out off in 1998 (or thereabouts).

The question is: With the evidence that is now in the public domain - thanks to the UK's Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph newspapers - what sensible and honest individual who is law-abiding, will bank with the GIB: whose executives are self-confessed liars whom it would appear unwittingly allowed themselves to be used in a disgraceful attempt to discredit the Asantehene?

It ought to be noted by all discerning  Ghanaians that to date the Bank of England's (BoE) Prudential Regulatory Committee has neither advised the City of London Police nor the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the Asantehene's dealings with the GIB. As far as we can tell.

Above all, we  must all understand that if the Asantehene had indeed  been truly  engaged in money laundering, he  would have  been charged by the police in a nation in which the law is truly no  respector of persons, and no one above the law.

That is why the  officials who handle PR for the Manhyia Palace must continue maintaining a dignified silence over this particular matter. It is the wisest course  of action for them to take under the circumstances.

Furthermore, with respect, those thin-skinned and criticism-averse individuals amongst the officials at the Manyhia Palace must understand that this is 21st century Africa - and  that Ghana is a democracy. No one is a serf in anyone's imaginary  fiefdom in this country. Full stop.

They must rather focus on the kind  of modernisation initiatives undertaken by wise royal familes in all the Western democracies to  make them broadly acceptable to their societies - in all of which many citizens routinely question the relevance of inherited privilege: and frequently criticise royalty. A stiff upper lip is the best response to all such criticisms.

And it is time the various  all-things-Asante-focused  groups in the Ashanti Region - whose knee-jerk reaction to criticism of the Asantehene is to insult all such  well-meaning people - abandoned their serf-like, we-are-more-Catholic-than-the-Pope mentality as regards conversations about the Asantehene.

Finally, in case they forget, Ghanaians are a free people with a constitutionally-guaranteed right to criticise even the elected president of the Republic of Ghana. Ghana is a Leviathan that has the power of life and death over all who reside within its borders.

With respect, Sovereignty in our homeland Ghana, resides in the citizenry. There are no Sovereigns in Nkrumah's Ghana whatsoever. In our homeland Ghana sovereignty actually resides in the people. Period. Haaba.