THE WORLD is in meltdown mold and there is no two ways about that. There has never been a time in the history of the world where a pandemic broke out in the whole world. Not even the Spanish Flu which literally consumed so many people could match what we are experiencing now. Economies in many countries have experienced near collapse. This world, our world, is virtually on her knees as the Coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage nations. Times are hard indeed. Death is lurking in the corners as people continue to die everyday.
Thankfully, scientists worked around the clock to find a vaccine against this killer virus and that has led to a drastic reduction in the number of deaths associated with the Coronavirus.
Here in Ghana, the government did a yeoman’s job to save so many lives which could have been lost due to the pandemic. We need to stay focused and thank God for small mercies. The President initially told us that he was going to follow the pieces of advice given by scientists to fight the pandemic and truly, he introduced certain protocols following the advice given by scientists to help contain the virus. Much as people tried to read politics into the fight against the virus, the President continues to stay focused and today, many people have received one or two jabs of vaccines to help mitigate the threat of the virus. The President’s ‘fellow Ghanaians’ episode went a long way to create the needed awareness which was very helpful in the fight against the spread of the virus. When I visited my holy village recently, medical teams were going from house to house to deliver doses of the recommended vaccines to the people.
Today, the wearing of nose masks at public gatherings has become a necessity and people have taken the issue of Coronavirus vaccine as a matter of do or die (apology to Mr. Dramani Mahama). In the beginning, when the government closed schools due to the threat of the virus, there was a particular political party whose members kicked against it and even went on to condemn the measures. Even when the government ordered vaccines, we had people poisoning the minds of others not to take the jabs. Meanwhile, these same people, including some parliamentarians clandestinely took the jab behind the scenes. When the virus continued to kill people, those who were tricked by their party leadership not to take the jabs had to queue from dusk to dawn to get the jabs.
It was during the reign of the late Prof. Atta Mills that the nation decided to introduce the Ghanacard but sadly, the dream died even before the man died. The Nana Addo-led administration took over and decided to issue the Ghanacard to everybody. The opposition NDC vehemently kicked against the idea for reasons best known to the leadership of the party but, the government stayed focused. The argument as to whether to go for the card or not raged on, and NDC parliamentarians who kicked against the idea again went behind the scene to get the card. It was when the supporters of the NDC felt they had been tricked that they too queued to get the card. Some of them had to sleep at the centers where the cards were issued to make sure they got registered. You see them?
The introduction of the Free SHS did not come into reality without sabotage. The NDC seriously criticised the idea with some of their Parliamentarians telling the good people of Ghana that it was not feasible. Ablakwa, an ’honorable’ Member of Parliament, openly told Ghanaians that in a matter of five years, the scheme will collapse. When the project kicked off with thousands of students enrolling, these same NDC leadership said the project was an inferior one and that it was sacrificed on the altar of quality education. They said the government should start building classroom blocks and dormitories before introducing the Free SHS. The President ignored them and went ahead to introduce the Free SHS. When parents trooped to register their wards in Senior High Schools across the length and breadth of Ghana, and there was the need to introduce the double track system of education, no mean a person than the former President of Ghana, Mr. Mahama, teased the government, calling the system “traffic light system of education”. Very sad indeed!
Gradually, classroom blocks, dormitories and other facilities are being built and in no time, the issue of double track will be a thing of the past. As the President said the other day, no child will be left behind as far as the Free SHS is concerned. There is no going back, he said. It was ex-Sergeant Koliba Kanjaga, an old colonial soldier of the West Africa Frontier Force, who still lives in our holy village, who said, ”forward bility or backward bilitiy? The road is your front”.
By now, the NPP leadership should know the plan of the NDC. They are practising what is known as the politics of distraction. It is a tool in politics by which the opponent deliberately and consciously tries to steer the ruling party from its chosen good course and makes people concentrate on the lies that the opponents tell, instead of focusing on what the government is doing which will inure to the benefit of the masses. The worse thing this government will do is to take for granted the objective of the NDC. Just imagine how they jump from one subject to the other, blindly critiquing government policies. They refuse to think alongside majority of Ghanaians and they don’t offer any alternative either. To them, whatever the government does is inappropriate and condemnable. They do not have the welfare of the people at heart. All they want is to come back to power to continue with the loot. To them, looting of the state coffers is an unfinished business.
The President and his Veep have closed their ears and refused to be drawn to unnecessary cacophonous noises of the NDC communicators. Dr. Bawumia has remained his trademark hard-strung workaholic self and the President too as usual. It is not for nothing that the sages say silence is golden but speech is silvery. The two gentlemen continue to seek for gold amidst the dross and working beyond human endurance. This is good for the country. The name of the game is FOCUS.
I have complained about the crappy communication wing of the NPP and I am not in the mood for quibbles. Those who write to me to complain about the way the NPP communicators go about issues should hold their fire because soon, very soon, I will rain hell fire on them if that is the language they understand. If their war machine is not oiled by the leadership of the party to enable them to deliver, they should tell us. Those who are vying to occupy various positions in the party should be forewarned that this time around, the battle will be hotter. Delegates should look out for those who will help the party and vote against those who held positions and used the positions to get rich quick. They are enemies of the party. Now that these people are looking for the votes of the delegates, they will refer to delegates as ‘kingmakers’ but the moment they are voted into power, they treat the delegates like the way the dog treats soap. After all, what will the dog do with soap? Those who are vying for positions will come dangling huge sums of money as bribes to delegates.
As a delegate, you must not refuse to get the booty because it did not come from their pockets but they are loots and the spoils of war. Stay focused as you look out for the right choice so that the party can break the eight-year jinx. I declare today Cigar Free Day. That is why you are breathing unpolluted fresh air. Let’s celebrate together.
By Eric Bawah