Ghana is under some kind of spell. The kind that makes it difficult for the authorities to unmask Government Official One to face justice.
It is for this reason that some commentators think that the Airbus scandal is a kind of jinx.
The people of this country woke up one morning to news across the international media that an official very high in the Ghanaian government has had some dealings with the purchase of Airbus that required further investigations in UK and the USA.
Reports say in September 2011, an external audit commissioned by Airbus revealed that one of the middlemen in this deal was clearly close to a member of the Ghana government.
The joint investigations into this scandal was to unmask the “veil” in order to expose the people behind it. The man alleged to be Government Official One, since he lost power in 2016, staged an unsuccessful come back in 2020 and eagerly lacing his boots for the highest office in 2024.
The question on the lips of many Ghanaians is whether his intention is for real in the midst of this global disgrace. Since this story made headlines, the person suspected to be Government Official One has been accused of having links to a corrupt network in a case of kickbacks in the contract for the sale of Airbus military equipment to Ghana.
This piece of information gained traction in local media, prompting then Special Prosecutor, Mr. Martin Amidu, who had found the corruption suspicions credible enough to open an investigation on February 4, 2020 and announced that he had invited four persons including Samuel Adam Mahama, a brother of former President John Mahama.
This scandal, described in international media as a political bomb, has since been thrown into the backburner with aides of the former president saying he has not received any bribe.
We wonder whether as a country we are committed to the fight against corruption. Our worry stems from the dirt that has been thrown at former President Mahama not only locally but on the global stage.
At least Mr. Mahama should be the first to submit to local investigators with the view to clearing his name, at least after Mr. Amidu offered that lifeline with the intended enquiry. Although Mr. Mahama has not missed the opportunity to mock at President Akufo-Addo for having a tolerance for corruption and that is why he clears them of any wrongdoing, the person who calls others “clearing agent” is in actual fact the customs officer aiding the smugglers.
He is indeed in bed with the clearing agents. The loud silence of Mr. Mahama on this matter described as a political bomb or suicide is not helping to credit him with claims that he had no hand in the deal.