One of my all-time favourite musicians in Ghana is Charles Kwodwo Fosu, aka Daddy Lumba. I fell in love with his voice as far back as my secondary school days when he was with Nana Acheampong in the group Lumba Brothers. The late Daasebre Gyamenah, then my junior in Benkum Secondary School, usually entertained the seniors with Lumba Brothers’ songs like ‘Yee ye aka akwantuom’ and ‘Meho Mmo Meho so’.
The multiple award-winning Daddy Lumba has more than a hundred hit songs to his credit, but my favourite is ‘Ye ne wo sere kwa’. It literally translates, “People laugh with you but are not happy deep within.’ Since its release in 2012, the song has resonated with many of my compatriots. Perhaps, it is because ours is a country with many folks infected with the ‘Pull Him Down’ (PHD) syndrome.
Personally, I’ve encountered many such persons in my more than four decades of existence on this earth. The most recent happened when I graduated with a Masters degree from the University of Ghana. A colleague teacher was among the first to congratulate me and even pretended to be sad for not receiving an invitation to grace the occasion.
But soon after he left he went to bad mouth me to another colleague, who saw me approaching. He therefore encouraged the ‘konkonsa’ guy to continue, thus making it possible for me to catch him ‘in flagrante delicto’ (right in the act). I just smiled and walked away, leaving him in a drench of shame.
Being his assistant headmaster, he expected me to capitalize on that issue to pick on him at the least provocation. But I rather did the exact opposite. I forgave him when he was caught blatantly infringing on school rules. Six moons on and he is yet to shake off that shame!
For sure, if there is any group of persons in this country that epitomizes the ‘Ye ne wo sere kwa’ trait, then it is no other than those under the eagle-headed Umbrella. It is an understatement to say they are desperate for power. But to resort to kidnappings in order to make the government look incapable of ensuring security for the citizenry is way out of line. It is very apt to describe it as a seditious act.
Please don’t ask for the source because we all heard the infamous tape from Elder Kidnapper. Yes I’ve heard the claim that the tape had been doctored, but not even my six year old son would believe that story.
The leaked tape has exposed their diabolic machinations. The voice is unmistakably his. It is so clear that the deaf could hear it. For sure, the wind has exposed the faecal matter stashed in the fowl’s anus.
While the search for the missing Takoradi girls continued, the country woke up on June 4 to be greeted by the news of two kidnapped Canadians ladies. BBC, CNN and other major international media carried the story on their networks.
Listening to those under the Umbrella on radio and television, one could easily perceive their excitement at the news of the two kidnapped Canadians. Obviously because their plan of creating the impression that the country was insecure was going accordingly.
One could, therefore, imagine their disappointment when the Canadians were rescued by the country’s security forces. Is it any wonder that they organized a press conference the day after the rescue to claim that the suspects were members of the Great Elephant?
You see, any investigator worth his salt would tell you to be wary of the one who hastily accuses others when a crime is committed. For chances are that they are the real culprit. So Zu-za’s hasty press conference on the Canadian ladies must be viewed with suspicion.
It is very refreshing to note that one of their own has come out to condemn the party for organizing the press conference. Koku Anyidoho likened their action to that of saboteurs and referred to them as ‘politicasters’. And for your information, Wikipedia defines a politicaster as ‘an unstatesmanlike practitioner of politics: a petty or contemptible politician’.
Time and again, you hear President Ogwanfunu and his ilk saying the people are living in fear under President Nana Dee. And why wouldn’t we live in fear when ‘The Incompetent One’ wants to come and cause more havoc to the state? We just cannot sleep when we know that politicasters are lurking and planning to destabilize the peace we are enjoying.
My advice to my compatriots is simple: beware of politicasters parading as politicians; and do not be deceived by their smiles and laughter. As Daddy Lumba puts it, “Ye ne wo sere kwa.”
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!