Togbe Afede
The National House of Chiefs (NHC) has expressed concern with what in its opinion is the prevalence of political tension in the country.
There are many respectable chiefs in the fold of this House, personalities who uphold the sanctity of this repository of our cultural heritage and continue to contribute immensely towards the development of the country.
There are a few among the membership whose partisan outlook is affecting their standing in the public space.
Last year or so, one of them in the leadership echelon got his image so bruised that it should still be undergoing a healing process.
We acknowledge the role of the good chiefs and the role of their forebears in the independence struggle well captured in the annals of local politics.
Since last year, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been busy seeking to raise the political temperature of the country through threats to prompt a civil war among other irresponsible discourses.
These have not attracted the attention of the chiefs who are running the affairs of the NHC, let alone reprimanding them.
While we do not begrudge our chiefs, the right to express concern with national issues, we would be quick to demur with their observation of a so-called tension which we can vouch is the impression of a few of them, perhaps one person.
Convincing us that the chiefs behind the expression of concern with the so-called tension are not doing so to court sympathy for the mischievous NDC would be appreciated.
In the last polls, so many things took place all of which bordered on the abuse of the independence of the Electoral Commission (EC). These culminated in the eventual, unprecedented removal of a chairperson of the EC through the exhaustion of the constitutionally laid-down procedures.
We saw how the then obstinate chairperson of the EC undertook various manoeuvres to have the faulty voters’ register remain the roll for elections, the unusual tension notwithstanding. At that time, the chiefs did not have a tongue to speak out. Such selectiveness in the ‘expression of concern’ does not augur well for the public impression of an institution such as the NHC.
Have the chiefs not seen the need for a new voters’ register? Have they not heard about a group of Ghanaians threatening mayhem over a new voters’ register? Didn’t they see how the NDC National Chairman and others stormed the CID headquarters in solidarity with PNC’s Bernard Mornah following his inappropriate threat?
With due deference, we wish to express disappointment in some of our chiefs whose partisan lenses are impacting negatively on their outlook.
Chiefs must be mindful of jumping into the political fray because of the inherent minefields.
No chairperson of the EC has undertaken the level of engagements with stakeholders as the current management. From the media to the flag bearers of the main political parties, the commission has touched base in a manner which won it many hearts.
Formal expressions on the letterhead of the NHC when they lack sincerity draw, regrettably, the chieftaincy institution into the political fray and attract avoidable opprobrium.