I do like wise sayings because they mostly teach wisdom. There is an Akan saying which literally translates, “It is only a fool that allows his testes to be stepped on twice”. How profoundly true!
Indeed, it will be foolhardy or carelessness on one’s part to allow himself to stumble and fall at the same place twice. Stumbling the first time may be considered as an accident; but, certainly, not the second.
Abusuapanin, we were all in this country and saw how the Agyapa Deal nearly cost the Great Elephant the 2020 polls. We all saw how very jaundiced Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) used the Agyapa Deal to push the political agenda of their political paymasters. Whether we like it or not, history will have it that it was the so-called corruption risk analysis by the Citizen Vigilante on the Agyapa Deal that gave birth to the name “Mother Serpent of Corruption”.
Yes, it is only an opinion of a disgruntled anti-corruption fighter who had failed to successfully prosecute even a fly during his reign as the Special Prosecutor. But one can only imagine the harm it has caused to President Nana Dee’s integrity and incorruptibility claim. It is, without a doubt, one of the main reasons the likes of Prof. Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi think Nana Dee’s integrity on corruption is in tatters.
It was therefore shocking to hear President Nana Dee give a hint on the intended resurrection of the dead Agyapa Deal. “Has the President forgotten so soon all the ‘wahala’ he and the party had to endure because of the negative press the Agyapa Deal had generated,” I soliloquized.
Do not get me wrong, Abusuapanin. I do understand the wisdom behind Agyapa and all the anticipated benefits to the nation. But any objective observer can tell that the name Agyapa now evokes more negativity than positivity in the minds of our compatriots.
Truth be told, the name Agyapa is now synonymous to corruption in the minds of many. And mind you, corruption is not only about reality. Indeed, many political pundits have theorized that mere corruption perception is enough to make a government unpopular.
A classic example was how Zu-za painted the Kufuor government during the 2008 polls. All manner of false corruption allegations were levelled at the government, including the publication of fake bank accounts with huge amounts purportedly belonging to its appointees. Though a fabricated story, many swallowed it hook, line and sinker and subsequently punished the Elephant in the 2008 polls.
You see, my fear is history repeating itself. The dream of every true Kukrudite is to see the party break the eight-year ruling cycle. But the resurrection of the dead Agyapa Deal could be an obstacle to that dream. Its resurrection will afford the Elephant’s detractors the opportunity to soil Nana Dee’s white shirt. All they need to do is to inundate our ears with their corruption song until the masses begin to believe it. And then tragedy will be the Elephant’s fate at the 2024 polls.
It is, therefore, my prayer that President Nana Dee will see things in that regard and tread cautiously anytime he hears the name Agyapa. He should remember the trite Akan proverb that says, “Animguase mfata Okanni ba.” To wit, “Disgrace does not befit the child of an Akan.”
Honour is a very important virtue in Akan culture and all must be done to preserve it. Anything that could bring ‘animguase’ (shame or disgrace) rather than ‘animuonyam’ (glory or honour) should be avoided like the plague.
Being a proud Akan and a royal, I strongly believe Mr. President will heed my unsolicited wise counsel and runaway from the Agyapa Deal because it is a plague- which not only exudes a pungent smell, but is incurable as well. The deal, no matter how beneficial, will bring him shame because it has already been demonized.
Abusuapanin, wisdom comes with age and experience. Each misstep and accomplishment is a learning opportunity, providing problem-solving tools we can store for later use. Agyapa is a misstep that should be used as a learning opportunity. The wise is spoken to in proverbs, not plain language.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!