“Anything the hawk gives birth to will not fail to carry off chickens” — African proverbs.
After years of having divergent views, Yours truly, for once, shares the point of view of one of the so-called senior journalists in the country. There are times that I find his analysis egotistic because he speaks as if he is the custodian of wisdom, politically or otherwise. Some call it ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude.
Other times, too, one cannot help but notice his hypocritical stance in dealing with issues and persons whose political views contradict his. He is what I would call a master in sophistry – the use of clever but false arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving.
Indeed, I’ve on many occasions publicly disagreed with his self-delusional ranting. It is not as if he does not speak the truth sometimes. He does. But he most times laces the truth with propaganda, which tends to dilute it.
Did I hear you say your mind is in a maze of confused thoughts? Wonder no more because the man I refer to is no other than Massa Kwesi Pee of Convention People’s Party (CPP) fame.
Last Friday I chanced upon a story attributed to home on one of the online portals titled, “Politicians should stop exaggerating over hardship in Ghana”. I quickly read through and could not help but agree to an extent with his stance.
In reacting to comments from Zu-za on the Mid-Year Budget Review, he said hardship is not a recent phenomenon in the country, so politicians should stop exaggerating the issue. He said hardship started long before now, buttressing his point with 45% inflation figures in the year 2000 under President Gyato Boom. He added that politicians should be truthful and transparent with citizens so that the public is not surprised when there is a general increment in the prices of goods and services.
I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. Massa Kwesi Pee speaking against Zu-za’s stance? But my checks proved he did say what the online portal had reported.
Massa Kwesi Pee had hit the nail right on the head, and politicians from both sides of the political divide are guilty. I clearly remember how President Kufuor and his ilk complained about high cost of fuel under President Gyato’s reign. They gleefully displayed fuel containers anytime they mounted a political platform. But when he was given the opportunity in the December 2000 polls, he made a complete u-turn and increased the price of fuel drastically.
Then came Mr I-Will-Reduce-Fuel-Prices-Drastically. After he and the Ahwois hoodwinked their compatriots into believing that fuel prices under the Gentle Giant could be reduced by not less than 45%, they rather increased fuel prices astronomically when they were given political power. The electorate realised, although belatedly, that the promise to reduce fuel prices drastically was only a ploy to win power.
President Ogwanfunu continued where his predecessor, Agya Atta, left off. He continued increasing the price of fuel even when the world price was on the decline. Again, an action contrary to the promise he and his party had made.
Candidate Nana Dee also took advantage of the situation and continued with the fuel politics in the 2016 campaign by exaggerating the effect of fuel prices on the electorate. He continued the tradition of his predecessors by making a complete turnaround to increase fuel prices when he sat on the presidential throne.
Should we blame the politician? I don’t think we should. The politician will always be a politician. The politician is always looking for ways to maximize his chances of winning an election. So deception and exaggeration should not be regarded as something too bad.
Rather, it is the electorate that should be blamed. The voters are the ones who should be able to read between the lines and decipher whether the politician is being truthful or just blowing hot air.
I will only blame the politician when he crosses the line and engages in criminal acts in order to gain electoral advantage. For instance, the machinations by the Pentecost elder, to kidnap innocent children in order to create a false sense of insecurity in the country is something we must all condemn. Such actions are very dangerous because they have the tendency to lead a very peaceful country, such as ours, into eternal damnation.
So, you see, Massa Kwesi Pee’s call is good. But it is even better to advise the electorate to be wary of the machinations of the politician. For that is the only way we can differentiate a politician who is a true church elder from an elder who is a kidnapper.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!