I remember telling you in this very column that my voice could be good for anything but singing. The status quo has not changed. I also remember telling you it would take a million years of training before I could win a dancing competition. Believe it or not, I’m the clumsiest dancer one can ever think of.
But that did not stop me from rushing to the dance floor when I heard a neighbour dishing out the melodious “Nana Ye Winner” tune last Thursday evening when I returned from work. I did not ask of the occasion for I needn’t be told it was a celebration of the Supreme Court’s decision to grant the Nana Dee government authority to sell Woyome’s assets to defray a Gh¢47.2m debt owed to the state. One thing kept on ringing in my mind as I exhibited my clumsy dance steps, “Change is good.”
Trust me, but for the change we voted for on December 7, 2016, the bespectacled baldheaded ‘greedy bastard’ would still be beating his chest and daring his compatriots to do their worst. But for political change, he wouldn’t be having sleepless nights for the past two years or so. I hear he now takes the infamous ‘Onaapo’ bitters to induce sleep.
Unlike many of my compatriots, I’m particularly enthused about the Supreme Court’s decision because it has been a long and tortuous journey. We all knew it was only a change of government that could ensure the collection of the cowries from Woyome. But the slow nature of the case made a lot of people doubt the ability of the Nana Dee government to retrieve the cowries.
For me, it is a victory worth celebrating. The cowries to be raised from the sale of his properties may not defray the full debt, but half a loaf is better than none; isn’t it?
Some persons under the eagle-headed Umbrella are trying desperately to share in the glory. They say Zu-za should also be glorified because they started the case in court. Some say their claim is as a result of ignorance, but I say they are deliberately perpetrating lies because they are shameless propagandists.
You see, they still delude themselves into believing that Ghanaians have short memories. Maybe some do, but certainly not Yours truly. The ‘create, loot and share’ strategy is still very clear in my medulla.
They encouraged Woyome to sue and the A-G deliberately and strategically failed to file a defence, leading to a default judgment. The A-G subsequently defied the then President and paid the money to the ‘greedy bastard’. They shockingly paid the full amount, when a court of competent jurisdiction had ordered that they pay only a third of it.
We clearly remember how Aunty Betty and Wofa Barton Oduro publicly defended the payment and stated that the state had no case. We also saw how the likes of Alex Segbefia, then Deputy Chief of Staff, vehemently defended the dubious payment. Even when GH¢400, 000 was found sitting comfortably in the account of the spouse of the man who deliberately failed to file a defence to Woyome’s suit, absolutely nothing was done.
How can we forget why and how the Citizen Vigilante was sacked as A-G? His only crime was his commitment to retrieving the Woyome loot, which apparently had already been shared. We also saw how the Agya Atta and Ogwanfunu governments frustrated his efforts to recover the cowries from the Supreme Court. They virtually opposed his every move in court and took no steps to enforce the judgement when he won the case.
It took the Nana Addo government to pursue Woyome’s properties, which had long been identified. Two-and-a-half-years on, the government has finally succeeded in claiming the properties; and you tell me I should not dance?
Of course, I do support the call for Woyome to be charged for trying to conceal his properties; and for UT Bank to be charged with abetment of crime. It was obvious that Woyome tried to pull a fast one on the state. But for the vigilance of the A-G, he would have pulled the wool over our eyes. How can his company, Anator Holdings, sell two Trasacco houses to UT Bank on 5th April, 2013 (Gh¢1m) and 5th May, 2013 (Gh¢5m) respectively, and then use the same houses as collateral to secure a loan from the same bank months later? Onipa ye bad!
While we pat the government on the back for the victory at the Supreme Court and wait for more action on the Woyome matter, I invite you to join me on the dance floor; even if yours too is a clumsy dance.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!