I saw it coming. I knew it will come to this. Prison doors were beckoning Abuga Pele and Assibit but they never thought it will come too soon. The case of Mr. Abuga Pele is most pathetic because he was used as a scapegoat. He told Ghanaians when the case started that some unseen hands were behind the case and that if care was not taken he will spill the beans but he never did. The guy might have been coerced to keep mute for the sake of the integrity of his party. They all thought the NDC will win the last election and the case could then be killed. It was the biggest mistake they did.
You see, every dog has its day. They say if God picks a stone, He hesitates to throw it. All along, Ghanaians were wondering why the case of Abuga Pele and Assibit was dragging on for far too long. Patience, they say can move mountains. When the day of reckoning came knocking on the doors of Abuga Pele and Assibit, it dawn on them that the law really works in Ghana. The prison officers should allow camera men to enter the prison and take pictures of the two convicted criminals in their prison uniforms and flash them on the front pages of newspapers to serve as a deterrent to anyone who thinks he or she is smart enough to milk the lean cow dry. Prisoners who are serving terms in the Nsawam Prison should blow the alarm if prison officers give the two jailbirds preferential treatments. Somebody stole a fowl and he is serving a term at the same prison. Assibit and Pele are big time thieves and they should not be treated like Colombian drug lords
Philip Akpeena Assibit thought since the NDC was in power no Jupiter could touch him. His was a typical NDC style of create, loot and share. Criminals like Assibit should have been given a tougher sentence to serve as a deterrent to others. The guy is greedy and the state should go for all his ill acquired assets. I learnt he too has a huge mansion in Dubai where Kofi Dubai and his wife too have theirs. Can you imagine what the whooping sum stolen from the state coffers could do in Ghana? And this criminal was laughing in court when the judge slapped him with a twelve-year jail term. And did I hear that the few friends and family members who were at the court wept uncontrollably. Why weep for a thief who was laughing when the sentence was read to him? You wasted your precious tears for nothing. You should have reserved your tears and shed it when he returns from the prison with rashes all over his body. If he thinks Nsawam prison is a luxurious place to stay, he should wait until he is given a prison uniform.
This is the beginning of greater things to happen to those who stole our collective wealth. They say the wheels of justice grinds slowly and that to me is very right. It has been nearly five years since the Abuga Pele and Assibit case went to court. Because their government was in power, state prosecutors dragged their feet on the case. Very soon those who milked SADA will follow suit and our guinea fowls will return from Burkina Faso where they have been on holidays for close to six years. Past corrupt government officials who fear to face the Special Prosecutor should not entertain any idea of running into exile because in this global village there will be nowhere to hide. After all, the Interpol is there to bring them back home to face justice.
Those of us from the northern regions are noted for our honesty and hard work. We are not known for big time stealing like what Assibit and Abuga did. These days when you hear anything about corruption, you turn your eyes to the north. This is a generation of northern thieves dragging the good name of people from the north into the mud. It is an undeniable fact that poverty in the three northern regions is endemic and people cannot make ends meet. All those who were caught in the web and who will soon have their day in court are from the three northern regions. They give you money to go up there to give to people to rear guinea fowls so that employment could be created and you tell us the guinea fowls have flown to Burkina Faso. You lie bad! You either go and bring them back to the shores of Ghana or serve some time in Nsawam Prison. Thieves! As our guinea fowls were flying to Burkina Faso, a brand new Ford Expedition was on its way to the Flagstaff House to be presented to yet another northerner in the person of President Mahama.
And come to think of this: why is it that anytime the NDC loses power, their people go to jail? When Mr. Rawlings left office, Mr. Kwame Pepra, Dan Abodakpi, Victor Selomey, Alhaji Ibrahim Adam, Sippah Yankey and a host of them found themselves languishing in jail. What is most heart-raking is that when they returned to power, these jailbirds were rewarded with juicy jobs. It stands to reason that they stole the monies for the party. For eight years, Mr. Kufour and his able lieutenants were at the helm of affairs in this country. When the NPP lost power, about five functionaries of the Kufour administration were arranged before competent court of jurisdiction but none of them were found culpable. Reason? They were called to serve their country but not to steal from the state coffers. Today, these people are walking tall with honour boldly written on their faces.
Is it true that the MP for Odododiodoo, Mr. Nii Lantey Vanderpuye said when the NDC comes to power again, they will get the two criminals from jail? Jester! When is the NDC coming to power? This man ain’t seen nothing yet. The President has just sworn in Mr. Martin Amidu as the Special Prosecutor. The man is lacing his boots and soon, very soon, Nii Lantey will see what will happen to those who stole our monies. Nii Lantey calls himself a cadre of the Rawlings’ revolution and if indeed he is a cadre, he should have known better.
People were tied to the stakes and shot as if they were common criminals. Women were stripped naked and beaten in public on the perception as being corrupt. Kwamena Ahwoi’s Citizen Vetting Committee seized properties belonging to poor businessmen and women simply because they were perceived to have illegally acquired such properties. And when somebody steals our monies and was jailed, this uncouth politician is threatening that if the NDC comes to power again, the jailed criminal will be released. If Nii Lantey had made this unfortunate comment on a radio or TV station I would not have worried myself writing about it. But in his case, the NDC as a political party created a platform for him to make that stupid statement only for them to come back to tell Ghanaians that they have disassociated themselves from the idiotic statement.
Listen to Mr. Rawlings, the founder of the NDC: “Stealing and corruption puts no one above the law. Those who have committed crimes deserve to be punished. If the quest for political power is to release wrongdoers from prison, then the NDC is laying its own foundation to remain in opposition for a long time. Fortunately, this kind of talk belongs to a handful of people in the NDC leadership who have gained power and influence they do not deserve and the sooner they pack off, the better for the NDC and this country. Obviously, the corruption by some of those who were in office, resulting in a humiliating defeat in the last election does not appear to have affected their conscience and reasoning in any way.” When a statesman like Mr. Rawlings makes such observation, it should be documented for generations yet unborn to learn lessons from.
You see, the current leadership of the NDC is not smart enough. At Cape Coast when they had their Delegates Conference, Rawlings spoke in parables when he was given the opportunity to speak. He told the crowd that at that moment he was not going to speak more because after the general election he will go round the country to re-organize the party. Rawlings knew the party was going to lose the elections and they did lose the election. Mr. Mahama is going round with his Unity Walk while Rawlings stays in his house hobnobbing with his wife and children. Asem beba Dabi!!!
One of the top most expensive cigars in the world is called Gurkha Black Dragon. One box goes for $23,000. Don’t say I can’t buy one because I have one stick hidden somewhere in my late father’s airtight box. Papa was a cigar connoisseur, you know.
By Eric Bawah