Alban Bagbin
Shortly after Speaker Bagbin took office in January 2021, his actions showed that he wanted to carve a special niche for himself on the political space.
His style exemplified the very divisive manner in which he was elected as the umpire of the House. It, thus, became difficult for him to carry the House along in a consensus-building manner.
In order not to be seen as a ‘weak’ leader, Speaker would descend on any MP, irrespective of his or her affiliation, for daring to challenge his authority. To Speaker Bagbin, any form of disagreement with him on any matter is a sign of disagreement, and he demonstrates his disagreement by the exercise of the Speaker’s fury or the sound of the Speaker’s gavel.
At other times too, it was obvious the Speaker is a tyrant who does not tolerate dissent. Speaker Bagbin detests dissent in our participatory democracy, making the dictum, “I may detest your views but I won’t prevent you to express them” very irrelevant.
Anybody who doubts our position should look back at the Speaker’s banter with the then Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and the MP for Asawase in Kumasi, Muntaka Mubarak.
In the case of the then Majority Leader, Speaker Bagbin went to the extent of asking him, “I’m Number Three, which number are you?” in apparent reference to being the third most important personality in Ghana now.
By his actions, we think that Speaker Bagbin is power-drunk. Not only that, he has by deed and words showed his disdain for President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia. He has the penchant to ridicule others in order to show his supremacy and authority, thinking he is the Speaker and the MP, and this certainly makes him a referee and a player instead of an unbiased umpire.
There is no doubt Speaker Bagbin is a die-hard NDC member but some members in the Minority think he is pursuing a personal agenda.
Somewhere last year, the NDC made some dramatic changes to its leadership in Parliament which affected Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak.
In the wake of that, Muntaka Mubarak granted several media interviews in which he described Speaker Bagbin as a tyrant and desiring to turn the House into a palace.
Listen to the verdict of Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak: “I am sorry to say this, when you want to turn the Chamber of Parliament into a palace, then you become a tyrant,” when pushed about whether Speaker Bagbin was a tyrant, he responded, “He is becoming a tyrant.”
He added, “You are not a chief, you are supposed to be a Speaker of Parliament, and a Speaker listens to both sides patiently even where there is disagreement, and that is the essence of democracy to sometimes even agree to disagree but where you personalise it as if a disagreement is a disrespect to you….then I am sorry you are becoming a bad Speaker.”
We can safely conclude that because Speaker Bagbin wants to reduce Parliament into a palace that he dresses like a chief, so that like the palace where no one can challenge the chief, the MPs would not dare to challenge. In Speaker Bagbin’s Parliament it is an affront to the Standing Orders to challenge him.
In the history of Parliament in the Fourth Republic, no Speaker has disputed the values in the outfit of the Speaker. Speaker Bagbin decided to showcase the Ghanaian identity which is commendable. But we urge him to stop dressing like a chief because he is not, and by so doing he is undermining the dignity of the chieftaincy institution.
Very soon, and because he is a Catholic, he will appear fully robed as a bishop. Speaker Bagbin comes from the northern part of the country with a rich culture and an identity, but he needs not dress like a chief to be recognised as the Number Three of the country.
When John Mahama, then as the President of the Republic and the Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, appeared at a military parade as a Four-Star General, many Ghanaians detested his action. Speaker Bagbin undoubtedly has contributed to the sustainability of our democracy and we salute him, but he should at all times be wary of the red lines.
It is sad, in many instances, his overbearing attitude pushes him beyond bounds. He has about six months to redeem his image in order to avoid the crown as the most tyrannical Speaker in the history of the Fourth Republic. A word to the wise is in Nadowli West!!!