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When Acheampong and Utuka were tied to the state and shot like common criminals, Ghanaians did nothing. The Clergy said nothing, Traditional rulers said nothing whiles labour looked on helplessly as the yearning and baying for more blood reached a crescendo. It was as if all of us acquiesced in and applauded that dastardly act. But the two were human beings like all of us. Because of our inaction and deadly silence, the AFRC got bolder, and cheered on by students, the regime tied six more gallant but helpless creatures of God and gunned them down like animals.

That was the darkest and most bloody part of Ghana's history. Eight down, and more were to follow. But we woke up from our deep slumber and regained our conscience and the use of our tongues. We protested and the executions stopped.

In Nigeria, Ebute Ukiwe, a former Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff made a deduction. He stated that after the overthrow of the rapacious Buhari/Idiagbon regime, the AFRC was formed to oversee the affairs of the country. All members had equal powers and the Chairman, Evil Genius, Maradona Ibrahim Badamosi Babaginda was only Primus Inter Pares (First among Equals). But one day, Babaginda came to announce the dissolution of the AFRC at a meeting. According to Ukiwe, they should have challenged the Chairman at that meeting, but they did not. Their failure to do so was their undoing. Later, the evil genius was to announce the dismissal of some members, including him, Ebute Ukiwe from the council.

I have gone this length to narrate these incidents to show how a peoples' failure to speak out when their liberties are being threatened could result in very grave consequences. About six weeks ago, I wrote a feature titled “Yeresesamu indeed”. In the concluding part, I took on the then Honourable Minister for Sports, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak on his attempts to co-erce the Black Star players who were on national assignment against the Republic of Benin into accepting a reduced winning bonus.

Many were the vociferous NDC sympathizers and fanatics who descended on me and called me imprintable names. My inbox had so many of such messages that at a stage, I refused to read them. But now that the true character of their so-called honourable minister has been revealed, are those people going to eat back their words? It is now crystal clear to all that, the disgraced sports minister wanted to have a cut of the winning bonuses if the players had agreed to his plan.

But let Ghanaians beware, for the issue is not as simple as we see, for the more you look, the less you see. I see what is going on as part of the abracadabra game of the NDC. A sinister plan has been set in motion and by the time the dust settles, it would have consumed a lot of consumables and innocent by-standers and innocent people.

When the issue of Muntaka's take-take was published in the Ghanaian Lens, I knew something wasn't right. My mind flashed back to what a Nigerian friend of mine told me sometime ago. He said when Chief Matthew Aremu Okikiade Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Amos Adamu to take charge of COJA, he told himself that Obasanjo had appointed a dog to take charge of the butcher's table.

My third eye and the crystal ball revealed that something ominous was in the pipeline. I therefore set myself the task of unearthing the mystery. My findings will shock you to the marrow.

But before I reveal my findings, I want my avid readers to find answers to these posers. Since when has any of the official or unofficial mouthpiece of the NDC published any negative thing about the party? Even, when some members of the Vetting Committee and the concerned public kicked against the approval of Alhaji Mumuni as Minister, did the Crystal Lens, the Ghanaian Lens, The Palaver, the Enquirer and other publications sympathetic to the cause of the NDC not come out with opinion supportive of the Minister? So, if the Lens reports on such grievous allegations against a member of the inner caucus of the party, then it smacks of something out of the ordinary.

Now, the petition to the President was made about three or more weeks ago, why should the Presidency wait till last week before making it public? And in between the time the Presidency received the petition and the time it was made public, couldn't there have been some discreet investigations carried out? Why wait till now? And I learnt the whistle-blower has been picked up by the Police. Is that his reward for exposing the cankerworm that Muntaka Mubarak has unleashed at the Sports Ministry? Is the petitioner not entitled to some form of protection? Should his identity be exposed? And by revealing or exposing his identity, are we not exposing his life to danger? Is it not going against the whistle blowers Act?

Listening to comments from some NDC members gave me no hope of fair investigations. Comments from Inusa Fuseni, the honourable MP for Tamale Central made me feel sad. He brought in the religious colorization that it was some sort of conspiracy against Muslims. Haba! How could Inusa, a man I admire for sometimes being objective say that? He alleged both Mallam Issah and Muntaka Mubarak are Muslims and they are the two persons whose hands got soiled at the Ministry. Hon. Inusa went on to say that it is early day yet and that he had spoken to Muntaka who assured him of his innocence and that he, Inusa believes in Muntaka's innocence. He has since been putting up very strong defence on behalf of the embattled minister. He also appealed to all to be circumspect is passing comments.

Mallam Issah gave a twist to the whole thing when he alleged that a mafia exists at the Sports Ministry and that anyone who attempts to alter the status quo will meet his/her waterloo. This, in a nutshell, is the crux of the matter, but I will attempt to tear this line of reasoning into shreds. Just read on, and the fact will begin to unfold.

Now, the question is: Were Mallam Issah and Muntaka Mubarak the only people to have held the Ministerial Portfolio for Sports? Obviously not! The longest serving Sports Minister alive today, Honourable E.T.Mensah never attracted any scandal to himself. The NPP has about three or four members who manned the Sports Ministry, including Osafo Marfo and we didn't hear of any scandal. Why didn't any such scandal happen during the tenure of such ministers? Or do they want to tell us that those Ministers co-operated with the non existing-cabal at the Sports Ministry that was why they never had any such problem?

All of a sudden the apostles of “jail them, they are thieves, they are criminals” are now calling for restraint and caution in the way we handle the Muntaka's issue. Inusa Fuseini says he believes in the innocence of Muntaka but has so far refused to believe in the innocence of any of the NPP ex-ministers. Without any proof they have labeled all members of the NPP as thieve, looters and criminals. The fact that one NPP MP was busted for cocaine is not enough grounds to label NPP members as drug/cocaine peddlers or users. And if we were to go by that standard, wouldn't we be justified to label all members of the NDC as looters, embezzlers, conmen and women, thieves, pen-robbers and unpatriotic? But we will not because we believe in the rule of law and due process.

By the way, what has Muntaka and all those defending him got to say about the relationship between him and Babgin's secretary? If really, there was no amorous relationship between the two and the lady wanted to join in the merry-making trip at the taxpayer's expense, all that she needed doing was to discuss it with her immediate boss who will then liaise with the sports minister to facilitate her inclusion on list. It shouldn't have been the other way round. This is what we expect in an ideal situation.

The embattled Minister's explanation that the Accountant and his bedfellows deliberately inflated his per-diem and prepared a voucher for $2,000.00 instead of $1,210.00 is not tenable. To buttress this point, let facts be supplied a candid world.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, one of the two deputies at the Information Ministry had stated during the newspaper review segment on TV that, a few days after assumption of office, a lady entered his office with an envelope. One enquiry, he was told it was his two weeks allowance. He told the lady he would not accept it because he had been in office for less than a week and saw no reason why he should collect an allowance for two weeks. He then called his Chief Director and told him of his encounter with the lady.

Another discussant made reference to a similar incident involving another Deputy Minister to buttress the point that one has to be circumspect in handling certain sensitive issues. From what Okudzeto Ablakwa said, if it was not made for publicity blitz, his posture contradicts the earlier defence put forth by Muntaka Mubarak. There was no payment voucher prepared for Okudzeto Ablakwa's allowance. This is how it appears to not only me, but others that I have spoken to on the subject. If a voucher had accompanied the envelope, he would not have asked the whys and the why knots.

Secondly, was Muntaka Mubarak briefed on assumption of office as Minister for Sports? Was he not given a letter of appointment where his schedule, entitlements and other nitty-gritty were specified? If he was in difficulty, why did he not contact other sector ministers or ex ministers who had held the Sports portfolio before? Why did he not question the accountant for giving him money which he was not entitled to? Is that the only per-diem he had received up to date since his assumption of office? Did he ask for explanation as to how the total amount was arrived at? If it had been lower that the real amount, wouldn't he have complained to the Chief Accountant?

This brings us to the question about the trip to Cote d'Ivoire and who sponsored it. Was it not the Deputy Chief of Staff who was on our air waves drumming it into the ears of everybody including those who did not want to listen that it was one Kojo Bonsu who had paid for the jamboree and that if we would not accept the explanation, we could well go and burn the sea. He did not use the above words, but his demeanor and countenance said it all. But today, we are being told a different story altogether. Now Kojo Bonsu and Alex Segbefia are asking for a refund. Wonders, they say will never end. Who is Continued    Source: Daniel Danquah Damptey

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