KWEKU BAAKO IS POLITICALLY IRRELEVANT

I had just turned on my laptop and begun writing an article about the rants of Kweku Baako, Raymond Archer, Kwesi Pratt and some other journalists over former President Rawlings' recent comments about the Mills administration when I got a call from a colleague about the tragedy at the residence of former President Rawlings.

The time was 7:20 local time on a wet Sunday. It was about 25 degrees Celsius and the third time the electricity company had taken out power in my area under 24 hour. The light first went out at 8am, Saturday, the eve of St. Valentine's Day and was restored just exactly after ten hours.

I had had a terrible night following the black outs but was determine to swiftly deal with the offensive rubbish by Kweku, Bature and co. After failed attempts to reach Mrs. Rawlings and Kofi Adams on the phone, I called up Kwabena Andoh, an aid who confirmed the accident at the Ridge home of the Rawlings'.

What I saw when I got to the residence made me so sad I had to forget about the article I had left unfinished. It had just been less than a month since I humbly suggested to His Excellency President Rawlings to do a scrapbook and his memoir.

The thought of the loss of irreplaceable material in the very unfortunate fire still fills me with great sadness. It's a huge body of works destroyed and a national loss indeed. This is another sad chapter in the lives of the Rawlings'.

For those who thought they could now sleep easy because in their dunce minds Jerry Rawlings has lost his lustre and become irrelevant must rewrite their notes. The outpouring of grief and sympathy from all manner of persons across the country, especially those who travelled long distances just to show solidarity with the former first couple should send a clear signal to the Alhaji Batures and Kweku Baakos.

Kweku for example has long stepped over the line of civility and has resorted to journalism of personal vendetta against Jerry Rawlings, but he must take a long look at his height before claiming to want to “strip Rawlings naked.”

We are a nation of “dreadful hypocrites.” What Malik, Kwesi Pratt and now Raymond Archer don't know is that the NDC is not like the main opposition party. Under the NPP, President Kufour's bribe taking or source-greasing friends in the media over-praised him and he became a roadblock instead of a catalyst to positive change. People like Gabby Otchere- Darko who gave constructive criticisms marginalised.

Journalists like Malik Kweku Baako were fawning admiration for Mr. Kufour. His party members were too timid to call him to order about the neglect and indifference and those who dared speak out or act against his will were kicked out.

Hon. Dan Botwe readily comes to mind as a victim of the intolerance by Mr. Kufour's NPP. He was then minister for information but was sacked by the President because he had in an interview with The Statesman endorsed the candidature of Mr. Mark Manu as National Chairman, drawing the ire of President Kufour who according to party insiders showed a preference to Mr. Stephen Ntim as National Chairman.

The ruling party is a sacred NATIONAL party and it is not in the true spirit of NDC if people harboured pretentiousness and hypocrisy. The cardinal principle upon which the NDC has survived till date, in spite of all the very ruthless attempts to obliterate it is because of the party's principle of integrity, courage and loyalty.

Undoubtedly, the optimism which greeted the National Democratic Congress' victory in the last general election is fraying. Wage is losing its value in spite of a seventeen percent pay increase in public sector wages. Obviously former President Rawlings has plenty of reasons to be worried because promises of a better Ghana are degenerating into a farce.

J.J. is the party's founder and would be out there to campaign for Prof. Mills' re-election bid or any other candidate who would lead the NDC in 2012.

It would be too difficult to go out and ask a suffering masses to re-elect a government that has conveniently frozen scholarships, has done little about providing opportunities for the more than sixty thousand graduates annually, not brought justice to families who were emasculated under Mr. Kufour and has spent its first year floundering.

I spent the last quarter of 2009 knocking on doors in constituencies across the country as candidate for the position of National Youth Organiser and the extent of discontentment at grass root level of the NDC is a verdict on government's failures.

If Barack Obama were a Ghanaian and a member of the NDC, the Batures and Pratts would have used their appearances on radio and television to attack him for his courage to speak out against old politics.

Obama had been very critical of the Democratic Party and US politics generally. Years before he became president, he repeatedly attacked the leadership of his party and even wrote in page 38 of his book – the audacity of hope- that “Democrats are, well, just confused.” We all saw what happened to Ekwow Spio when he wrote an article criticising the quality of some of the president's appointees.

Rawlings is not the first and would not be the last party member to express reservations over certain aspects of governance under Prof. Mills. Kwame Nkrumah did it and went as far as describing some elements in his party as traitors without naming them.

Party members have justifiable anxieties over the direction of things in the country. They are worried because of the lack of opportunities, poor social services, justice for families who were emasculated under Mr. Kufour and the gradual and soft-touch approach to fulfilling the better Ghana agenda.

The economy may be growing, but on working class families, it is a strain to get by. Any unbiased observer knows life is so difficult for the working class. The extent of discontentment at grass root level of the NDC is serious. If there's anyone who doesn't want President Mills to succeed, it is apostates like Malik Kweku Baako.

People who have been co-opted with material things do not see anything wrong with the lack of energy in the government. To paraphrase the late Chinese politician, Malik, Pratt, Archer and the rest of the anti Rawlings elements should Go to the people, live amongst them, find out what they think and they'll know where Rawlings is coming from.

Some good works have been done in the areas of agriculture. GDP growth in Agric is 6.2 percent last year against a target of 5.9 percent. Five thousand youths have begun training in mobile phone repairs and assembling under the NYEP nationwide with one thousand eight hundred from the three Northern regions. One thing is certain; President Mills is not walking away from the challenges. He has his way of getting us there, but my God he should hurry. If things do not turn around soon and fast, it would produce more internal and political recriminations.

Ras Mubarak
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