A Dead Goat As President    

There was a question in one of the WASSCE subjects which stated thus: What is the difference between a sheep and a goat?

Answer by a candidate:

1. The goat, when you use it for soup, it tastes waaaaaaow but the sheep when you use it for soup, it does not taste waaaaaow.

2. Goats give soup perfume especially the boy goat, but sheep don't give soup perfume

3. A goat can cross a road wisely but the sheep is very foolish and walk slow on the road.

4. A goat has a sharp brake but a sheep don't have sharp brake.

5. A goat is on the left side of God but sheep is on the right side of God.

6. Goat head is smelling but sheep head is not smelling.

7. Goat is stubborn but sheep is humble.
8. Goat can jump and turn 360 degrees but sheep cannot jump and turn 360 degrees

9. The goat cry poobebebe poobe, but sheep cries berh, berh, berh. (This is unedited).

The above, in the view of the candidate, are the strengths of a living goat. Indeed, the tenth answer should have been 'a dead goat fears no knife'. Perhaps he would have scored 10 marks out of 10.

President John Mahama of the Republic of Ghana is a huge embarrassment to the royal and noble people of this country in respect of his handling of affairs of this country. The state in which Ghana fines itself today, in spite of some of the blatant lies fed the people on a daily basis by propagandists of the NDC government, is the worst this country has ever experienced in its 58 years as a nation. President Mahama is overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems he and his cohorts have inflicted upon this country through daylight fraud and institutionalised criminality without compare, spiced by incompetence and arrogance.

There is no government in this country which has never incurred the displeasure of a segment of our society at any given point in time. The great Osagyefo's government had a lot of problems with the Labour Union of the then Ghana Railways Corporation which had a very strong Union and could hold any government to ransom. Nkrumah managed the problems, harsh though some of his decisions were and not palatable to the protestors.

One regime which experienced very widespread societal agitations from all corners—labour unions, students, professional bodies and the rest—was the Supreme Military Council of Gen I.K. Acheampong. The response at the time was that his colleagues removed him from office and introduced new economic and political policies to address the concerns of the people somehow.

No leader anywhere in the world is comfortable with public protests of any form. Public protests from whatever angle are expressions of unfulfilled needs or displeasure at events, policies and actions and inactions of governments which affect the protestors' lives in a very negative manner. These protests, whether by way of public demonstrations, withdrawal of services or whichever legitimate means permitted by law, are avenues which eventually compliment the highway to the democratic destination.

Reasonable leaders, the world over, have always taken very seriously such public protests and acted upon them as part of good governance. In some cases certain policies which have triggered the protests are either reversed, ameliorated or better education of the public on the issues is embarked upon. In 1995, the biggest nationwide public demonstration against the then perceived impregnable Rawlings administration for the introduction of VAT at the rate of 17% and during the lean season was undertaken.

The consequences of that policy in terms of economic hardships and the social implications on the people attracted hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of Ghana. President Rawlings did not act like a dead goat. His own party members in Parliament, including the then Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Obed Asamoah, criticised the policy on the floor of Parliament. The VAT was subsequently withdrawn by Dr Kwesi Botchwey and mass public education led by Mr Seth Terkper, the current Finance Minister, was conducted before it was re-introduced.

The most important change was the fact that the 17% rate was reduced to 10%. This is what is described as a listening government. It has taken more than 20 years for the VAT rate under different governments to rise gradually from what was originally imposed on Ghanaians. Ex-President Rawlings did not clothe himself in a dead goat syndrome. Ex-President Kufuor suffered labour agitations particularly at the hands of health workers and teachers. The end result was the formulation of the Single Spine Salary Structure the NDC is priding itself of implementing. President Kufuor did not carelessly say he was not bothered by the agitations and lamentations of the people.

If a mother clothes herself in a dead goat syndrome while her child cries incessantly, that mother is a useless mother not worthy of having a baby because the cries of the child is a means of communicating to the mother what his/her worries are. It is up to the mother to identify the worries and address them.

President Mahama's posture of a dead goat is an ample testimony of the fact that he simply does not care about the hardships we as a people are going through as a result of the naked mismanagement of our resources. A President, through his leadership style, creates the opportunity for members of his government and party to loot state funds with glee and says nothing because he is a dead goat and does not care what the people say. A major social problem such as unemployment among the youth confronts the nation, parents are worried, the youth are disenchanted and the President says he is a dead goat and does not fear the knives of critics.

The economy, as presented by his own Finance Minister, is worse than what pertained in the year 2000, yet Mahama says he is a dead goat so he has not seen it. Businesses are collapsing, workers are being thrown out of their jobs, yet the dead goat President does not care a hoot about it. For three years and still counting, this nation has been plunged into darkness, a situation which has created a myriad of problems for the entire nation, with the business community being the worst affected. There is no end in sight, expectations of a better situation keep fading, and when the people protest, all the President can say is 'go-wey-you, I do not care because I am a dead goat'.

Some Ghanaians may vote for a goat but certainly not a dead one. After all, a live goat purposely killed can add perfume to our soup but a dead goat, per President Mahama, is useless to everyone except the vulture. If a dead goat is just useful to a vulture, then what is the use of a President who is a dead goat? A living goat can turn 360 degrees to solve problems; dead goat President Mahama has no clue about the solutions to the problems of this country. In fact, he has not appreciated the effect of some of the criminal and dubious dissipation of public resources to achieve political gains and to satisfy political cronies, family and friends on the economy and the general population.

A living goat has effective brakes to control its own movement when there is danger ahead; a dead goat, if it happens to be a President, continues down the ditch no matter how loud the people shout because it simply does not care. That is the dead goat President Mahama for you. This country has certainly had its ups and downs. We have learnt lessons enough to move towards a hopeful direction. Sadly, a dead goat President has taken us back to the refuse dump without the courtesy of giving us a befitting burial.

Kwame Nkrumah did his part, JB Danquah showed the way, Yaa Asantewaah led a fight when the men were tired, Tetteh Quarshie brought us wealth, Kofi Annan exhibited diplomacy brewed in Ghana, Akua Kuehyehyia showed the way in the international legal arena, as an ad on the television shows; what showest thou, Mahama?

Let me go for my two tots.
Kwesi Biney
Kb2014gh@gmail .com