Don’t argue or have discussions with a fool

An argument or discussion normally ensues a disagreement, or the quest to consensually find best practices or solutions to a task or a problem. This is how I have come to see arguments or discussions often started. Therefore, when arguing or holding a discussion, efforts must be made to be more reasonable to finally arrive at a solution in the best interest of all.

A fool will forever remain a fool. A fool is always stuck in their entrenched ways, beliefs, mannerisms and parochial mindedness. No amount of discussions or arguments will be sufficient to pluck a fool off the beliefs he or she has since their infancy, grown to find themselves wobbling or stagnating in.

Therefore, it is not worth your time, efforts or to expend your energy trying to get a fool to reason with you. As fanatics or fools as some people often are, especially in the Ghanaian politics of recent times, it is just a waste of a discerning person’s time trying to get any of the political activists calling themselves party foot soldiers, to understand reason.

Let me cite examples to justify how some people are simply fools or fanatics hence pointless wasting your time arguing or discussing anything with them since they will never agree with you until thy Kingdom come.

1. Many decades ago, to be precise, under the government of the late ex-Prime Minister Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia’s Progress Party (PP), Honourable Victor Owusu was having a banter with Honourable Gbedemah on the floor of parliament. He ended up accusing Gbedemah, as a person, by saying, “you people are inward-looking”. The “you” here was used as a singular pronoun but not a plural pronoun. Nonetheless, the entire Anlo/Ewe tribe in the then Volta region of which Gbedemah belonged, took offence, and still hold the United Party (UP) tradition that has begotten the Progress Party (PP), Popular Front Party (PFP) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) to account.

They have decided in their majority to never vote for anyone contesting to go to parliament or become the president of Ghana on the ticket of any offspring party of the UP. (The United Party was the main opposition party in the First Republic of Ghana. It was the only opposition party throughout its existence from 1957 until 1964 when Ghana became a one party state). No matter how best a party coming out of the UP will serve their interest, they will never vote to elect it. This has made it possible for the National Democratic Congress candidates to always win all the seats in the Volta region. The NDC always remind them of how their rival party, thus NPP, see them as inferior people by what Victor Owusu said, although he had apologised to them many years ago, when he realised how the entire tribesmen of Gbedemah had taken offence.

The NDC may not do much for them, however, they don’t care; they will always vote for NDC. Is this not an act of fanaticism deplored by the inspirational speaker in the underlying video?

2. There are known cases where some Ghanaians had accepted a two-kilogram bag of rice or a fowl, a machete, a box of matches with ten to fifty Ghana Cedis (Ghc10 to Ghs50) or a half piece of cloth selling for Ghs50 or less, to cast their vote for a political party or candidate that they know very well to be unable to help them when elected into power. No matter the amount of discussions or arguments you will have with such people, they will never listen to you, or see reason in your argument. Are such people who are moved to make decisions depending on the momentary pangs of their stomach but not the long term benefit to accrue to them were they to be patient for some time and to see reason not fools?

There is a Chinese proverb that goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”. It means, it can be more beneficial in the long run to teach a person how to do something than to do that something for them. Relating it to an ongoing government policy or programme in Ghana where the youth have been offered free Senior High School education vis-à-vis the attitude of some people buying into the NDC’s lies and propaganda to derail the policy by selling their votes and minds to the NDC for Ghs10 to Ghs50 per head, are such people not fools? Will their children, grandchildren and themselves acquiring better education not have brighter future job opportunities than the little money they accept only to serve, although insufficiently, their needs for a day? However, these people will never understand you no matter how you prevail upon them to see reason through argument or discussion.

3. Somebody has been in a position before and you have seen how badly and corruptly the person performed. That person has been kicked out of his position. No sooner had he been kicked out than he came back preaching, “I have reformed. Give me another chance to prove myself to you”, although still lying between his teeth. He also let it slip out of his mouth his intentions to abrogate some of the ongoing implemented good policies and programmes that are beneficial to you in the long term.

Will you not be a fool to refuse to accept the sound discussion or argument that such a person is not worth your attention let alone, embrace him warmly for a comeback? Such are those following former President John Dramani Mahama.

Discerning Ghanaians should not waste their time having discussions or arguments with such people, for they are simply fools or fanatics as observed by the motivational speaker or advocate in the video.

4. A prophet or pastor asks you to pay for your consultation with him whereas you know clearly well that his demand is not in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ or the bible. Same pastors or prophets demand to have sex with you when you approach them for spiritual assistance to overcome your tormenting physical or spiritual woes. Similarly, a fetish priest, Mallam or juju man tells you he can help you acquire much wealth by demanding money from you and also, asking you to make some ritual sacrifices, e.g. kill human beings, sheep or cows.

Why should they demand money in payment of their services to you to acquire more money for yourself? Why don’t they use the same means to assist you to acquire money to help themselves to get richer, rather than to take money from you, of course a fraction of what they promise you? They always end up swindling you yet, some people continually go to them for help.

After all the abundant revelations in the public domain about their quackery, courtesy of Kennedy Agyapong (Hon) and other sources, he who continues to allow themselves to be duped by the so-called men of God and the juju men are fools unworthy to argue with.

5. The renowned Ghanaian investigative and awards-winning journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has been proven beyond every shred of doubt to be a blackmailer, extortionist and exceedingly corrupt individual, courtesy of Kennedy Agyapong (Hon) through his premiered “Who watches the watchman” exposés. Therefore, all those who continue to hold Anas in high esteem as an outstanding investigative journalist in Ghana, without yielding to obvious reasons and facts proving him otherwise, are all either fanatics or fools who should never be engaged in argument or discussion.

Will you continue to hang around with fools and fanatics, arguing or discussing issues with them knowing too well that it will end up in futility?

Many are those to have a change of mind after reading this publication and watching the video. If you are happy with it, please share it with as many people as you can.

Rockson Adofo

Sunday, 14 November 2021