Open Letter To The Minister of Foreign Affairs

Fearless Honesty, Tsodzime (to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Ghana)

I, Etornam Dugbazah, called to be an apostle by the grace of Yeshua (Jesus Christ) to the leaders of the Republic of Ghana. In this series of letters, I will be writing to address matters of your stewardship and conduct in governance. I will begin with these words to Ghana's Foreign Minister.

Dear Mr. Foreign Minister:

God bless you and may His holy face shine upon you. Please allow me an opportunity to question your sincerity, and in effect that of President John Kufuor in relation to the recent GH Post report, Ghana's silence over Togo was tactical.

I will first of all ask, “Did you mean tactical in order not to offend Togolese officials? Or did you mean tactical as in order to hide from Ghanaians the insincerity of your government?” Mr. Akufo-Addo, I wish to draw your attention to a fundamental truth about the workings of the human animal. You see sir, when human beings have really matured to a level of understanding about human communication and the use of rhetoric, they reach a level of understanding that all human communication is motivated by the workings of the inner parts, the heart (seat of knowledge) and soul (seat of emotions). Also, mature communicators recognize that there will always be those among the lot of world citizens who neither like, nor accept the truth. Nevertheless, the truth must be spoken. What I am trying to express to you sir, is that when a man or woman reaches maturity, they have learned to “say it like it is” (tell the truth). To tell the truth is proof of an individual's willingness to address the issue of contention. A mature person does this regardless of whether the truth will make them happy or put them in the line of fire.

Please permit me to elaborate. In the Evhe (Ewe) language, there is a word that is often used to encourage people to tell the truth and to conduct themselves honestly. It's called “tsodzime”. Literally translated, it means from inside the heart. The English equivalent is “sincerely”. The opposite of sincere rhetoric spoken tsodzime, are the surface utterances by individuals whose intention it is to deflect people from the fact that they are telling lies. When a human being expresses his or her thoughts, tsodzime, it is an indication that such a person has reached a level of maturity in their development. Why do I say this? I say this because it means that a person of this persuasion understands that everything is subject to interpretation and that the most important issue to be considered when making any type of utterance is not whether the utterance will be misconstrued, but that the utterance is spoken in truth.

So then Mr. Foreign Minister, the truth is that Togo's authorities were unjustified in their flagrant choice of action to conveniently prevent the former Speaker, Fambare Natchaba from landing in his country and in effect, from assuming the office of president (in line with Togo's constitution) upon the death of the late Gnassingbe Eyadema. Also, the truth is that Togolese officials, especially the country's military brass, were wrong to have circumvented the constitution by maneuvering to catapult the young Faure Gnassingbe into the president's seat. The truth is that somehow, the majority of political analysts, heads-of-state, and other political commentators around the globe saw this as the truth. They also saw the need to say it like it is; that the conduct of the Togolese officials in question was wrong.

Mr. Foreign Minister, somehow, when compared to the majority of political analysts, heads-of-state, and other political commentators around the globe, members of your government, including Ghana's ambassador to Togo and your boss, President John Kufuor chose not to say it like it is when it came to constitutional violations in Togo. Mr. Foreign Minister, the wisdom of the ancients says, “The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason” (Proverbs 26:16, KJV). A sluggard, Mr. Foreign Minister is a lazy individual who when the call of duty beckons is unwilling to fulfill his or her obligations truthfully, and to perform in accordance with their purpose. The conceit or unduly high opinion of the sluggard is seen from the fact that even when SEVEN mature individuals, not one, or two, or three, but SEVEN mature individuals provide a wise and logical deduction on a matter, the sluggard still contends with these wise and logical deductions in preference of his or her hollow reasonings based on moral impurity and a dysfunctional sense of self.

Well, we understand that to everything there is A REASON, and to every uttering of a reason there is A MOTIVE. And for some reason your boss, Mr. Kufuor did not openly characterise the doings of Togolese officials as wrong in the wake of Gnassingbe Eyadema's death. The recently given reason for this, that was attributed to you on behalf of your boss is that, “President Kufuor did not want to create any impression that he was still in the shadows of power at the level of the sub-regional body [ECOWAS].” Please permit me to remind the president that his mandate from Ghanaian nationals is not to first represent the interests of ECOWAS in the Togolese situation. Rather, his electoral mandate is to first represent and convey the just moral conviction that underlies the spirit of Ghana (its constitution) and which, when interpreted in connection with Ghana's national anthem – which the president recently spoke so boldly about according to media reports on independence celebrations in Ghana – equates to “fearless honesty”.

I conclude with these comments. Based on the wisdom of the ancients, a wise and logical deduction that can be made from your stated reason for Mr. Kufuor's silence on Togo, Mr. Foreign Minister, is that since there were so many who could render a reason – the majority of political analysts, heads-of-state, and other political commentators around the globe – to condemn recent political affairs in Togo, you and certain members of your government clearly typify the character of the sluggard. Truly, the lazy and conceited behaviour of Ghana's political majority has once again been displayed not just nationally, but internationally. Perhaps this is why your government has literally “contracted” the international community to run Ghana's political and economic affairs instead of doing it yourselves. Thank you and God bless you.

Tsodzime, Apostle Etornam Kordzo Dugbazah Calgary, Alberta, Canada