Kudos, Tarzan

One person who has been misrepresented, misunderstood, misread, lampooned, maligned and somewhat unjustifiably condemned in the process towards the Golden Jubilee celebrations is Dr Charles Yves Wereko-Brobby (Tarzan), the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat.

But despite all the ugly noises and sometimes unprincipled attacks directed at Tarzan, the dazzling and captivating nature of the national parade, the superb performance of the schoolchildren and security services at the Independence Square on Tuesday, with all the foreign guests, must have rekindled in every Ghanaian the sense of being and dignity.

The event will go down as the most glamorous, except the euphoria which greeted the maiden celebration, with the foreign guests savouring the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality of a nation at peace with the citizens.

That the event was a national celebration which must never be subverted by partisan considerations was amply manifested in the different hues of clothing in the national colours and the copious waving of the national flag at each turn of the ceremony.

It is thus imperative to commend Tarzan and his staff who remained unruffled in the face of informed and uninformed criticisms to give us a fitting climax to a worthy celebration.

We must equally applaud the spirit of nationalism and sacrifice of swallowed pride displayed by the political parties and in particular the leadership of the Committee for Joint Action, which added to the beauty of the celebration. The country was at one, ad idem, for the celebration.

The CJA in particular exercised decorum in not organising any counter activity, even though that was within their legitimate right to do so and take responsibility for any concomitant.

Indeed, there were many who felt uncomfortable that despite the dysfunctional Ghanaian philosophy that “ehuru a ebedwo”, literally meaning after boiling it would cool down, the CJA could carry out its threat to organise a counter ceremony and undermine the national celebrations.

The fears were based on public statements by some of the activists of the CJA to the effect that, court order or no court order, they would not be part of the national event and that they would organise their own events to commemorate the day.

But, when it mattered most to the national interest, honour and ego, the CJA was prepared to sacrifice for the national cause. That is what it takes to build a great nation and we must be proud to be Ghanaians.

After 50 years of independence and 12 years of the Fourth Republic, we have grown in confidence in our faith about democratic principles. What we lack is a national consensus as to what is in the best interest of all of us.

The benign spirit and harmony which underlined the parades last Tuesday, and the presence of the numerous foreign delegations in a country which lacks attachment to ceremonies, must inform us to begin to think of Ghana as one people with a common destiny. We must now define our national interest and the public good.

To give better meaning to our democracy, the rule of law and respect of the fundamental rights of our people, we would want to remind the appropriate authorities that at the appointed time the by-pass on the Tema Motorway, done for the convenience of our guests who stayed at the Trasaaco Valley, should be closed as promised.

We further applaud the generosity of the management of Trasaaco for their kind gesture.