This is an Appeal to all Ashantis to Boycott the 2024 Elections

First, the National Democratic Party of Ghana, whose Founder is Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, begs to differ from the assertions made by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) boss in Accra.

I, Dr. Edward Kwame Poku, wish to state that the contents of this article are mine and not that of our Founder of NDP, Mrs. Rawlings.

Secondly, I wish to dedicate this counter argument of mine to the eminent Director Prof. Emmanel Kwesi Anning, Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research, Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre, Accra, Ghana for his untiring work done for African freedom.

I wish to emphasize that the Boss of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) presented a totally erroneous argument about what he described as “tribal, religion based, campaign” which “are a threat to our national unity”. This is totally wrong.

This sort of argument and mindset presented by the boss of NCCE is exactly what is holding us Africans back.

There is first of all nothing “tribal” about introducing devolution in a country with so many different ethnic groups like Ashantis, Fantis, Ewes and others.

The examples in these countries

1. the USA,
2. Canada,
3. the U.K.,
4. Germany,
5. Russia or
6. China,

show that devolution is possible in countries with ethnic diversity.

These nations mentioned above are economically successful, despite their diversity and are sticking to their diverse traditions and behaviours. We of the Ashanti Region feel that people must not be forcibly fused together in order to achieve economic and social success.

Ghana with its so-called tribal systems has failed bitterly. I remember clearly how Mrs. Rawlings was not allowed to have a political forum in Cape-Coast only because she happens to be an Ashanti.

The coming 2024 elections must be boycotted for the following reasons:

1. The same parties (NDC and NPP) which have caused the worst economic disaster in Ghanaian history are the very ones’ planning to rule again, but to back to the so-called tribalism.
2. The ethnic diversity of our country is not and has not been the main stumbling block against our progress.
3. It is rather poor governance that is why the people of Ghana should not give their votes to those who up to now have failed us.
4. The notion that “all parties and supporters should consider themselves first as Ghanaians belonging to one nation called Ghana above all other considerations” is a great mistake.

   It is a cheap propaganda trick, propagated by Ashanti-haters, that must be rejected outright, because, let’s consider the U.K. or Germany, who, despite their ethnic or cultural diversity have made tremendous progress through devolution. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana equally mentioned devolution, but this has been totally rejected by both, NDC and NPP.

Examples of Devolution:
The United Kingdom is a typical example of devolution. The U.K. consists of four nationals:

1. the English,
2. the Welsh,
3. the Scots and
4. the (Northern) Irish.

None of these nations are “tribes” which have to be fused into one nation. This is an erroneous simplification of the issue.

It is the single performance of each member state of a country and the productivity of each individual of each nation state that counts and not some fusion of peoples.

The people are undoubtedly the source of wealth and not the artificial fusion of people.

My question to the NCCE boss is:
Why can Ghanaians, i.e. the Ewes, the Ashantis, the Gas, the Northerners, not have the right to govern themselves after 67 years of failure of the present system ? (right of self-determination)

Why should someone, who possibly could be an Ashanti-hater be allowed to be the head of state of a diverse nation like Ghana ? What is the justification for one person to determine the fate of individual Ghanaians ?

Why should this system of democratic dictatorship, that has not benefited us economically, socially or otherwise, be allowed to continue ?

What is Devolution ?
It is the transfer of power from a large central government to smaller, more localized, regional entities – and this is enshrined in our 1992 Constitution but it has been deliberately ignored by all previous parties and governments by reasons known only to themselves.

The process is a form of decentralization. Decentralization is the transfer of control from one large governing body to several smaller bodies. We, the people of Ashanti, prefer the example in the United Kingdom, because the Parliament in London has given some powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is not the case in Ghana.

Reasons, why the Ashanti Nation Should Get Out of this Corrupt System of Governance

This morning, I read on GhanaWeb.com about
“The conversation Amidu had with Rawlings about the Ahwoi days before the demise of ex-President Rawlings”

I prefer for personal reasons to not comment on what Mr. Amidu said about Ahwoi.

This Amidu is playing a dirty game of tribalism. I have observed a sense of conspiracy to solidify the powers of the Northerners over the others in Ghana. This is Northern supremacy, if one considers that

1. Mr. Mahama, the flagbearer of NDC, is a Northerner,
2. Mr. Bawumia, the flagbearer of NPP is a Northerner and
3. Mr. Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, is also from the North.

It is this situation that Mr. Amidu wants to consolidate.

I remember how the late President Rawlings once told me in the presence of his wife that

“It will be over my dead body to have a Northerner to be President of Ghana.”

His reasons were at that time that they happen to be corrupt.

But on the contrary in his lifetime a Northerner became President of Ghana.

It shows clearly that despite Rawlings in all was a good man, he was rather naive in politics.

The assertion by Mr. Amidu that it was the Ahwois who did not like Rawlings is totally wrong.

We should not forget that there was a conspiracy by certain Fantis who connived to usurp the authority of Rawlings’ as the Founder of NDC. These people were:

1. The late Arthur Mills,
2. possibly also Eddie Annan,
3. definitely Mr. Victor Smith,
4. the Ahwoi brothers and few others.

These people connived with Atta Mills, at that time a dying man, to usurp the power of Rawlings, the leader and the founder of NDC. So it was not solely the Ahwois but a new group of Fantis plotting to usurp power. But all their plans to undermine Rawlings and come into power fell apart, when Atta Mills died and now a Northerner came into power.

My impression about the whole issue was that Rawlings was a very weak leader, because we heard from Victor Smith that he was asked to spy on Rawlings wife, Nana Konadu. This information was published on GhanaWeb by Victor Smith himself.

In all my life, never have I seen a woman so dearly dedicated to her husband, to the NDC and to the country at large, like Mrs. Rawlings. God will reward her for her untiring effort to help Ghanaian women with the 31^st Women’s Organisation. She is simply an Ashanti Royal, the daughter of an Ashanti great, the late J.O.T. Agyeman.

Bawumia, the Ardent Muslim and Great Pretender

1. He supports using public funds to pay for 17% Muslims in the nation to go on pilgrimage as a free handout, while
2. in Ashanti, jobless people sit under a tree in Ejisu Besease, playing Dame.
3. In Germany, the Muslim women who refuse to remove their clothes in order to be examined by doctors are denied Doctors’ help, but
4. in Ghana, they get specially trained (read: expensive, but second class) doctors and nurses, who are not certified within international standards, to perform sub-standard “healthcare” on them but paid for by 83 % of the population.

In Ghana, Bawumia and Mahama, both pay for the costs of pilgrimage (thus nullifying its purpose) against the will of the Constitution both swore to uphold.

Furthermore, Mr. Mahama has announced his plan to build a university in Bolgatanga. Incidentally he has not shown where he is going to get his resources from.

Dear Nana Osei Tutu, this is how Ghana has ended in poverty. These people borrow money from the Europeans or Arabs, sell their conscience and degrade their own people to the level of beggars and animals.

Please, Nana, how long should our young people die on their journey for better lives in Europe.

The Vice-President, Mr. Bawumia, is said to have made the following statement on 31^st March 2024 regarding Galamsey in Ghana:

He promises support for miners and vows to end excavator burning. He has announced a significant shift in the government’s approach in combating illegal mining in Ghana.

He has not explained what this significant shift is and why it is now necessary for the government to approach the combatting illegal mining in another way than the previous way.

Why then did the President not accept the findings of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng on illegal mining and claim it is all hearsay ? So, what Prof. Frimpong-Boateng wrote in his report was not merely hearsay as our President maintained but in reality there was need to change in policy with regard to Galamsey.

I want the readers of this article to note that as a matter of fact Prof. Frimpong-Boateng was right in his report.

Vice-President Bawumia went on to tell his supporters that the miners can be assured that the next NPP government will no longer resort to burning excavators but will instead implement measures to support lawful mining operations.

Please note that the whole problem with mining is not a question of lawful or illegal mining, but a problem of destruction of our environment and thus the survival of our people.

A detailed article about the Galamsey problem follows soon.