Power Drunkenness Brewed In A Democratic Pot; Served In Calabashes Of The President, Speaker And Chief Justice?

As I congratulate His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, Ghana's new president, on his ascension to the highest office of the land that he is not new to, I equally congratulate the first female vice president of Ghana, Her Excellency Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman.

I cannot continue without sincerely praising the Speaker of Parliament, Right Honorable Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and the Chief Justice of Ghana, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, for their extraodinary display of Legislative and Judicial wisdom, and procedural knowledge leading to the swearing in of the president.

As I reecho the new president's clarion call to all Ghanaians to see in their individual selves that they are Ghana, and to equally see themselves collectively as Ghana, permit me to quote my selected favorite line in the president's inaugural speech here.

"Ghana's Youth represent the heartbeat of our democracy".

As, hopeful in the prospects of Ghana that I foresee under president Mahama's reign, I cannot stop being equally afraid of a 'sweet candy' called power!

Power, I will liken to a sweet candy for a reason. A candy not different from 'Aleewa' or 'Black and White' of those days, but with a bite of mandate mint.

Lick it tenderly, crash it aggressively with the teeth or leave it on the tongue with the lips shut, it will still die a natural death.

For the purposes of this piece, and to pay homage to how power can be malleable to easily drown into the stomach of some unrepentant idealist, permit me to elect the Tongue, Lips and the Teeth as President, Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice respectively.

Power can make a beholder drunk, enable a comrade to undermine and disrespect other comrades, be it the teeth, the tongue or the lips in this case.

When power drunkenness is allowed to fester, the comradery spirit among the three echelons of power, the Executive tongue, the Legislative/Parliamentary Lips, and the Judiciary Teeth, become relaxed leading to sudden death of power, occassioned by it drowning into an already pregnant stomach through accidental swallowing amidst some choking injuries.

The dead power, in our current democratic dispensation will then find its way through the exit of democratic rule only to be reincarnated in the yawning arms of the military landfills.

Equally, the relaxation of the comradery spirit, especially on the part of the Lips (Parliament) when it is injured, can generate tension in the whole body (the nation) leading to chaos, coup d' etat or in an extreme situation, war.

Governance is just like the inside of the mouth ( buccal cavity) where the tongue, the teeth and lips live amicably together doing their separate duties with each other in harmony to benefit the entire body.

Of course, there may be periodic quarrels leaving the tongue and lip with some cuts inflicted by the teeth, or the teeth bleeding from the gum, but they forgive each other and forge ahead in the interest of the body, and believing they will heal in no time.

The President and his appointees, Speaker of Parliament and his parliamentarians, the Chief Justice and her Justices must consciously and always remember that it was not a mistake for democracy to embrace separation of powers. It was time tested and welcomed as one the best forms of governance, if not the best. I need not underestimate their appreciation of this fact, for they are the chief swimmers in this pool and living in it day and night.

The President, Speaker of Parliament, and the Chief Justice must equally make their symbols of authority a consciously elevated wall clock devoid of partisanship and corruption, from which all the three hands work in unison to tell one time, and it is, Ghana First.

A clock in which every click of a second, minute and hour must always remind them of only one thing the citizenry are asking for in unison. That one thing is in the bosom of why Ghana was formed, FREEDOM and JUSTICE for all, no matter one's age, tribe, religion, status in life, poor or rich, able or disabled.

That clock must instill hope, happiness, patriotism, hard work, peaceful coexistence, and security in the lives of ALL the citizens of a developing country called Ghana, birthed March 6, 1957, and now over her retiring age to be seen struggling to make ends meet at that age.

I believe it is every Ghanaian's wish never again to be slapped with the news of severely bleeding mouth occasioned by power drunkenness leading to poor comradery between the Tongue, Lips and the Teeth.

For a flash of such incident was in the news for weeks leaving the body tensed ahead of the just ended presidential and Parliamentary elections.

Many have praised the Lips for keeping itself shut periodically.

Hopefully now that the upper lip muscles have been toughened following the December 7, 2024, wrestling bout, there will be no more lips shutting, and the tongue will be careful with the teeth going forward to avoid some policy and campaign promise bruises.

The teeth on the other hand, is steady and uncertain if she will be uprooted by some rough tactics to be orchestrated by the lips and tongue, or even an unknown virtual dentist, following her recent quarrel with the lips, coupled with her known signature facial expression affectionately carved or fashioned for only the tongue.

Well, will the three keep their triangular strength in the interest of the nation? Will they commit to ‘drinking’ power in equal measure from the same calabash respecting each other’s space, as practiced in some of our palaces in the spirit of welcoming each other warmly, and avoiding power drunkenness?

Time on that same elevated wall clock will tell.

I rest my PEN.
Yours truly,
Mustapha Alhassan.
Pennsylvania, USA.

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