Mahama shifts the Goalpost!
"I thought for once, we have a president who has the balls to fight galamsey! But now, John Mahama has lost his balls!"
The gallant men who tragically lost their lives in the gory helicopter crash a couple of months ago probably died for nothing!
We were living in a fool's paradise all along...when we thought their deaths would occasion a gallant crackdown on galamsey in their beloved memory.
Unfortunately, president Mahama has no intention of declaring a state of emergency. In fact, he sees no reason for it, unlike when he was in opposition.
The rivers may turn into blood, galamsey trenches may replace cocoa farms, the forests may be plundered and our children may exchange the classroom with gold-digging. As long as galamsey
puts food on the tables of 4 million Ghanaians, Mahama is helpless in curbing the menace!
Our president deserves a standing ovation for his excellent rationalisation of galamsey the other day! Let's hope he wakes up from his revelry by the time the gold diggers get to his backyard!
Indeed, nothing threatens our very existence like galamsey. Visit a few communities in the Eastern and Western Regions to see the yeoman's job of the "sleepy" Mahama government on galamsey.
The diggers are mining with ferocious intensity in homes, on the streets, on the highways and every byway. The menace is at its destructive worst. At this rate, l wonder what would remain of our communities in a couple of years.
Here is another example of a president betraying a nation's conscience after promising to declare a state of emergency while in opposition.
The president knows better than anyone what it means to declare a state of emergency. His refusal to do so at this critical time is the last death blow to any hope of eradicating the menace. We are in uncharted territory!
When our environment ---- rivers, forests, mountains, farmlands, homes and streets are being plundered by powerful individuals (including politicians) for a piece of gold; when rampaging youth take-up arms in defiance of our national security; when strange water-borne diseases afflict our babies while they are still in the womb; when our highways turn into deathtraps; when trenches replace cocoa farms, and fishes no longer swim in our rivers----the president says we haven't exhausted all the solutions!
What other solution is required outside of a state of emergency, My Excellency?
I thought for once, we had a president with balls to halt the greedy galamsey turbulence! But now, even John Mahama has chickened out of the fight!
Nine months in power, President Mahama has done nothing unusual to signal his intention to fight the menace more expeditiously. The forest reserves he claims to have reclaimed from galamsey are being infiltrated yet again by the gold diggers.
A state of emergency is a declaration of intention. It is the willingness to commit national resources by air, land and sea for the national cause.
It is the realisation that this country is bigger than the whims and caprices of a few greedy politicians.
It is the ultimate fight against illegality, lawlessness and vandalism. It is an occasion to defend the soul, sanity, values, dreams and aspirations of this country.
Securing and preserving our heritage is a mandatory task for any president. If our forbears had unleashed such wanton destruction on the land, would we have a nation call Ghana?
Posterity will be unkind to any president who lacks the balls to defend the motherland from this marauding band of gold diggers. Let there be no prevarication. This is the time to act, Mr. President!
Theodore is a corporate communications coach, author and writer. He provides corporate communications, editorial and writing support to organisations and individuals.
Disclaimer: "The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect ModernGhana official position. ModernGhana will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here."