WHEN THE KOBBY ACHEAMPONGS RULE

KOBBY ACHEAMPONGS

'Of Late, Kobby Acheampong, the current deputy minister of interior and former deputy minister of tourism, has become a paragon of political indecency in Ghana. In the process, Kobby has earned the dubious honour of being the NDC hatchet man'.  'Late last year, he hurled a torrent of uncharitable words at a fellow politician, and unwittingly insulted rural people to boot. Reacting to comments made by the NPP general secretary, Sir John, Kobby described him as a typical cocoase kurasini, a villager from a cocoa-production area. Ironically, the Ghana of 'civilized city dwellers', such as Kobby, who attended schools built with cocoa revenues, probably wouldn't exist without the hard work of cocoa farmers.'

————'I wonder why the NPP selected Nana Addo as their flagbearer, because the man is a fruitcake. We cannot do anything good with him,' he stated, adding: 'He keeps on going and going and I tell you, give him two weeks, he will come up with something else. Didn't you see that Nana Addo appeared at the national thanksgiving ceremony at the Independence Square in Accra, the nation's capital in an untidy manner?'

( Courtesy African Watch, April 2011).
This country has come this far in its governance practices in terms of systems and personalities. It is very heartening to note that many young Ghanaians are offering themselves to serve this nation in governance positions of both elective and appointive nature. However, if some of the young ones in government do not conduct themselves very well, they tend to close the doors to the youth of tomorrow.  Prof. Atta Mills did not err when he decided to appoint young men and women from his party to ministerial positions, thinking perhaps that they were going to bring their energies and creativity to bear on good governance and the service delivery function of government. It has become very clear that most of them are misdirecting their energies and creativity.

Now listen to my story. Last Saturday, the 16 th of April, 2011, in the year of our Lord, I attended a funeral of an NPP young man who had lived with me personally for a while when I was appointed the DCE in 2001 at Agona Nkwanta. At the funeral, I had a call from a former colleague of the Graphic Communication group to meet him at Essikadu to receive a parcel of mine. In fact, the gentleman had been my guest the previous week and I had implored him to collect a parcel from someone in Accra for me since he was coming back to the twin city the following week.

I was therefore compelled to cut short my stay at the funeral at Agona Nkwanta to be able to collect the parcel since the gentleman was returning the same day this time around. On my way, he informed me that I would locate him at the residence of Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi, one of the longest serving Ministers in the P/NDC administration. Apparently he was celebrating the 1 st anniversary of the call to glory of his beloved mother. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

The gentleman came down from the hill to deliver the parcel to me, after which he told me that professional colleagues like Haruna Atta and Kofi Coomson were all there. These are gentlemen I hadn't seen for a long time so I decided to climb the hill to say hello to them. I got to the top panting though, to be met first by my sister, Araba Tagoe of NDC, who hugged me and virtually introduced me to everybody there, claiming I was looking good because Egya Atta's Better Ghana Agenda has had a better toll on me. I met Totobi Quakyi, shook hands with him and shared a few jokes. I saw Kofi Coomson and asked of his health since I had heard that he was not well. I was being led by both Araba Tagoe and my gentleman friend to say hello to very prominent members of government and the NDC, while still searching for Haruna Atta.

I started greeting some of these officials when all of a sudden a 'gentleman' from behind me shouted, 'are you Kwesi Biney?'  I answered in the affirmative before I could turn round to see who wanted a clarification of my identity. Lo and behold, it was the notorious Kobby Acheampong of the cocoase kurasini fame. In his usual indecency, Kobby Acheampong, in the full glare of his political superiors who were receiving my handshakes, was virtually thrusting his finger into my eye and shouting at the top of his voice 'do you know me?, you don't know me and you write those rubbish about me; you are stupid, foolish', to the utter embarrassment of his political superiors and the utter amazement of others who witnessed that crude behaviour. My only response to him was 'you indeed deserve more of such articles'.

This is a man who is supposed to be a minister of state paid with the tax payer's money; a man who is supposed to be a role model for the youth in our governance system. Kobby Acheampong was worried that I did not know him and yet I had written about him. I do not know which of the 'knows' he is talking about. If by 'do you know me', he meant not knowing him by birth, that is true because I was not present when his father was planting the seed which germinated and gave meaning to his existence in the belly of his mother. I did not know him when he was a kid and schooling. What he does not know is that his public conduct or misconduct makes him more known than even the knowledge of his family background or circumstances of birth.

Now Kobby, when you lied publicly that ex-President Kufuor had underground swimming pools and jacuzis, etc, in his residence, did you really know him, apart from the fact that he was the President of this country?  When you were spewing very stinking rubbish, from your stinking bucal cavity, at this noble man, did you know him that much?  The filthy insults you keep on heaping on Nana Akufo-Addo, a man whose pedigree no member of your family can match, how much did you know of him? The man you have constantly, through silly innuendos which can only come from an insane mind, associated with drugs, how long have you known him?  When people like you call Nana Addo a fruitcake——mad man in local parlance, how much have you known of him? Yes, when you described Nana Akufo-Addo as untidy, someone who cannot dress properly, you thought you knew him that much?

Hear Kobby Acheampong describing someone as untidy. At the occasion I have described above at the residence of Totobi Quakyi, the occasion demanded white or black and white apparel. Do you know what Kobby Aceampong was in?  Some green asasawa shirt which had nothing in common with the occasion. Even those serving knew the occasion and dressed appropriately for it. Oooooooo, Kobby thinks that his outmoded Mao Tse Tung style of dressing is the best for this nation? A man with broadened horizon does not even know what dress code is appropriate for the celebration of a life well lived. If I do not know Kobby Acheampong by birth, don't I know him as the man who lost his job because he had engaged in profanity on national television discussions?

 
Kobby, I do not know you by birth, but I know you as an indecent, arrogant, poorly brought up child who cannot distinguish between civility and crudity. Your actions last Saturday in the presence of very noble people at what was supposed to be a solemn occasion, amply confirms your vituperative, rude and untrained nature in the Ghanaian way of life. You are a disgrace to Egya Atta who appointed you as a minister, you are a great disappointment to the youth in leadership positions today and you are not a good example of the youth who want to take advantage of political opportunities to help this country in future.

Finally let me tell you, you came into negative public limelight when I had exited from mainstream journalism. I am not the type of person who would be intimidated by your ilk if you care to know, ask some of your superiors like Totobi Quakyi himself. I have the capacity to stand up to and deal with nincompoops like you who this nation has had the misfortune of having as deputy ministers. Of course it is only in the government of Egya Atta that such an indecent character can become a deputy minister and still continue to exhibit indecency publicly. God save Ghana. But Kobby, if you are an expert in indecent use of language and public misconduct, never extend that to me. My name is Kwesi Biney.

 
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