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01.09.2015 Feature Article

Is Ours Becoming The House Of Dishonourables?

Is Ours Becoming The House Of Dishonourables?
01.09.2015 LISTEN

I’ve had the occasion to discuss in this very column how truth manifests itself in different forms. How do we identify the truth? Is it what others tell us or want us to believe? Is it what we think or believe to be the truth? Or could it be the story behind what we are being fed?

Whatever the answer is, one cannot deny the fact that a person’s actions and sayings go a long way in defining who he/she is. No wonder the Good Book says, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”

      Parliament is a highly exalted institution in our Constitution. It isn’t for nothing that we refer to our representatives in that noble house as ‘honourables’. One can therefore safely refer to Parliament as the House of Honourables.

Not too long ago, Osono did select its candidates for the upcoming 2016 parliamentary polls. Some of the names that cropped up during the internal contest were not deserving of the ‘honourable’ title. Zu-za would in due course be selecting its candidates for the 2016 polls; and I dare repeat that very dishonourable personalities are in the race with the hope of representing their party in the House of Honourables.

      To avoid being blamed for engaging in generalisation, I would buttress my argument with few specifics in order to clear the fogs in the medulla of prospective readers.

      Do you know the originator of the term ‘KOOKOOASE KURASINI’? It is an open secret that the man exudes bad breath anytime he opens his mouth. Whenever he makes the headlines on the front pages of newspapers and in news bulletins of radio and television studios, one can be sure that it is nothing but a negative headline. Indeed, he could easily win the unenviable title of “politician with the most stinking breath”, if there were any such competition.

       In the run up to the 2008 polls, his dishonourable behaviour on live television led to his dismissal as a lecturer of Communication Studies from the African University College of Communications. Again, the dishonourable man refused to do the honourable thing.

      When the eagle-headed Umbrella won the elections, the dishonourable man was rewarded with a deputy ministerial position, which earned him the right to add the ‘honourable’ title to his dishonourable name. Ironically, the appointment was made by a man who called himself ‘Asomdwehene’.

Elated, energised and in his bid to further impress, he made sure that his bad breath became smellier than before. It was this enthusiasm which gave birth to the infamous 'kookooase kurasini' expression, which denigrated residents of Oseikrom and the countryside cocoa farmer. He was impressed upon to apologise, which he did; but later revoked the apology because he deemed it wrong for a dishonourable person to try being honourable.

I shudder to imagine seeing such a character in the House of Honourables, especially knowing that the word ‘shame’ could not be found in his lexicon.

     I hear a presidential aide who responds to the alias ‘Gyata’ has also picked a form to contest in one of the constituencies in the Greater Accra Region. What rotten teeth he has! And one cannot deny the fact that rotten teeth beget stinking breath!

     Massa, this bloke has no respect for the elderly. The stench that emanates from his stinking breath is such that not even fresh mint can neutralise its effect. Amazingly, he is encouraged by the presidency to unleash his stinking breath on others with glee. Wouldn’t it be a great shame to have such a character in the House of Honourables?

The House of Honourables is already on record to have a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) incarcerated in Obroniland for trafficking drugs, contaminating the name of the House in the process. The House also has an MP who squandered state cowries on ‘dedrossing’ trips and kebab.

The House has an MP who shamelessly had carnal knowledge of his sister-in-law under the guise of tradition. The House also has a member of the leadership who is known to be a dubious judgement debt consultant. The list is endless!

     The likes of Kofi Ghana and Akumpreko Agyapong have not done the image of the noble House any good. Sharp-teethed blokes like the creator of the phantom 1.6 million jobs, the Chief Jihadist, the Murtalas and the Fiifis have even made matters worse. To add foul-mouthed personalities like Mr Kookooase Kurasini and Mr Gyata to the list would only strengthen the notion that the house is gradually becoming the “House of Dishonourables”.

I must, however, add that it is refreshing to hear names like Dr Ezenator Rawlings and Abeiku Santana popping up. I had the opportunity to watch an interview Ezenator granted on GTV and that was enough to convince me she would be a good addition to the House of Honourables. She was decorous, gentle and very careful with her choice of words. I’m not a fan of Dr Boom, but I wouldn’t mind voting for her if I were her constituent.

As we watch the Zu-za parliamentary contest with keen interest, my prayer is that they do not select persons bereft of genteelness, candour and decorum. But I cannot help but wonder if my prayer would be answered. For a party full of ‘evil dwarfs’ and ‘babies with sharp teeth, persons with stinking breaths have always been their heroes. What a travesty!

See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!

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