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An Open Letter To The Free SHS Brand Ambassador "At Large"

By Elikem Kwame Kotoko
Opinion An Open Letter To The Free SHS Brand Ambassador At Large
NOV 24, 2017 LISTEN

Dear Mr. Abraham Nii Attah,
I hope this finds you well and reaches you in good time, as brand Ambassador for our mega Free Senior High School [FSHS] programme which was introduced sometime this year in September.

Nii, you will agree with me that the pomp and pageantry with which the government of the day launched this FSHS, expectations of Ghanaians were and are still very high in spite of the numerous challenges bedeviling the programme. All the same may I seize this moment to congratulate you on your acceptance of the herculean task of being a brand ambassador for the programme. My wonder till date however is, if at all you were given any official document spelling out what your roles are as an ambassador or this is just another “AT LARGE” Ambassadorial appointment by president “do nothing” William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

AB, to be sincere with you Ghanaians wish to know if you were compelled under any form of enticement or duress to accept this appointment as a brand ambassador for FSHS? I am forced to ask this question because ever since you donned that new cloth for the government’s flagship programme, a couple of things if not almost everything have being haywire but you seem not to be bothered and your handlers have not brought it to your attention either.

I must admit you are an inspiration to many including myself, not to become an actor but to endure and persevere. AB, as a teenager yourself you can imagine the numerous Ghanaian teenagers who took and continue to take inspiration from you, the hope you gave them when they discovered you were chosen as a brand ambassador for FSHS. I am so sorry to announce to you that if care is not taken this flagship programme of government you accepted to be linked to may become an albatross on your neck and am contemplating how you can quietly reconsider the decision; mind you, I do not wish to be seen as a prophet of doom, I am neither a Jewish prophet myself nor am I related to any but it will be best you jump off this plane which has taken a nose-dive and will soon crash.

As you may be aware, the challenges have become so huge, president Akufo-Addo [@NAkufoAddo] and his cousin Ken Ofori-Atta are left with no choice but ask the Kayayei, trotro driver and his mate, market women, in fact the galamsey guys whose business he has collapsed after promising them a boom, to now contribute funds into a “Voluntary Fund” to support the FSHS, and indeed one again wonders how this has not been brought to your notice so you can help raise funds with us.

Abraham, the open truth now is that you are more popular, respected and trustworthy more than our entire government and the president inclusive but minus the Veep, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia @MBawumia he is currently “unwell” anything he says appears to be at complete variance with the human comprehension. Did you hear of the GhanaPostGPS, ahaaaaaa!!!!

Abraham, how do you feel knowing that your peers who were promised quality FSHS have been handed a quantitative FSHS? How do you also feel knowing that your mates you left behind are now sleeping in dormitories situated under trees (can you imagine if it begins to rain, and or the weather becomes unfavorable), others have built open air dinning halls on the bare floor where they serve foods and God forbid if there should ever be any cholera outbreak, etc, we may outshine Zimbabwe’s record. Nii, your colleagues are studying in classrooms with no tables or chairs and painstakingly sitting on cement blocks as if they are masons on apprenticeship. As if that is not enough, those who are lucky to get sleeping space in dormitories will have to do so by sacrificing their trunks, etc, to be outside. AB, do you think this can produce the quality of education intended, certainly no and you are a brand ambassador oo!!!

Sincerely, Mr. Attah, “begyi steer nu” no foreign investor trusts our two gentlemen, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Bawumia because they lost everything called integrity in them right from when our president begun stealing speeches, endorsing vigilantism with his veep spewing lies and scamming the nation through dubious deals; the innocent tax payers’ money ooo

Guess what, if news begin to fly all over about the failure of this programme it definitely not be without mention of your ‘prestigious name’ and well, if my brother was the one, I will advise he does a few things, paramount will be to visit some of the schools to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the cases and if found to be true, politely communicate to the government his decision to ‘pull out’ of this quagmire.

Indeed you have to make it priority to visit some of the said schools to visit your mates who are going through this challenge, give them hope and apologise to them for the predicament they find themselves in; the powers that be may not allow you because it will be deemed a failure of a major policy but for your integrity, the needful to do will be to embark on some familiarization tour to acquaint yourself with the challenges to make informed decisions. As it stands the mantra of the flagship FSHS of ACCESS, EQUITY and QUALITY has been authenticated as a fluke and a wild dream by our aged president.

Mr. Abraham Attah, Robert Gabriel Mugabe may be ready to be a brand ambassador as well since his country is known to have the highest literacy rate in Africa. Please do not ignore my advise of paying visits to the schools at least to help “shore up” the government’s approval rating which seem to be on the decline right from assumption of office.

NB:
Let it be however put on record that I am not opposed to FSHS, it is a laudable idea but if rushed the way it is being rushed to score cheap political points, disaster looms. As said by one Indian Nationalist, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, "When politics stumbles, the nation pays." As the FSHS has begun to stumble, the nation is being asked to pay into a voluntary funds for our education, such joke.

Regards,
Citizen Elikem Kwame Kotoko
Cell: +233 26 470-5778
Cell: +233 20 907-0464
Tel: +233 30 231-2420

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