Oh Mr. Mahama! Must You Sink So Low?

Being President of one's country is an HONOUR bestowed by nations to a very very few individuals out of millions of people.

When one becomes President, the entire resources of the nation are entrusted to one. These include the very lives of one's fellow citizens. For as the nation's Commander-in-Chief, one can declare war, which obliges the nation's armed forces, by law, to prosecute that war. Even ordinary civilians can be conscripted to join the armed forces in prosecuting that war.

In peacetime, of course, the President enjoys enormous privileges which the ordinary citizen has no way of even imagining. The President can hop on a nationally-owned and operated aircraft to go anywhere he thinks his duty lies.

He also possesses power over the nation's cash, which he can dispense as he wishes, so long as he observes certain rules he inherits on taking office.

He can be challenged, of course, on the use of the nation's resources, but the psychological hurdle that prevents public servants and other politicians from challenging the wishes of a President is of such an enormous nature that few people ever attempt to jump it. For the President is the “Fount of Honour”; indeed, every citizen automatically defers to “His Excellency the President”.

That's why when a President leaves office, he is expected to exercise discretion over certain matters, especially those that concern the security of the state. Now, he may wish to embarrass his successor(s) for political gain. But if he strays too far, he might step into the cauldron of “the oath of secrecy” which he solemnly swears before the Chief Justice and the whole nation, before he can assume office.

But what is expected of a President, over and above the letter of the law, is an UNWRITTEN PACT that is also important. It is a moral obligation, which enjoins him to guard against any action of his that might cause harm to the nation that once entrusted its safety and well-being to him as its President.

Mr John Dramani Mahama, who occupied the high office of President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017 and who, before that, was Vice-President (from 2009 to 2012), has, in a speech he made in Kumase on 28 April, 2018, violated the moral constraints by which an ex-President is bound. Mind you, these are constraints which he must observe as strictly as those written in law, due to the unique nature of the office of head of state that he was once privileged to occupy.

This is the speech by Mahama:
QUOTE:
Former President John Dramani Mahama has condemned the Akufo- Addo’s (sic) administration for motivating military and police officers to shoot to kill recalcitrant ‘galamseyers’ following the fight against illegal ‘galamsey’. According to Mahama, the shoot-to-kill approach in dealing with illegal mining in the country is inappropriate...

Mr Mahama, addressing NDC supporters during the party Unity Walk in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumase, admitted that illegal mining is destroying lands and water bodies in the country, suggesting to the government to put proper measures in place to do away with the shoot-to-kill approach. “When [the] NDC government was in power, we sent soldiers to fight illegal mining in the country but our efforts proved futile. We decided to bring a new mining law to deal with illegal miners but we lost [the] 2016 elections to NPP. If you put a blanket ban and then you send soldiers after our youngest people, that’s not the right way to go, he pointed out. Former President Mahama urged government to create a livelihood package for the ‘galamseyers’ to make the fight against illegal mining successful. “You cannot just wake up and send soldiers after our youngest people, and shooting them is not the right way to go,” he added.

UNQUOTE
First of all, Mahama did not tell the truth in this speech. The Government has not ordered anyone to shoot to kill galamseyers. “Operation Vanguard” personnel only have orders to ARREST galamseyers and seize their equipment. Of course, if they come under fire during their operations, they are obliged to return such fire, to protect themselves. To ensure that this rule of engagement is strictly enforced, “Operation Vanguard” personnel are composed of both soldiers and policemen, so that should an unauthorised shooting of suspects occur, the crime cannot be covered up by personnel bound to protect each other's interests hrugh what is known in the military as esprit de corps.

It may be said that Mahama was misled to say what he did because he had recently heard that two important members of the NPP administration – the First Deputy Speaker and his colleague, the Majority Leader in Parliament – have both made speeches advocating the shooting of galamseyers. But both made it clear that these were were their personal opinions and that what they meant was that IF THEY HAD THE POWER, they would pursue such a cause.

Neither person has initiated any ACTION to effect such a change of policy with regard to the rules of engagement of “Operation Vanguard”. Indeed, according to our parliamentary practice, neither person can initiate such a change in policy, since legislation is proposed by the Executive to Parliament, not the other way round. Even then, Parliament would have to VOTE on the issue before it could become law.

What then made Mahama become economical with the truth about what the Government is doing? It is clear that he was just doing politics. He wants his NDC party to renominate him to be its presidential candidate for 2020, and he has hit on the idea that the NPP Government has alienated many of its own supporters by clamping down hard on galamsey.

This is so very sad. The nation that accorded Mahama so many privileges when he was its President cannot continue to exist if its water-bodies are destroyed by galamsey. Even our next-door neighbour, the Ivory Coast, has found it necessary to make serious representations to our Government about how the pollution of some of our shared rivers is making it difficult for Ivorians to continue to obtain clean, safe water for their people.

Does John Dramani Mahama want the Ivory Coast to come to Ghana to safeguard its water sources? Isn't it irresponsible of Mahama to ignore the needs of both Ghana and the Ivory Coast and use the Government's efforts to end galamsey to campaign for his own selfish political ends?

Has Mahama heard that it will cost an estimated four hundred million dollars repeat four hundred million dollarsto reclaim River Ankobra alone from the destruction caused to it by galamsey? What about Pra River? The Offin? Tanoh? Birem? Oti? Densu? Black Volta? White Volta? With all that money, why, we could pay unemployment benefits to all our youths!

In a comment on Mahama's statement, someone said on Ghanaweb:

“Mahama and his family drink Voltic water. So he doesn't care whether the rest of us Ghanaians have water to drink or not.”

I have no doubt that in the eyes of such commenters, Mahama is committing MORAL TREASON against the nation that once elevated him to its highest office.

Now, that's a pretty serious charge, John Dramani Mahama.