Please His Excellency The President, Don't Do It!

When reading an online Ghana news on Friday, 18 May 2018, I came across some news that sent my heart pounding against my ribs. I could not believe my eyes what I was reading. At a point, I could feel cold chill descending down my spine. What was the news about, some curious minds may ask?

It was all about a statement alleging that the ex-NDC Government Ministers who have been discovered to have taken double-salary for some part of, or all the years that they were in government, as Members of Parliament cum Government Ministers, have contacted a certain influential King in Ghana to intercede to plead on their behalf with His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to temper justice with mercy.

From many sources as I have lately read from some fellow internet columnists, there is only one King in Ghana who could be nobody other than my own Asante King, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. I could be wrong but going by people saying that there are numerous chiefs but only one King in Ghana and always pointing to Asantehene, then affected persons could have contacted nobody other than the Ashanti King.

I have no qualms about them contacting whoever they like to intercede on their behalf to be let off the hook. However, I have words of advice for the President of Ghana on this issue. If indeed, the President is resolutely determined to fight corruption upon which promise many a Ghanaian voted for him since corruption is the bane of the economic and human resource development of Ghana, then I shall entreat him to avail himself of this double-salary payment saga to prove to Ghanaians how he seriously means his words.

When a poor person steals a fowl or some bunches of plantain and he/she is jailed for a minimum of say, five years, what is the justification for letting go scot free someone who knowingly dubiously accepts monthly double-salary payment running into thousands of Cedis for their job? Are they more Ghanaians or humans than other Ghanaians hence are untouchable? Are they above the law as Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II by virtue of occupying the Golden Stool and being Asantehene thinks he is?

The case is already in the public domain so the President must tread carefully in order not to anger the general public. He is not to intervene to let go these Government officials but to let the law take its course as enshrined in the constitution. It is by letting the law deal with them that he will really be on the right path to fighting corruption.

I will conclude by narrating a true story and how many people came to hold in high esteem the person I am about to mention. This happened in the latter part of 1973 when I was at then Kumawu Tweneboa Kodua Secondary School. I was by then in Form 3. It all happened as follows. One Senior Edward Adusei Pianim who was my School senior by two years and had barely been elected the School Prefect, did something to his own brother or relative called Stephen Owusu who was in Form 4. Stephen thought his brother or relative has been elected the School Prefect so he could fool about and commit stupid acts with impunity. Little did he know that his brother was not going to stoop for such nonsense from anyone, not even from his own brother.

Senior Pianim came to the dining hall at lunch time at 14:00 hours; mounted the rostrum which was in the middle of the dining hall with about thousand five hundred students gathered for lunch and called out the name Stephen Owusu. He asked him to stand up to proceed to the rostrum. All eyes were on Stephen. He told the seated students what he had done and humiliated him in front of the entire school population. He asked him to stay there while the rest had their lunch. Afterwards, he demarcated a portion of the school compound for him to weed for two weeks. This is how it went. He would start weeding when classes were in session and stopped only to have breakfast. He would then go back to weed until school finished at two O'clock in the afternoon to go for lunch. He did this for two weeks. This was how powerful the School Prefects of Kumawu Tweneboa Kodua Secondary School, now Kumawu Tweneboa Kodua Senior High School, were in those days.

When Senior Pianim did that to his own brother or relative, every student began to fear him. If he could do that to his own brother, what would he do to me if I broke the school rules, many people asked themselves that question in silence. From that day on, there was absolute discipline in the school. He was a strict disciplinarian. Therefore, if the President is able to start with the people in government as the opportunity has presented itself, he can easily fight corruption but if he allows this golden opportunity to slip through his fingers, then that is the end of his avowed fight against corruption and many people will have considered his promise as a mere rhetoric or political gimmick to persuade the electorates to vote for him.

It is up to the President to decide. However, he has to be very careful should he decide to intervene to let the affected corrupt officials go scot free as the issue is already in the public domain but no longer a secret. The President may be in a dilemma but he should consider carefully the reaction by the public and his own promise to fight corruption to finally decide what to do; either to listen to the King who may call him to let the affected corrupt politicians go scot free or to listen to his own voice to let the law deal with them.

This article is written on Saturday, 19 May 2018, when Prince Harry officially married his fiancée Megan Markel hence the publication having a historic reference and importance. A word to the wise is sufficient.

Rockson Adofo