Zu-za Possessed By The Cain Spirit!

Have you ever heard the story of Cain and Abel? I’m sure you have because it was a story that was used to teach children about jealousy and its influence on man. But I will still recount the story in case you’ve forgotten the biblical narration.

The story is told of Adam and Eve who gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer who grew vegetables and grains. Abel was a shepherd who tendered to the family’s herd.

Cain and Abel were like most siblings; they didn’t always get along. But they were brothers and loved each other very much, despite their occasional fights.

Their parents told them about the revelation that they should sacrifice to the Bearded Old Man above to show how much they appreciated all He had done and how sorry they were for their sins.

Abel was very concerned that his sacrifice be special and liked by the Old Man. He chose his first and best lamb and offered it to the Lord. It was hard for Abel to give up his most prized possession, but it was important to him that he did his best to please the Old Man above.

Cain thought his younger brother was a bit silly for giving up his best lamb. He thought they needed that lamb, the Old Man didn’t. He felt it would be a waste to sacrifice his best for the Bearded Old Man above. He therefore offered straws from his crops as sacrifice to Him.

Cain was jealous! He didn’t take the time or the responsibility to realize that it was his decision to sacrifice straws that caused the difference in the Bearded Old Man’s response to their sacrifices. Instead, he just got angry at his brother. Jealousy and anger influenced him to kill his brother, and he lived with the guilt till his dying day.

The Cain spirit has since possessed many individuals and groups. Such persons and groups are filled with jealousy and envy anytime others achieve great feats or become successful in an endeavour. All successes should be theirs and not anyone else’s. A classic example of such people are those under the eagle-headed Umbrella.

I vividly remember how they virtually demonized everything President J.A. Kufuor did during his eight-year reign as president of the republic. Yes, it is partisan politics and they want to score political points; but did they have to criticize anything and everything?

A classic example was Zu-za’s actions before the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) bill was passed in Parliament. They vehemently opposed the bill and even boycotted its passage. The then Osono Majority was thus compelled to pass the NHIS bill alone.

With the successful implementation of the scheme under the leadership of Ras Boateng, many began to sing praises for the Kufuor government. Being possessed by the Cain spirit, the folks from the Umbrella stock jumped from one radio station to the other claiming ownership of the NHIS programme. It was very ironic coming from a group that even boycotted the passage of the NHIS bill. But they persisted in that shameful act because they do not have the word ‘shame’ in their lexicon.

It is no secret that the Free SHS policy is one very dear to the heart of President Nana Dee. He sang the Free SHS song in 2008 until he finally succeeded in winning power in 2016.

It is again no secret that Zu-za has never been in support of the Free SHS policy. We all saw how they lampooned Candidate Nana Dee for ‘building castles in the air’. They said Free SHS could only be possible in this country after 20 years.

Being a man of his word, President Nana Dee wasted no time in implementing the Free SHS policy. But did we not hear members of Zu-za screaming that they started the policy with their ‘progressively free education programme’? Clearly, that is a trait of the Cain spirit.

Abusuapanin, members of the Zu-za family have had sleepless nights since the day they heard of the Sinohydro deal. The $2 billion Master Project Support was agreed between Ghana and China in 2018 to address major infrastructural challenges in the country.

Each of Ghana's 16 regions will benefit from the Sinohydro arrangement, with hospital projects, massive road construction projects, the extension of electricity to rural communities, and construction of court and residential buildings for the Judicial Service expected to take place.

Zu-za initially disputed the claim that the deal was not a loan agreement and even petitioned the IMF, which confirmed the government’s stance. They subsequently boycotted the approval of the deal in Parliament. Their new chorus is ‘the deal lacks value for money’. They continue to shift the goalpost because the successful completion of the agreement will definitely not be in their party’s interest.

As members of the Zu-za family continue to exhibit traits of the Cain spirit, we shall continue to witness needless criticisms from their quarters. I will not be surprised if my compatriots continue to have a feeling of déjà vu anytime the leadership of Zu-za coughs.

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