Weeping for my Motherland.

 

Our elders have different ways of expressing that negative attitude of human beings who take delight in the downfall or misfortune of others.

They say, “Setua wo yonko ho a, etua dua mu”, to wit, when dirt is thrown at another person, you think it is directed against a tree. 

At another level, they maintain that, “ɔkwasea na ɔka sε yεde yε me yɔnko na yende me”; meaning, it is only a fool, who in the face of machinations, says that it is against a colleague, not me.

The latest scandal involving the secret tape recording of statements attributed to Ms Victoria Hammah, who has been relieved of her post as Deputy Minister of Communications,  has exercised me beyond bounds.  Yes, there are many who see her as arrogant and self-conceited and that she deserves what has befallen her.

But, we should not forget that as human beings, we all have our Achilles Heels.  Therefore, what has befallen her must not be seen to be  beyond any person.  Her predicament could befall any other person, although we are different and react differently to situations.

I am moaning and groaning, not because what she did was acceptable, but I am in pain because this phenomenon of secret tape recordings is becoming a monster that could grow to become something to eat up Ghanaians. If we are not careful, we can never make meaning or function from the freedom of expression guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution because one may not know who is secretly recording what one is saying, good or bad.

My dismay stems from the fact that the practice of secret recordings has gained acceptability because there is always somebody to benefit from the devilish act.  The Ms Hammah tape may be titillating in terms of the content and its news worthiness, against the background of the dissatisfaction of many Ghanaians about the judgement of the Supreme Court in the election petition.

Our elders say “Seε ɔobomokyikyie firi nsuo ase bekaseε odenkyem awu a, yennye no akyinye”, that is to say literally that if the fish comes from under the water to say that the crocodile is dead, you do not doubt or challenge it.

Thus, ordinarily, her claim that Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection,  met the Supreme Court judges cannot just be dismissed. However, it is good that Nana Oye has come out openly to deny the claim. 

It is, however, unfortunate that by the nature of their jobs, the Supreme Court judges cannot come out themselves to deny the claim,  as that is against their call and could well expose them to more public attacks.  Perhaps the judicial secretary can defend them.   Even then, people are going to ask whether or not he was there when the meeting was organised.

There is the need for goodwill and trust in our country.  The mutual suspicions, mistrust and the desire for vengeance and retribution cannot help in our national development efforts, nor the strengthening and consolidation of democracy.

It appears people in government have discreetly supported these acts of secret tape recordings and their being played on radio. People like Ebow Quansah, Yaw Boateng Gyan and Sammy Awuku have suffered from secret recordings, some of which were indeed doctored or concocted for whatever reason. 

We may recall the secret tape recordings of Baba Jamal about sheep presented as cows to give government a good image, deserving or otherwise and the payment of allowance to journalists in the Upper East Region, through the youth employment, which he denied with vigour.

In all these, what most people in government have done, is not to condemn the practice, but to either deny the statements recorded or make noise for the prosecution of the suspects, depending on whether the suspects are allies or foes of the government respectively.

The time has come for government to lead the way, followed by politicians, civil society groups, human rights activists and the general public to act decisively, denounce the faceless individuals behind such secret tape recordings, investigate the incidents and prosecute those behind the mess to enable us to live our lives to give meaning to our national motto; “Freedom and Justice”

If we do not unite now to act firmly and decisively to fight the deviants, but take delight that our opponents are involved, before long, all of us would be forced into silence, otherwise, if we open our mouths to express our thoughts and feelings, whether functional or dysfunctional, we could be devoured by a monster rampaging the length and breadth of our country.

Indeed, we must not accept the phenomenon as serving any public good.  Let us be reminded of what happened in Britain over the phone taping by journalists, some of whom are now on trial. I weep for my homeland Ghana.

Written by  Yaw Boadu Ayeboafoh / Daily Graphic / Ghana