A day never passes without one hearing people heaping insults on others sometimes without provocation. It is sad. Have we lost our morals as a people? Have we lost our values or we have just shut our eyes to civility? These are questions that I need people to help me answer. I am not too old to have seen the Acheampong regime but I was old enough to have seen President Jerry John Rawlings’ regime. I was old enough to have seen President John Agyekum Kufour’s era and I am old enough to discern what is right from wrong in Professor Atta Mills’ era.
How dare you misbehave under President Rawlings? I mean who “born dog” as he rightly said. Back in the days of President Rawlings, that was when you meet a minister of state and as a young boy you want to aspire to be like him. Ministers of state were seen as people who commanded respect. No wonder these ministers were always being invited all over to give speeches and all.
At least I saw it during my church’s conventions during Easter Festivities Hon Totobi Kwakye will always be there, Hon. Nuamah Donkoh was one other man, Madam Patience Adow of Blessed memory, Dr. Mary Grant, Madam Christine Amoako Nuamah the list goes on and on. These were men and women young people always aspired to be like. I remember how Dr. Mary Grant spoke to us during one speech and prize giving day in my “Alma Mata” Morning Star School back in those days and as a young boy back then I always aspired to do more. These were men and women who commanded a lot of respect from both young and old.
Under the Kufour administration, you could always find so many of them one I personally admired Madam Hawa Yakubu of blessed memory, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s, the Baah Wiredu’s of blessed memory the then vice president, His Excellency Aliu Mahama, Nana Kwadwo Seinti this man speaks and you can’t figure out if he’s been to the theological seminary and no wonder those of us who stayed in the Brong Ahafo region in those days loved him so much, Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Shirley Ayorkor Botwe one fine lady, Madam Oboshie Sai Coffie the list goes on and on and on. You always as a young fellow will want to look up to some of these people and want to be like them someday.
I’m not saying that all these people were angels but at least you will never hear them goof like we’re witnessing currently in this country. Although we had some issues here and there, the level at which we have descended is just not good enough. I mean why should we allow ourselves to be so much influenced by the western cultures huh? I can’t agree more with my professor, Prof Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh who insists that as a people we don’t have a culture. Sure we don’t. We have lost our cultural values. Everything! This is incredible. As a people we don’t have clothing, we don’t have language, we don’t have religion and these are the basic components of culture. So what do we have? Absolutely NOTHING! We have lost our values as a people and it is disturbing.
By our culture, the young are supposed to absolutely show reverence and respect for old age. How dare you a child look into the face of an adult and challenge him or her? You’ll definitely receive your fair share of some spanking trust me and it did teach us something. So can we say because we lost our culture we lost our morals and values as well? May be you won’t be far from right if you say yes we’ve lost our values. But you know, this is Ghana and we still have our morals just that some people want to copy everything western forgetting they are black like me.
Is it therefore not strange to find ministers of state who are supposed to know better insulting and using foul language on radio and television? Way back people who were constantly found insulting were branded miscreants and as not having morals so why will ministers of state representing the interest of all Ghanaians who can sometimes represent the president and be addressed as His / Her excellency want to involve themselves in such uncouth behaviours?
The deputy minister of water resources Dr Hannah Bissiw is reported to have attacked another female activist on the opposition side and is reported to have described her as “an insult to womanhood and for that matter she should stay indoors because when she comes out she will only serve as a laughing stock” and then she goes on to describe the flagbearer of the NPP as an “opanyin bone (morally corrupt man) and calls the morality of Nana Addo into question without provocation.” Jesus Christ! Hannah Bissiw, you, insult well meaning Ghanaians without provocation? Does this lady have morals at all? This is a woman who told the whole world that she will be ready to engage whoever in a war of insults and she’s a minister of state?
There have been several calls on politicians to use decorous language in their deliveries. There have been calls by the Christian council, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and ultimately the President who happens to be their leader for people to put a stop to the insults. Yet this lady and her ilk have decided not to respect the president. She has proven beyond every reasonable doubt that she doesn’t respect the one who appointed her and why is she still there? Can we then infer that the president is happy with the style of this lady and her cohorts?
Seriously I want to bring myself to these terms. By what stretch of imagination does Hannah Bissiw want to insult people like Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Ursla Owusu? Is it because she is a minister of state now? Ah “nkateƐ ƐnyƐ dƐ” (to wit the impudence). I don’t want to talk about the credentials of Nana Addo it is there for all to see. Madam Ursla Owusu is the Vice president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and she’s been doing this for a while. By age Hannah Bissiw will only be Ursla’s younger sister. Had it not been for politics how will people like Hannah Bissiw stand before people like Nana Addo to insult them? Please bear in mind that I have not taken an arrogant stance I just want to put out the information as it is.
Hannah Bissiw, don’t be blinded by politics into thinking you are equal to everybody ok. You may have left your morals when you travelled to Cuba, to study “animal behaviour” that we don’t mind but hear me, this is Ghana and we have our culture and for that matter a way of life and have our own value systems. Don’t think life is all about today. You may be in power today so you will want to do whatever you want but remember, tomorrow does not belong to you.
I have intentionally left Kobby Acheampong out of this. Thank God Rev Asante of the Christian council has called on the president to remove him so I leave it there.
As I lay down my pen, friends, colleagues, parents who will chance on this document lets know that we as a people have a unique value system. Let’s not destroy it all in the name of politics. Let’s reserve it People like Hannah Bissiw should never be emulated.
The rest is here:
Who Will Call These Ministers To Order?