The controversy triggered by President John Evans Mills’ foreign policy option of “mind your own business”, as regards the Ivorian political standoff, which he alluded to in his native Fante language as “dzi wo fie asem”, is far from over.
It was given ample airtime on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and attracted a flurry of text messages, some of which were highly vitriolic.
Never has a foreign policy issue attracted so much flak and controversy as the “dzi wo fie asem” mantra from President Mills, with Foreign Minister Mohammed Mumuni criticizing the BBC.
The BBC’s interpretation of the stance of President Mills has attracted its own version of the controversy, making the whole thing look like a jinx.
For Foreign Minister Mohammed Mumuni, the British international media network should not have gone that far. Perhaps, his position is borne out of the copious controversy that now surrounds “dzi wo fie asem” which has gone beyond the lips of radio station social and political commentators and is now a source of fun on the net.
The BBC had earlier aired Laurent Gbagbo’s wise words – “the other name of God is time.”
Many who listened to BBC regularly could not avoid wondering the coincidence in the use of the words from the two friends- Gbagbo and Mills- in a space of two days.
In a hilarious film promotion recently posted on the social network site, Facebook, President Mills is depicted as starring on the screen film dubbed, “PEACE-LOCKER”, aka “Di Wo Fie Asem- When Diplomacy Fails Peace Is still An Option.”
Unsurpassed in what can pass for a foreign policy comedy of sorts, the film is produced by Blaise Campaore, directed by Olusegun Obasanjo and created by Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara.
An Asomdwee Film, as it is referred to in the textual details on the poster, it has names of Nigerian strongman Goodluck Jonathan and Mohammed Ibn Chambas as executive producers.
Although unreal, the imaginary film points at the extent to which the diplomatic gaffe has been ridiculed by those who are opposed to a “mind your own business” position in international diplomacy, especially in today’s globalised world.
During the recent presidential meeting with the media, President Mills unambiguously stated that he was guided by the Fante dictum of “dzi wo fie asem”, to wit, ‘mind your own business’ in relation to the Ivorian stalemate.
His position crated a diplomatic faux pas, as other African leaders were caught unawares by the complex position taken by Ghana.
It took the Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, to clarify Mills’s position after he had a meeting with the Ghanaian President at the Osu Castle.
Mills was very close to stating that Ghana would not do anything about the Ivorian stalemate, as his colleagues in the ECOWAS are intent on doing, because for him, as he put it succinctly: “It is not for Ghana to choose a leader for Ivory Coast.”
Ghana, he said, would not commit troops to that country as being suggested by ECOWAS because the country’s troops were overstretched by commitments to other operations across the world.
Earlier, the media was awash with stories about what was seen as an inclination by President Mills towards Laurent Gbagbo.
He was said to have had two of his officials in attendance during the swearing-in ceremony of the man generally seen as the loser in the recent Ivorian polls.
Since then various interpretations have been proffered for the President’s position. While some critics find the President’s stance ambiguous, others did not, explaining that he was in favour of a Gbagbo presidency.
The confusion surrounding the foreign policy stance from the President was given another vent when Prime Minister Raila Odinga stated, after a meeting with President Mills, that the Ghanaian head of state had been misinterpreted.
In his latest disclosure while hosting members of the diplomatic corps in Accra on Friday, President Mills stated, this time clearly, that he is in favour of the military option position of the regional body and that he is all for the ECOWAS position.
This was evidently at variance with his earlier position, which pointed at the over one million Ghanaians in that country whose lives he said could be endangered, should the military option be carried through.
With his latest utterance, he has made a complete about-turn, throwing his weight behind Alassane Ouattara- something he previously avoided and earned the commendation of Laurent Gbagbo who described him (Mills) as a wise man.
With the latest shift, Laurent Gbagbo might reconsider the accolades he showered on his friend after earlier boasting to an African Report magazine that he can count on the support of Mills as one of three leaders supportive of his cause.
Perhaps, in an attempt to make good his tattered image in the international community, President Mills gave the assurance that Ghana supports the sanctions being brought to bear on the Ivorian former president and that all that transpired since his infamous ‘dzi wo fie asem’ mantra were misinterpretations.
In a related development, the pro-Gbagbo head of the CFA zone Central Bank, Philippe Henri Dacoury-Tabley, has been compelled to resign his position at a meeting with the leaders of the membership of the monetary grouping in Bamako, Mali, last weekend, in a move to tighten the noose around the embattled Ivorian leader.