If only I can find Balaam........

I have finally been able to overcome the inertia to take to the keyboard after that painful defeat handed our beloved Black Stars by Luis Suarez, the thief of Joburg. In my last blog a couple of weeks ago, I put out a sarcasm titled Bayie Kɔɔɔɔ III- The gods of the Game. I was basically questioning the role of superstition and religion in the game of football. The way and manner Ghana got kicked out of the tournament brought some fresh perspective to the subject through this one question- Did God abandon Ghana?


There are millions of Ghanaians who believe God is closer to Ghana than any other part of the earth. So strong is this belief that people actually dedicate valuable prayer time to make supplication for football victory, and they believe that the prayer of the rival team is discounted in the presence of the Ghanaian 'Shabalala' delivered in a fresh tongues of men and angels emanating from the bosom of the comforter. This strong force of prayer was deployed both on and off the pitch against every one of our opponents. Then comes Ghana Vs Uruguay on that fateful Friday evening. After taking the lead with Sulley Muntari's last kick of the ball in the first half, we thought we had done it again with the last kick of extra-time when Adiyiah's header headed goal wards, that was until Luis Suarez's hand popped out from the goal line with the ball in hand. The referee could have been excused if he had accepted it as a goal, but alas, he wasn't convinced it had crossed the line. Then comes the cruelty of football. After struggling to get the ball almost across the goal line but for an illegality, the ball is withdrawn 12 yards backward, and Uruguay has the luxury of a goalie to defend the resultant kick. I have followed discussions on the web with many arguing that if Asamoah Gyan had scored the resulting penalty kick, the story would have been different. This may be the case, but you cannot equate a penalty to a goal bound ball that is illegally detained by a man with kleptomaniac tendencies. Surely it is time to mend some of the rules of football, especially if the incident is viewed against the fact that Ghana did not benefit from the red card that was shown to Suarez in the last minute of extra time.


To add insults to injury Luis Suarez speaking before the world's media, ascribed his ignominious achievement to the Omnipotent. Listen to him. "The hand of God now belongs to me", "Mine is the real 'Hand Of God'. I made the save of the tournament."  His coach Mr. Tabarez gave a tacit endorsement to that view when he said "I'm emotional. We didn't play well, but we've gone through," . "It seems there's something forcing us on..." He wasn't finished, he continues:  "Those who believe in fate or destiny they might be able to explain it."  From an Ogyakromian perspective Luis Suarez is a cheat, 'dzulor', 'kubolo', 'dzimakpla' and  public enemy No. 1. But I'm sure many Uruguayans regard his action as a heroic act that delivered a nation, an action that  must have been inspired by God himself. So whiles Ghanaians weep bitterly about an opportunity stolen by the disingenuous act of a gifted footballer, Uruguayans can go to church and thank God for a great favor. This is reminiscent of the story of Jacob and Esau in the bible. Jacob stole Esau's birth right and ended up being the father of a blessed nation whiles his brother was left crying bitterly. In explaining pre-destination, the Apostle Paul expatiated on the situation of the twin brothers thus:

"¹⁰Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. ¹¹Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: ¹²not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."^[d]
13Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." – Romans 9:10-12. (NIV). I'm sure many Christians have read this sentence many times without a drop of sympathy for Essau. Perhaps when we replace Essau with Ghana, and Jacob with Uruguay, the next time we quote the verse to justify anything, we will remember that Essau was a man and had feelings.


What did Ghana do wrong? We prayed steadfastly and played well and yet victory was stolen from us. If you will believe Luis Suarez, God stretched forth his hand and literarily appointed Uruguay into the semi final of the 2010 world cup over Ghana. It is as if he said "Uruguay I loved , Ghana I hated".  So that leads me to my big question, Did God abandon Ghana or this is evidence that God does not play football? 


For the answer why don't we draw inspiration once again from the bible. In the book of Numbers, we are told that as the Israelites journeyed from Egypt to the promise land, the Moabites got jittery and their King by name Balak called for a man named Balaam to curse the intruders. No matter what Balaam did, he did not find a curse tailored for the Israelites. Before he finally gave up, he declared in his second oracle in Numbers 23:23


 
'There is no sorcery against Jacob,
           no divination against Israel.
           It will now be said of Jacob
           and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'


If only I can find Balaam, I will ask him to search all the books of divination, if he cannot find a curse against Uruguay, then I will conclude that like Israel, Uruguay is a favored son of God. Then we can say, the  Lord has done this thing to Ghana. He has blessed Uruguay, and who he blesses, stays blessed. But if  we find just one curse, then I know it is not the Lord. If God hasn't done this, I will gather all the curses I can find  against Uruguay, and like the Ghanaian that I am, I will hurl all at Uruguay; that they will never qualify for the world cup for the next 70 years, Let Uruguay snatch defeat from victory seven times, What Uruguay has built in fifty years may the hand of Suarez pull down in a day, Kaita shall be the portion of Uruguay, Let the male Uruguay team lose to their female counterpart. As for Luis Suarez, may he carry seven portions of Asamoah Gyan's shame when he lost the penalty kick.

Ah , I'm beginning to feel better. The curses have assuaged my anger, I'm a Ghanaian indeed, an Ogyakromian.


 

 

Bayie Kɔɔɔɔ III- The gods of the Game

Dear Ogyakromian,

Reports on some websites claim that the injury that ruled out Ghana's football Superstar, Michael Essien, from the 2010 World cup is a result of a spell cast by his own father in revenge for being neglected by the Chelsea star. I have gone through your earlier mails explaining the power and the wonders of witchcraft in Ghana, but I don't see how this supposed curse fits. You may be cursed by enemies, soothsayers and all, but not your own Dad. Does the man hate his son so much?

Then there are reports that this world cup is jinxed as many high profile players keep falling before the games. Apart from Essien, Ballack, Drogba, Mikel, Robben , Ferdinand, Pirlo, and Nani have either been ruled out of the world cup or have been declared doubtful. Ogyakromian, what is going on in African witchdom as far as the world cup is concerned?
Yours from the North Pole,

Brutus.



Dear Brutus my brother from another mother,

There is little I can say about Essien's case, but what I know is that, the curse of a parent is not taken lightly in Ogyakrom. When your mama tells you don't step at my funeral if you marry that girl, you may have to choose to stay celibate for the rest of your life. It is worse if she shouts your name as she sweeps the sandy red floor with her bare buttocks, 'you will never turn well'. The confusion in Essien's matter is that, the father claims he has been fasting for his son. But does that matter? In this part of the world, when society says you are a witch, then that is what you are. For me the bigger question is, have the witches of Africa cursed the tournament?

The day FIFA declared the World Cup in South Africa as an African world cup; I knew they were courting trouble. For most of us in West Africa, hosting the football festival in South Africa doesn't bring it closer. It doesn't only take the same number of hours (six) to get to Johannesburg and London, but also costs us much. With an economy that is slowly but surely moving to the beat of the President's orchestra, there is little chance of going to South Africa to experience the World Cup. But that is the case for most of us. This leaves our neighbors who exist in the fourth dimension- the witches (lower your voice). In their world, time and space exists on one horizontal plane, meaning South Africa is closer to them than for the average Ogyakromian. They can afford to participate in the world cup with little or no hindrance, and with FIFA's invitation, the extent of their participation will underscore the usual role they play in African football. The tournament would have been challenging enough with only the witches from South Africa participating, but it is another ball game if you call for an ensemble of African witches. Let me give you an indication of their role in football as I have come to understand it.


In Western Europe, there is only one way of fixing matches - compromise any of the agents of the game. In Ogyakrom, there are three ways of influencing the outcome of matches beyond the relative abilities of the two teams on the field. It is either by God, juju or compromising the human agents. You may combine them as you wish. You are quite familiar with human intervention in the system, I will tell you a bit about the other two.

The God factor in the Ghanaian game is phenomenal. Ghanaians believe that we must win all games regardless of the strength of team we present because God is on our side. I do not envy God in these circumstances. What is the bearded old man expected to do when two teams compete in a game and both call on him for help. How does he resolve this conflict? By doing what we did as kids when we had to make a choice? "Cee, cee ,cee. Cee nana…"? Many times in the past, I tried fixing some games using the God method myself. I used to sit behind the radio or TV monitoring the fortunes of Asante Kotoko or Black Stars, and for the duration of the game, I will be stopping balls from entering our goalposts in the name of Jesus! I overcame that stupidity when I asked myself, "Why should God be interested in the result of football matches?" "There are real problems like incurable diseases confronting the descendants of Adam that need his attention, why should he be bothered by a game to determine who earns the bragging rights on a day?" Since that day, I got my liberty and I enjoy my games better. I have been waiting for the day a Ghanaian coach will soar with the Black Stars to prove that the colour of a Man's skin is irrelevant to the game. After winning the world cup with Ghana's supposed youth side, I thought Selas Tetteh was the one. But when the man confessed that the selection of the final game was done by a certain Prophet T.B . Joshua, I didn't know how much of the success to attribute to Coach Tetteh's soccer prowess.

 
Unlike the God factor which is generally considered to be positive because the aim is to get your team to win, the juju factor can be very destructive. That is where the witches pitch their camp. Brutus, you should have been in Ghana during CAN 2008 soccer fiesta. Many nonentities gained popularity by their ability to convince a huge number of Ghanaians that they had the ability to see into the crystal ball and win Ghana's matches. All manner of prophets appeared on radio and TV programs claiming that God revealed the scores to them during a church service. I saw a few of these wanabes holding chickens at the stadium to symbolize the score line in a game. Even when the number of chickens didn't reflect the actual scores, they explained away the discrepancies. But at the end of the day, new prophets and new juju men are discovered. Their churches and shrines will burst at the seams, and their fame will travel with the game. 


In Accra New Town where I grew up, tales of how Juju and witches influenced the game at the colt level were not difficult to find. Rumours that boys, many below the age of sixteen, were taken through all manner of rituals including passing the night in a cemetery to fortify them for a game of football gave me the jitters. The Mallams had a field day 'crafting' the career of many of these youngsters with talismans. When a footballer seems to have lost his scoring boot, it was common to attribute it to what his rivals had done to him through Juju. It was at one of the colt games at the SWAG Park that I realized that my Physical Education teacher in school worked as a part time juju man. I saw him reciting incantations as he paced up and down the field and he didn't appear to have noticed me when I attempted to speak to him. A friend later told me he "worked' for one of the teams. It was common practice for owners and coaches of some colt teams to pick up boys from the street and nurture them into good footballers. The coach of one club in Kotobabi had a few of these players in his house. One of them rebelled and left him to join another team. Unfortunately, the boy later fell sick and died. Guess who killed him. After spending on this player for years and getting no thanks for it, the poor chap gets tagged as a wicked man who kills through Juju. On the way to the cemetery, the crowd sang and chanted, calling on the spirit of the dead boy to avenge his death.


With that kind of introduction to football at an early age, the footballer's belief in juju stays with him for life. It therefore didn't surprise me when Theophilus Jackson a goalkeeper for the then premier division side Sekondi Eleven Wise turned Samuel Affum , an Accra Hearts of Oak striker into a punching bag because the latter dropped an object in the former's goalposts. Recently, there had been calls to find a successor to one of the national teams' goalkeeper. A new goal tender who was tried in a friendly match performed so poorly that rumours were rife that he had been 'worked'. By who? Only the witches can tell.
The story is told of a cup match in a neighboring West African country that was rudely interrupted twice because the Juju men were not happy with the results. In the first match, The Juju Man for 'Team A' caused the flood lights to go out when his team was two goals down, and the game was rescheduled. The second game didn't have better luck because 'Team B's Juju man conjured heavy rains to stop the match midstream when his side was losing the match. Before the game was called again, the football association called all juju men for a meeting and appealed for clemency for the game. In the Democartic Republic of Congo, lives were lost over a witchcraft allegation in a game in 2008. The story is also told of a club playing in the the final of an important competition. A rival management faction within the club, who feared that success delivered by their rivals would obliterate their own chances of running the club, hired a juju man who sent word around that the player that scores the first goal dies. They lost the cup.


Brutus, if there is a force in Africa that can influence the outcome of football matches, shouldn't that force be working to get an African State to win the World Cup on African soil? Shouldn't that force preserve the African Greats in the games to showcase our greatness? If in its destructive fervor it consumes Michael Essien, Mikel Obi and Didier Drogba whiles threatening the likes of Sulley Muntari, what can we say about that force? From an Ogyakromian perspective, I can only conclude that it bears all the vestiges of 'Bayiee' or witchcraft (remember to keep the voice low). It is the only force known in Africa that destroys its own. 'Bayiee kɔɔɔ; threatening to glow'. Personally, I'm not surprised the story of Essien's curse and the world cup jinx caught up on some very popular websites. That is the image the western media wants of Africa- the Dark Continent with self destructive tendencies. Poetic imageries, that question the Continents suitability to host the competition for the football World Cup. As usual, the ammunition for such stereotyping is provided by no one else than Africans.


I believe mind games are important to winning in the modern game. Teams use it to great effect to create a winning mentality and to deflect pressure away from the playing body. However, when the team that is supposed to benefit from these psychological antics become a victim of these tools, then, it goes beyond psychology. It doesn't matter if it exists or not, neither does it matter if it can be seen or not; it is called witchcraft. When players attribute loss of form and injuries to juju, when supporters are made to believe that some weather patterns spell doom for their team, then juju hangs over our game like the sword of Damocles. The gods of football are created on the field of play, they are not formed in a shrine . It is a tragedy for young people aspiring to greatness in the game to grow up with the belief that there exists an enchantment that is a fitting substitute for talent, hard work and discipline . This fact is well expressed in the old Jama song in Ga, that says "all that matters in football is what you can do with your legs, not juju". The game was made for men and played by men.


So Brutus, in South Africa, we will chant the psalms and declare the oracles, but play the game of men.

Soo long,

Ogyakromian

Much Ado About A Vandal

Their anger must have been bursting at the seams as they sat to deliberate the matter. There must have been a feeling in the room that they were positioned in history to get rid of a perennial irritation that has overgrown the average working life of a Ghanaian. They must have felt righteous in taking a decision that perhaps they had the power to. I presume there might have been a Vandal or two at the round table. Even they, might be tired of the antics of the current generation. Some may even express surprise that the problem has outlived many generations of the powerful Council. The centre piece of the debate and the fiery language in the room was The Vandal. Who is he? He is the occupant of the commonwealth hall of residence on the University of Ghana Campus at Legon. An enigmatic young man whose claim to fame is pushing the boundaries of what many consider as decency and decorum. He may even be the son of one of them. His presence on the campus may be a first step to earning some of the fanciful titles in the academia conspicuously worn by most of them at the round table. But today, he stands accused of heckling the chancellor of the University in the person of Busumuru Kofi Annan, the former Chief of the United Nations Organisation. The Executive Council of Legon has had enough. The meeting has come to a conclusion. The problem of the Vandal City is excess testosterone, it is time to calm the wayward hormone by injecting a dose of Oestrogen and Progesterone. Effective next academic year, the hall which has remained an only male hall for decades will become Coed and will be reserved only for postgraduate students. Ostensibly, the decision was taken to forestall further embarrassment to the University.

If it is just for the purpose of maintaining tradition, I wouldn't care a hoot about lining the wardrobes of Vandal City with skimpy skirts. In fact, that may be the joy of the sons of Bacchus assigned to the Waste Management unit of the hall. The choir master will bear the only complication arising out of the move as he has to decide what to do with the lines in the stupid songs that refer to Volta Hall. Under these conditions the position of the hall anthem becomes untenable and he may have to replace Volta 'Basia' with Vandal 'Basia' in many other songs? I believe traditions should be jettisoned once we have no more use for them. But in this case, I hold the view that the Executive Council's attempt to silence the Vandal tradition is high handed and misplaced. If it was a policy decision with stated aims, one would lend his sympathy. But this is borne out of rage and anger. They are not only hitting a fly with a sledge hammer, but they are doing so at a time the harmer is needed to fix the dining table without which dinner won't be served. There are many more important things in the university which require the intensity of the attention they devoted to the issue not to mention the publicity it generated. For many years the University has been crying for radical and innovating ways of dealing with overcrowding, filth, attracting motivated young lecturers, outmoded courses and a sinking image among African elite Universities. These and other problems which have been nursed and nurtured by various university administrations over the years are the real dent on the image of the university. The stench that hits you in the corridors leading to overused toilet facilities which lack regular flow of water is improperly located at the nation's premier University in the twenty-first century. These problems would welcome some real punch that puts them not only on the front page of our newspapers for days but also on the minds of every Ghanaian until resolved.

There have been no shortages of assaults on Vandalism over the years. Among other things, Vandals have been accused of using profanity in their songs, practicing occultism, and being excessively boisterous; and they cannot totally plead innocence to these charges. Meeting Vandals for the first time is a rude awakening. For many, this happens when they first join the Legon community. The reaction varies. For the Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians, Vandalism features highly on the prayer list. I prayed many of such prayers in the hall chapel when I was a bona fide member of the Commonwealth Hall JCR. Don't ask me what I prayed for because I can't be sure that what is happening is not the answer to some of those prayers. For some people, their encounter with Vandalism creates a total revulsion towards the Hall which they carry decades after student life. When such people sit in council over Vandalism, what do you expect? Skin Pain 'sonnnn'. So right from the first year, Vandals are used to being cursed and criticized from within the hall and in the colonies. But I doubt if anybody expected the mega assault ostensibly coming from the Executive Council. The punch is power laden and devastating in two directions. First, they will get rid of all Vandals who presently occupy the hall. Then they will bring in post graduate students who I believe will be sieved to make sure that no ancient Vandal finds his way back to his roots. This is tantamount to robbing the hall of its memory (like an induced computer disk crash). With the memory goes the culture and tradition. This is exactly the kind of solution required to change the bad and damaging cultures in many Ghanaian institutions, the University not excluded. But alas, such a powerful tool used on 'small boys' whose youthful exuberance doesn't endear them to some powerful dons. Secondly, making the hall a graduate hall minimizes the chances of the culture sneaking back through the backdoor. On the average, graduate students spend less time in the University and are occupied with other matters other than building camaraderie in the hall. Within one or two years most are out, and most of that time is spent between lectures, family and work. I don't know who mooted the idea, but his genius can be better deployed elsewhere in the university. Not even the direct assault on the soul of Vandalism, which I suspect was carried out by the Christian fraternity, when the brass statue of the so called Father Bacchus vanished inexplicably in the mid 90s, could be more devastating. This new attack touches the spirit.

Coming from the Christian charismatic circle, I'm aware that the belief that Vandalism is occultism is strong. This belief is fueled by activities that herald the inauguration of the Chief Vandal. Personally, I do not believe that the young men are possessed. It is just a play that goes too far. I have had major challenges with the profane songs. I will never forget the year (93/94) in which I had to abandon my room at the A-Block when the PAWA (Profane Association of West Africa) competition was held at the observatory. In the year that followed, as the hall President, I had to live with about half an hour of profane lyrics anytime I had to Chair a hall meeting. Luckily for me, the music writers were so lazy they never wrote original songs, it was always an adaptation of well known songs. To block my mind from capturing the unwanted lyrics, I always hummed the true words when they get intoxicated with the profanity that flowed freely from the LPs. But I do not believe that these songs or the antics that go with them bring any disgrace to the University. In fact, most of the criticisms of the songs stem from the fact that they are sang in a local language-Twi. I have heard similar descriptions in songs written in English and no eyebrows are raised. I don't know why we are so hypocritical when we speak our local languages. The other day on JoyFm, a young man was accused of raping a girl he had earlier saved from being raped. The word sex was used several times without trouble in the exchanges. When a lady police officer used the same word in twi, some colleagues in the office couldn't repeat it. They had to whisper it to each other. In any case, if profane lyrics merit throwing out thousands of students from a hall, then let's disband the Ghana army. There are many Christian s today who serve in the security services. What songs did they sing when they were in training? Praises and worship? ' Awala'. Oh, and we sang some of those songs in the secondary school too. I recall my days in West Africa Secondary School when we declared ourselves the Jama Lords as we took trophy after trophy in the Interco competition. The only difference then was that most of the songs were in Ga not Twi. Maybe the students should be dismissed.

Admittedly, some of the acts attributed to vandalism are indefensible. You may get away with profane lyrics and call it freedom of expression, gloss over libation and suspected occultism and call it religious freedom, but how do you justify the attempted burning of another hall? What can you say about S..t bombing of colleague students? Try making sense out of nudity in the form of BWT and others on a University Campus. Some of them border on criminality. The good news is that such acts have been internally resisted by decent minded Vandals for decades. Over the years there have been skillful maneuvers to redefine Vandalism from its original meaning (the dictionary vandal ) to an acronym- Vivacious Affable Neighborly Devoted Altruistic and Loyal . As a hall president, I openly took on the chief Vandal over the 'Nibinson & Dibinson' affair for an act that I felt he should have taken responsibility for, though not entirely his fault, in an article titled "Wither Drifts Vandalism?" The Old Vandals Association has had cause to openly reprimand Vandals over excesses. These efforts demonstrate that many of us are on the side of the university council to get rid of the excesses in Vandalism. That is why their decision is a smack in the face of partners they had to uphold. To hurt the bad and the ugly, they didn't care about offending the good.

Bluntly put, these excesses are youthful exuberance wrongly expressed. I want to believe it is the responsibility of the University authorities to mold the young men and women who pass through the university into useful assets for the nation. That is the spirit with which they should engage the Vandals. The university code of ethics is clear. People who breach it, must be identified and dealt with. It sends a very important message to these young men that you're free to express yourself in society as you want, but you must avoid breaking the rules. This is one thing Legon has done quite well in the past. The resort to totalitarianism this time is unnecessary. Throwing these young men out of the hall is defeatist and a sign of failure. It's like a father who throws out a fourteen year old son because he can't rein him in. Many young men will still come into the university with that same energy. In the absence of Vandalism, they will find new outlets to vent them. Rather than rally round a defined group with structures known to all, underground groups may emerge with totally wayward leadership, then will the greatness of this idea to quash Vandalism burst forth. When the university has to deal with ninja style disruption of congregations, they will recall the days of heckling with nostalgia. If anyone thinks it is farfetched, take a look at the gangs that reign in Nigeria's universities. By the way, doesn't Vandalism provide the psychology and sociology departments a good laboratory to study and propound interesting theories about humans? Sounds funny huh?

One cannot also discount the positive attributes of Vandalism in this matter. There are way too many timid Ghanaians. This is partly a result of our upbringing in our educational institutions. You're suppressed and not allowed to express your thoughts if the authorities are not comfortable with them. Instead of engaging you in reason, to show why you are wrong, you are tagged disrespectful and undisciplined. By the time you leave the Vandal city, you learn to express your thoughts without fear or favour. It doesn't matter if your diction is sick or you suffer from vocabulary epilepsy. Nobody cares about the village secondary school you attended or how broke your parents are. We all sit on the green grass and eat Daavi's banku whiles trading ideas, unflattering remarks about each other and anybody, and encouraging each other. Your confidence is fully built by the time you walk out of the place. It is one place to find a family bonding that lasts for years. It is not by co-incidence that for decades, Commonwealth hall has remained the centre of student resistance. Of course, some universities administrators hate their guts. They prefer docile students who will succumb to any poorly constructed policy because they're too scared to speak their minds. Why won't they throw out the Vandals and then Okponglo will follow since the introduction of ladies in that hall didn't succeed in taming anybody, then maybe KNUST will follow with Katanga and so on ….. Is it any surprise the university has almost become a glorified secondary school?

To my younger V-Mates, I say, there is a time to fight and there is a time for diplomacy. This is a time to be really smart and use diplomacy to achieve an end. Disrupting examinations and petulance will only serve to erode all goodwill your course has attracted. Many voices in the land including those from the colonies have screamed in your support. Hopefully, the dons shall see reason. They will not choose the path of creating a monster bigger than what they think you are.

As always, Truth stands!


 
PS: Is it true the Kwatroit is behind theses wahalas? He is one Don I've admired since childhood o.

Chieftaincy, an Albatross We Can Do Without

Chieftaincy is a revered institution in Ghana, but I belong to a minority of people who think it has outlived its usefulness. It doesn't matter if it is chiefdom or kingdom, it is simply incongruous with what we want to achieve as a people- Statehood- that is what Ghana stands for. A king is the ruler of an independent State (according to Oxford's dictionary), while a Chief may be the ruler of a tribe. To the extent that there is only one independent State called Ghana that we belong to, I get amused by the claims to Kingdoms in Ghana. I have heard arguments asserting that one traditional leader is a King and another is not. That might be the case three hundred years ago, but they lost that title from the very moment they couldn't defend their territories against the white man who merged them with other States and tribes to form what we know today as Ghana. Lesotho and Swaziland are States that exist as kingdoms in Africa today, but the same cannot be said of Ghana. If nations had been created from the former states of Asante, Anlo, Ga, or Okyenman with monarchs at the helms, then we could be talking about kingdoms.

Whether Chief or King, in the period when they had some relevance, their function was to provide leadership and governance for their people. They made laws, they passed the death sentence, and they banished people from their territories because they had the authority and power to do so. The idea that blood qualifies you to exercise such authority provides nature with the platform to mock humanity. Putting a moron in line is a scary proposition that may compel some king makers to look elsewhere for a successor in order to rescue the stool from the games of nature, but these acts only lead to another dangerous game called war. Luckily, the power to govern has been taken away from the chieftaincy institution and handed over to a system that provides opportunity for all citizens so willing, to stake their claim to leadership regardless of whose DNA they carry. If monarchs cannot fulfill the purpose that defines them, why do we have to keep them? It is not surprising that many of them think they can still wield these powers, once we keep them, they must fulfill their function.

A few years ago, a group from the Asante region declared Kumasi as a no go area for some journalists because they said unpalatable things about the Asantehene. Assuming traditional authorities still retain the authority to banish people from their traditional areas, and the Ga Mantse decides to exercise that authority in Accra, people will clearly be robbed of their right to make a living in Ghana. How ludicrous does that sound? But now and then, we hear of traditional leaders banning people or groups from their areas. We cannot preserve the sanctity of our State in this manner. Clearly Chieftaincy is an albatross we can do without.

Those who argue that chieftaincy is relevant in our context because it is a tradition that defines us as Africans, forget that Chieftaincy is not a Ghanaian or African invention. There were empires far bigger than any in Africa, with Kings at the helm. Most of these empires have been reformed into modern democracies. In fact, there are still monarchs who preside over independent states in Europe and the Arab world among others. These monarchs are the heads of State not the heads of a tribe that is a subset of the State. Ironically, many chiefdoms existing in Ghana today were spared the violent overthrow that consigned some of their counterparts in other parts of the world to the dustbin of history, by the actions of the colonialists who took away their powers and formed modern African states. If that hadn't happened, some of the existing chiefdoms would have been abolished by their own people who would have gotten tired of the undemocratic and dictatorial nature of this system of governance. Others would have fallen to other empires, and maybe some of them would have reformed into great democracies. Africans wouldn't have put up with practices like sacrificing their children to accompany dead kings or chiefs forever. But the reality beyond these ifs is that, Europeans intervened in Africa and demarcated it into States made up of former States.

Beyond colour, I see little difference between the invading Europeans and our own Kings. They were both spurred on by greed and notoriety to conquer and establish empires. They even collaborated in selling our kinsmen as slaves. But on the flip side of the coin, the States created by the European invaders created a stable condition to conserve the various chiefdoms. The stability created, combined with our own irrational emotional attachment to the past, is responsible for the sustenance of these chiefdoms up to date. If they had been left to the law of the jungle that created them, many of them would have been history.

As an agent of development, Chieftaincy is superfluous. With all the problems we have with democratically elected leadership, it remains a better agent of development and accountability than Chieftaincy. At least there is no law that forbids citizens from criticizing the way elected leaders apply our taxes, and we can fire them if we're not happy with their performance. But our chiefs love to live in the tenth century. They are 'beyond reproach' and can do no wrong. Try criticizing them and you will slaughter a sheep. Reality is that we pay taxes to the State of Ghana, why should we pretend we need Chiefs to develop our towns and cities?

Whiles we romanticize with the past by tenaciously holding on to an institution we do not need, the institution itself is loudly calling on the museums to prepare a place for it. Succession is still guided by outmoded rules carried along by oral tradition and different people have their own version of the tradition, with little room for reform. The senseless war of attrition among gates in the north, the needless deaths resulting from attempts to install an Awomefia in Anlo, the question of allegiance between Techiman, Tuobodom , Asanteman and the aftermath are indicators that beg the relevance of the institution in our modern world. I admire the efforts of three big chiefs namely, Okyenhene, Asantehene and the Agbogbomefia, to bring relevance to the institution. But the mission impossible nature of their endevour is underscored by the Techiman- Asanteman palava.

The Chief of Techieman arrests another chief from Tuobodom, who claims allegiance (what does that mean in the 21^st century Ghana?) to the Asantehene, and is alleged to have abused him in his palace. The chief of Tuobodom reports this to the Asanatehene, who is enraged (rightly so) that the security system failed to address an obvious injustice. What does he do? He asks the President to choose between him and the Techimanhene, and also threatens to serve the chief of Techiman with a dose of his own medicine (kidnap him) if he sets foot in his traditional area. All these would have made perfect sense in the year 1810, but we are in 2010. But not exercising the authority the Asante stool is known for will undermine the myth surrounding the office. So the Great King Solomon is caught up between pre-medieval practices of his ancestors and the reality that he doesn't wield the powers his ancestors enjoyed. Unfortunately, threatening to kidnap another person is an offence under the laws of Ghana. Will anybody dare to drag Asantehene before a court of law? The answer is no. Will the Techimanhene be called to answer to the charges of kidnapping? Possibly so. Chieftaincy has led us into a trap. The chief of Tuobodom is before a court of law for an alleged offence. If the Chief who is alleged to have kidnapped and molested him is not charged, that is a big problem. However if he is charged, but the Asantehene is left off the hook, we have another problem. The situation will degenerate into inter tribal bickering with accusations that some tribes and their Chiefs are treated differently even though we are all supposed to be equal before the law. This is my biggest problem with Chieftaincy.

The institution does not only emphasize our tribal differences but exaggerates them. At a time when we need to focus on integrating Africa into one powerful unit, we are busily dividing the already small national components of the continent along tribal lines. Most discussions on Internet message boards and other places quickly degenerate into inter-tribal insults. Chieftaincy plays a big part in dividing us along tribes when we need to foster a sense of national identity. It courts allegiance onto itself rather than Ghana. Some of these Chiefdoms and their followers delude themselves into believing that they are so popular around world, and that is their claim to fame. The truth is that the State of Ghana itself is not that popular. Your tribe may have been mentioned in history books in Africa but that is all there is to it, many forget the name before they graduate and as for the rest of the world, you never existed. Asia accounts for over fifty percent of the world's population, I will be surprised if 0.5 percent of Asians have ever head of Nana Osei Tutu I or Togbui Sri I, or the States they represent. Ethnicity is one great danger to the stability of our State. Rwanda Burundi and Kenya are examples that should deter us from threading the path of the unthinkable. Unfortunately, we have an institution called chieftaincy which is revered by too many, which either consciously or unconsciously draws us to the precipice.

Politicians have latched on to the confusion created by the position of Chieftaincy for cheap popularity. Ministries have been created to look after chieftaincy. The constitution contains phrases to massage the egos of some Chiefs. But if we want this nation to thrive, we must rise above these attempts to placate an institution that is begging to be buried. I'm hoping for a time when the institution will be consigned to the museum, so Ghana can move on.

Fools Denigrate Martyrdom

"Like a thorn which falls into the hand of a drunkard, So is a proverb in the mouth of fools"—Proverb 26:9


 
The first president under Ghana's fourth republic is passionate about many things including discipline, albeit defined in his own terms. His passion for discipline saw three ex-military heads of state and five generals dispatched to the otherworld to 'cleanse' the military. For him, Solomon's admonishing expressed in Proverbs 22:15- Foolishness is bound into the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him- is profound. As a thirty something year young officer who shot his way into power twice, he is used to being referred to as 'the oldman' even by much older men as a sign of respect. So when it comes to discipline ala Proverbs, he is the oldman and everyone else his son. For many years the rumour mill had it that he dished a few slaps to this and that minister at the castle to straighten them out. I only believed them when he pounced on his own vice-president a man far his senior in age at a cabinet meeting. President Mills has received a verbal lashing from him for not living up to the Rawlings standard of discipline resulting in too many 'twits' perambulating the corridors of the castle.

So it happened that a certain 27 year old Nana Darkwa thought the shortest path to fame was to talk his way. At a time the whole country was commiserating with the former first family for losing their house in a valentine day blaze, he alleges on a radio station I personally didn't know still existed that ex president Rawlings set fire to his own house. He goes ahead to throw down the gauntlet inviting the Ex president's aid to challenge his facts. Kofi Adam, haven been schooled in the Rawlings discipline doctrine, picks up the gauntlet the Rawlings style. He gets the police to storm the radio station, arrest Nana Darkwa, present him before a judge who remands him for two weeks under a law that most advocates of free speech didn't know existed, all within a matter of hours.

After he was admitted to bail by another court the next day, Nana Darkwa granted interview to JoyFM. Listening to the interview I couldn't help but admire how martyrdom easily opens its doors to fools once it can find foolish conspirators. Like a beautiful piece of art placed in the wrong setting, lovers of free speech had to rally round Nana Darkwa, an epitome of what we don't want free speech to become, to assert our right to speak. Nana Darkwa's speech on radio was not only irresponsible but reckless and repugnant, and must be condemned by all opposed to gagging our society. Ironically, such reckless commentary on radio provides ammunition to those who think our freedom of speech must be criminalized. If we allow the likes of Nana Darkwa to run riot with speech terrorism on our airwaves, we run the risk of reversing all the gains chalked in our quest for a free speech society. It behooves all lovers of free speech to condemn such irresponsible use of our priceless freedom to maintain its sanctity and scare off the likes of Nana Darkwa. I understand he went to church with his parents to thank God for his bail. If I was the preacher for the day, I would have read him Proverbs 18:6 – 'A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating'. Criminal libel may be off the statutes but people who feel defamed by unsubstantiated allegations may seek their pound of flesh in a civil court. Going on radio and swearing to things that be not as if they are is not the smartest thing to do. Mama, please call your son at dawn as our elders used to do and find him some words of advice, surely there is something left in the pot for him at 27.

What do we say about the other conspirators in this saga? Kofi Adams says Rawlings didn't know about his actions and I say, Yeah Right! When it comes to making unsubstantiated and wild allegations against people high and low, Chairman Rawlings stands tall. Where are the names of the people who murdered dozens of women in Ghana? Of course we need a lie detector and Atoa Nyama to bring them out. Between what Nana Darkwa said and the many things the ex president had said, from which commeth fear and panic? Would Kofi Adams have found it prudent, if his boss had been dragged before an over-zealous regional police commander when he made wild allegations against President Kufuor and many other people? The last time I checked, the 'twit' Ludwig said he never used a police escort home. Rawlings and Co are the last to throw stones at Nana Darkwa. They live in a tall glass house. If Chairman Rawlings finds a dose of his own medicine too bitter to swallow, perhaps it can help reform him. Unlike Nana Darkwa, there is little advice left in the pot for him at his age, but maybe a dose of his bitter medicine will be more successful. I hear he will be praying for the young man. So are many men slandered and called thieves by him praying for him. It will be interesting to find out from the police commander what she thinks in retrospect. Were all the resources and efforts spent in the dramatic arrest of Nana Darkwa worth it? The melodrama only popularized Nana Darkwa's allegations. Before Nana Darkwa opened his mouth too wide for his own good, I'd read a humorous piece on Ghanaweb that claimed Yaa Beauty saved Valentine by the blaze. Many contributors told the author what they feel about his piece and they were not all complimentary. Because Auntie Rose didn't create operation Cyber Storm, the good majority of Ghanaians never heard the ludicrous meaning the author read into the blaze. I believe if Kofi Adams and the police had acted differently, not many souls will ever have heard of a certain Nana Darkwa or his nonsensical ramblings at the station. How many Ghanaians listen to that show on Top Radio? But I guess now that they have a star panelist, many more will listen including Rose Atinga, Kofi Adams and a certain judge Wilson.    

Legal experts like Ace Ankomah have delivered informed treatises on the contribution of our laws and the judicial system in creating this avoidable saga. From a lay man's perspective, I'm just at a loss as to how our laws allow a judge to send someone to jail for two weeks even before his case is heard just because he shouted arson! Are we serious about decongesting our prisons? I find it difficult to understand how shouting arson can create panic and fear. How come some people can get a battalion of policemen to execute such a needless operation with alacrity whiles majority of the people will be lucky to get one police man (woman) to defend them when they are really under attack. Is somebody running a parallel security system within the state security apparatus?

The real heroes in this drama are all those who stood to be counted when our freedom was under attack. The message has been succinctly delivered; Ghanaians cherish our freedom of speech and will rise to defend it even if the speech belongs to misguided commentators like Nana. Kudos to the GJA, NMC, Prof. Karikari, Kwesi Pratt, His Excellency President Mills (who doesn't respond to Atta anymore) and many ordinary Ghanaians who told Kofi Adams, his employers and other conspirators that we frown on flagrant abuse of power, even if the perpetrators have unfettered access to the State security apparatus. Had it not been for these heroes, Nana Darkwa would have achieved undeserved martyrdom. I find this particular thought very offensive. Fools denigrate martyrdom, but the truth is they can easily achieve it once they find conspirators who have 'it' in equal measure. When the role call of Ghanaian martyrs is made and we hear Nana Darkwa's name, it should be for reasons more noble than his post valentine day babble. This generation have no business soiling the achievements of  Sergeant Adjetey, Lance Corporal Attipoe and Private Odartey-Lamptey who we salute today on the 28th of February.