"...No wise people of any nation ever remembered a “befitting burial” just one generation removed from that pompous event. And if we want to be taken serious that the Ghanaian tradition of wasting enormous amount of resource on burials and funerals is foolish and must stop, we ought to be able to do better. Mr. Mills, Mr. Bagbin and the NDC have a choice: They can honor the late Mr. Salia by a statute, a law, an institution. How about the “Edward Kojo Salia Freedom of Information Bill.” Who in Ghana or outside Ghana would complain about that? ….." (Prof Lungu, 25 August 2009).


And if that had been so:

"..what breed of African politicians would, in 2016, propose to enact a "Spy Bill"...while they've sat on a draft Freedom of Information (FOI) bill going on 8 years...the law that could best provide foundation and defense against legal challenges to their "Spy Bill" not only in the Courts of Law, but also, in the court of public opinion?... Ghana, tell us: Can they really, really read the writing on the wall, or are they just illiterate?...", (Prof Lungu, 21 Apr 16).


Dear reader, we wrote the first paragraph nearly 8 years ago while we were domiciled in Tokyo, Japan. There were some, like Dr. Okoampa-Ahoofe, who said we were unemployed and destitute, that we were wandering around in Japan peddling English lessons to destitute Japanese children.

That was laughably far, far, from reality back then, in 2009.
(Not to say that even if that was what we did in Japan, that itself, was not a noble occupation in the tradition of a true, noble sensei (master/teacher/professor).

The second paragraph, penned just 2 days ago, shows that reality has, in this case, still not gotten to the NDC government. Certainly, not under Mr. Mahama and Speaker of Parliament Mr. Adjaho, precisely the two individuals sitting on the FOI bill even as they engineer a so-called "Spy Bill" against the People.

Once again, this essay is one in our series about leaders with twisted versions of history, deficits of intellect and critical thought, and intentionally cruel, absent-mindedness about the value of transparency and accountability to the business of the citizens they claim to represent.

What breed of African politicians would propose to enact a "Spy Bill" while they've sat on a draft Freedom of Information (FOI) bill going on 9 years?

We know that every village idiot, in 2016, understands that the FOI law is the law that, if passed, could best provide foundation and defense against legal challenges to their "Spy Bill" in the Courts of Law, and just as important, in the court of public opinion.

So Ghana, tell us!

Why did they not enact the FOI law before proposing a "Spy bill"?

Can they really, really, read the writing on the wall, or do they just don't care?

Then imagine, a Security expert sitting on the sidelines, a Dr. Kwesi Aning, telling us the other day that the "Spy Bill Is Harmless."

Really, Dr. Aning?

If the "Spy Bill" is harmless, why bother enacting that same bill into law in the first place?

So, tell us, Dr. Aning: Can you, in your wisdom and Ghana-Centeredness, put two and two together, critically, in the literate sense, and tell us about the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, and how it relates to the "Spy bill" you so love for Ghana?

Further, between freedom-loving citizens, what is more important for "collaborative trusting shared venture" that truly serves the People, than their individual and collective right to information, free access to data held by the government on behalf of the same People?

And so, reluctantly, we are all starting to believe that in Ghana, everything is severely getting more rotten, directly, in fact, from the top of the head - from Parliament to the Flagstaff House, and all points in between.

Ghana, ask of them now: Can they really, really, read the writing on the wall?

Too much, too much, too much, too much.
Mr. Politician
Are your Pickable?
Too much, too much too much, too much talk,
Mr. Politician
Are your Serious.
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Mr. Politician
Are your Pickable?
Too much, too much, too much, too much talk
Mr. Politician
Are you Serious.

CHORUS:
Give us FOIB
Pass it FOIB
Bring it FOIB
March it FOIB
Scat….
-------------
(Prof Lungu: FOIB - Are You Pickable - the Sound Track-Lyrics&Music. Listen to the song, at: http://ghanahero.com/FOIB.html)


Pass the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill right now, Speaker Edward D. Adjaho!


Pass the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill right now, President John D. Mahama!


SOURCES:
1. Prof Lungu. NDC MP Victimized To Death by Elusive FOI Law?, Ghanaweb, 2009 (http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/NDC-MP-Victimized-To-Death-by-Elusive-FOI-Law-167689/).

2. Prof Lungu. NDC is committing a blunder with ‘Rights to Information Bill’ – Asa Bo, 24 May, 2012, (http://www.ghanahero.com/Ghana_Hero_Docs/Freedom_of_Information/NDC_committing_blunder.pdf/).

3. ‘Spy bill’ is harmless – Dr Aning, 22 Mar 16, Ghanaweb. (http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Spy-bill-is-harmless-Dr-Aning-425076/).

4. FOIB - Are You Pickable - the Sound Track. Listen to the song, at: http://ghanahero.com/FOIB.html/.

5. Prof Lungu. Kwame Nkrumah's Offsprings Now More Illiterate?: The Case of Ghana Police, ModernGhana, 11 Apr 16, (http://www.modernghana.com/news/685123/kwame-nkrumahs-offsprings-now-more-illiterate-the-case-of.html/).

6. Prof Lungu. Are Kwame Nkrumah's Offsprings Now More Illiterate? ModernGhana. 27 Mar 16, (http://www.modernghana.com/news/682577/are-kwame-nkrumahs-offsprings-now-more-illiterate.html/)



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©Prof Lungu is Ghana-Centered, Ghana-Proud.
Prof Lungu is based in Washington DC, USA.
Subj: Ghana's Parliament: Are Kwame Nkrumah's Offspring Now More Illiterate?
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