Opinions of Friday, 19 July 2013

Columnist: Okoampa-Ahoofe, Kwame

Ablakwa's "Comic Relief"

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.

On December 18, 2012, or thereabouts, the former Deputy Information Minister, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa pooh-poohed the New Patriotic Party's presidential election petition by describing it as a comic relief. Six months later, Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa is now the Deputy Minister for Education and the NDC Member of Parliament for the North-Tongu Constituency in the Volta Region.

Naturally, I have also been wondering whether, indeed, Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa still firmly believes that the ongoing proceedings in the Atuguba-presided court are also prime grist for an episode or two of "Osofo Dadzie" (See "NPP Is Becoming A 'Comic Relief' To Ghanaians - Okudzeto-Ablakwa" MyRadioGoldLive.com/Ghanaweb.com 12/19/12). Very likely not; but does it really matter? Almost definitely not. Very likely, Mr. Ablakwa is wondering about his next political appointment, being that the only jobs he has held, so far, have all been political appointments.

For now, though, he can almost rest assured that the imminent loss of his political portfolio would still leave him with the virtual sinecure that is his present job as NDC-MP for the Tongu-North Constituency. He may be holding a secure seat in Ghana's National Assembly, but I definitely cannot say the same for those of his NDC colleagues outside the Trokosi World Bank the legitimacy of whose House seats is not being judicially contested right now, obviously because it would have unnecessarily prolonged the presidential petition challenge.

Contrary to what he would have his audience believe, the Supreme Court clearly believes that Nana Akufo-Addo and his leading associates of the New Patriotic Party have a forensically sustainable case to plead before it. And so, really, it is totally beside the point whether NPP General-Secretary Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie claims that Election 2012 was rigged by one-million votes; or Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, the NPP Parliamentary Minority Leader, claims that Election 2012 was rigged by a piddling 150,000 votes; or that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the 2008 and 2012 NPP Vice-Presidential Candidate, claims that Election 2012 was rigged by 100,000 votes. The fact of the matter is that the key operatives of the so-called ruling National Democratic Congress have a scaldingly hot case on their hands, which has driven President John Dramani Mahama into a screaming state of hysteria and near lunacy and a running fit of hallucination in which the Bole-Bamboi petty chieftain hears God pontifically declaring: "I personally made you President of Ghana, Little Dramani!" And, "To Hell with that screaming son of the Mini-Club Beer!" Wallahi!

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*Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.
Department of English
Nassau Community College of SUNY
Garden City, New York
July 4, 2013
E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net
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