Opinions of Monday, 5 January 2015

Columnist: Adofo, Rockson

Discerning Ghanaians to Tackle Dr Afari Gyan’s Crude One-man Showmanship

For how long are discerning Ghanaians going to sit on the fence, looking on with total nonchalance while the obstinate septuagenarian, Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, takes them for further tortuous rough rides? I can really not get my head around the absolute intransigence in exhibition by, and the great vitality of, Afari Gyan, to defy the Supreme Court recommendations to him to make reforms in the electoral processes. The court's suggested recommendations are there to help avoid the re-occurrence of the situation that saw his arse in court for a better part of year 2013; shamefully lying, having difficulty defining "over voting" and "biometric verification" when in the witness box. He finally had to define them classically differently other than had previously publicly been agreed.

He is still refusing to overhaul the electoral processes to guarantee the nation and Ghanaians future fair elections. Currently, the electoral voter register is bloated; fraught with intentional or otherwise irregularities with the potential to cause the repeat of the alleged election rigging visited on Ghanaians in year 2012. Yet, interested Ghanaians, especially the suffering masses, are sitting mute as though they are deprived of their God's endowed wisdom, with their strength sapped, by the collusive machinations spearheaded by Kwadwo Afari Gyan himself.

One cannot understand why he finds it a herculean task implementing reforms that will be acceptable to all right-thinking Ghanaians. Why is this man so corrupt, obstinate and always insisting on having his own way, regardless of compelling court's recommendations? Is he above the law with even the Supreme Court being a toothless barking dog before him?

I would have called for an absolutely independent body, be it Ghanaian or foreign, to implement the necessary electoral reforms to ensure Ghanaians have future elections free of purposeful or otherwise omissions, commissions, irregularities etc. that have the likely possibility of marring the credibility of our national elections. However, the nation's current Constitution does not permit that.

It is the same Electoral Commission presided over by the apparent "Osuo Abrobo3-like" personality of "I don't fear huuu", that has to reform itself. Will the reformation go far enough? Will the reformation be fair and satisfactory enough? I do not know. I do not trust this septuagenarian who is always bent on doing what he feels resolutely determined about, but not what the majority of Ghanaians want him to do.

Until when are Ghanaians going to allow him to do as he personally wants, when he wants? I am persuaded, concluding from his actions and those of his staff that he plans rigging the election for the NDC. If he is not planning to do as I fear he is, why then this complete intransigence by him that we are seeing? Are Ghanaians going to sit silently by, twirling their fingers, gaping at the Heavenly stars while Dr Afari Gyan commits his despicable attitudes with impunity?

He has to be cut down to size. If he is not listening, we have to let him feel it somehow. I am certain he has plans to collude with the NDC to rig the election. I shall write about how this is possible, his outfit liaising with the NDC.... This is why the NDC, especially President Mahama, upon all his obvious failure at the presidency, corruption reigning unstoppably supreme within his government and party, his cluelessness, incompetence, etc., still has the shameless audacity to declare that his party and him, have already won election 2016. What an absolute trash, to hear this from them with all the socio-economic suffering they have deliberately visited upon Ghanaians through their actions of corruption, intimidations and lawlessness.

Ghanaians, please let us rise up to liberate ourselves and country from Dr Afari Gyan and his accomplices. There is only one country (Ghana) that we have so please, contribute your quota, widow's mite I may say, towards saving it from the hands of its current bad administrators.

Rockson Adofo