There is no Ashanti of Ghana, there is no Fante of Ghana, there is no Kwahu of Ghana, there is no Akyem of Ghana, there is no Akuapem of Ghana, there is no Nzema of Ghana, there is no Brong of Ghana, there is no Ewe of Ghana, there is no Dagomba of Ghana, there is no Krobo of Ghana, there is no Ada of Ghana; THERE IS THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA.

The above lines represent the Ghanaian analog of a powerful message for national unification recently engineered by a highly respected and very brilliant politician in the USA. That is the Ghana that we all want to see, a nation in which all tribes including the Ewes enjoy equal rights and equal protection under the laws of the land. A democratic administration or leadership that would guarantee such rights and a peaceful co-existence of all tribes in Ghana would be the ultimate one for Ghana.

The respective histories of the various parties contesting for the seat at the Castle should be a good indicator of the best candidate. From the days of the UP through those of the PP up to the current NPP, this movement has never disenfranchised any tribe in Ghana. The movement has consistently stood for multi-party democracy and has never carried out any violent atrocities against any groups of people in Ghana.

Even in instances where the Ghanaian overstepped the bounds of rule of law and proper democratic practice, the UP, PP or the NPP did not raise even a finger against the perpetrator. I wish to cite two such examples. Some readers who are old enough may remember the incident when a disrespectful market woman in Accra went close to Prime Minister Busia’s passing motorcade and asked the prime minster if he was not ashamed to be driven through those potholes on the street in Accra. The second example is the recent one in which a close associate of Rawlings and an illegal drug dealer, Rojo Metle Nunno, insulted the President H.E. Kuffour. Had Rawlings been in the situation of Prime Minister Busia or H. E. Kuffour, Rojo Metle Nunno or the market woman would have disappeared from the surface of the earth within days if not hours.

The Ghanaian should not forget so soon the violent atrocities and assassinations perpetrated against non-Ewes by Rawlings and his criminal Ewe partners namely, Chikata, Kofi Awonor, Agbotui Sousoudis and others. For the Ewe, tribal animosity has formed the basis of his atrocities against non-Ewes. This tribal animosity by Ewes manifests itself in all areas including employment discrimination against other tribes. You may all remember the recent incident at KNUST where an Ewe professor or administrator was fired for employment discriminatory practices against non-Ewes. There is a long list of examples of such tribalistic practices by Ewes. Had this incident at KNUST happened under Rawlings or Ewe national administration, the people who fired this Ewe would either have been murdered or at best they would have ended up getting fired.

Ewes are a minority group in Ghana. Unlawful employment discrimination that provides jobs only for the Ewe is the surest way to national destruction. Education is the backbone to a nation’s development. Institutionalized employment discrimination that keeps the majority out of work produces the effect that majority of the children cannot go to school because their parents do not have jobs or incomes to support the children’s education. Ironically, and most appropriately, none of the other tribes in Ghana harbor against the Ewe, the animosity and tribal discrimination which the Ewe practices against members of other tribes in Ghana.

I have given enough cause for the Ghanaian voter to be alarmed of an Ewe administration or any electoral mechanisms that could potentially result in Rawlings or an Ewe rule in Ghana. This is exactly what the Mills/NDC ticket could potentially do to Ghana. The ultimate is the Akuffo-Addo/NPP ticket. The UP, PP and NPP have had a track record of upholding the rule of law and the rights of all Ghanaians.

You may ask why the apprehension when Rawlings is not even running for office and Atta-Mill’s running mate is not an Ewe either. THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION STIMULATED MY WRITING THIS PIECE AND I WISH TO ADDRESS IT IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRPAHS.

At the moment because of the notoriety and lawlessness of Rawlings and his Ewe partners in subversive activities, the security apparatus in Ghana is keeping a close eye on them. You may all recall when a secret meeting in a hotel room in a West African country, between Rawlings and an arms dealer, was intercepted by Ghanaian authorities. It was an attempt by Rawlings to unlawfully purchase arms. A second incident involved the intervention by Ghanaian authorities in a boat purchase by Rawlings. Consider the fact that the illegal arms that Rawlings used to overthrow lawful Ghanaian regimes, was shipped from Libya through Benin (another country of Ewes) and was transported from Benin to Ghana in private small boat. You can then reasonably imagine what Rawlings would have used the boat for. At the moment, Rawlings is justifiably barred from entering any military facilities in Ghana. Do you think that Atta-Mills would maintain the security surveillance on Rawlings and his Ewe cohorts, should Mills become president? Be honest to yourself. What are Rawlings and his Ewe cohorts likely to do if granted access to the military and security apparatus? Rawlings maintains he is the founder of the NDC party and he behaves as if the party belongs to him and other Ewes support him on this issue. The tribal animosity of the Ewe knows no loyal non-Ewe friend and Mills would not be spared by Ewe tribalism. Atta-Mills as president will let down his guard and once Rawlings and his Ewe cohorts acquire access to the military and security apparatus, they will use them to take Mills out. I cannot believe for a second how the Ewe tribalists (Rawlings, Chikata, Agbotui, Kofi Awonoor and others) would stomach the idea of a non-Ewe president Mills at the helm of an Ewe club (NDC) which they regard as their property.

You should recall that other non-Ewes were either kicked out of the Rawlings/Ewe club the NDC, and others mysteriously disappeared from the surface of the earth. An example is Maame Dokonor (Ms. Omaboe) who in my opinion is lucky to be alive. The only crime committed by these non-Ewes was that they were becoming more popular in the Ewe club. “President Mills” in the unlikely event that it happens, would be met with the same fate.

Often when this possibility of Rawlings playing his subversive tricks on Ghana is raised, shallow minded folks who support him would ask why then he did not hold on to power beyond his term of office in 2000. I wish to address this issue. The reasons are three fold. The first and the least important is the fact that it would contravene the provisions of the constitution created by his own administration. I call this first reason the least important not because it is, but because Rawlings has no respect for law and order and if he had his way; he would have run over the national constitution as he did in the past. The second reason and one of the more important is the fact that Rawlings was alleged to have been warned by two prominent world leaders, both leaders of superpower nations, that any attempt by him to unlawfully overstay his term of office would not be tolerated.

The third and still one of the more important reasons was the cessation of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nations then branded as rogue nations such as Libya financed and supported the subversive activities of Rawlings in Ghana and these nations in turn drew their support from the Soviet Union. Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union these rogue nations could not look up to the military power of the Soviet Union and they had to worry about their own affairs. Libya in particular had started to change her global image to be accepted into the world of lawful nations. You may all recall when Rawlings warned that if any African nation attempted to stop his illegal activities in Ghana, “Africa will burn”. He was obviously looking up to Libya knowing well that Libya would in turn look up to the Soviet Union. Thus Rawlings did not leave office in 2000, out of respect for law or the national constitution; instead circumstances beyond his control forced him to. It would be an entirely different setting if Rawlings and his Ewe cohorts remove Ata-Mills from office and crafty criminals as they are they would get the world to look at it differently as well.

Thus, the Ghanaian voter should be ware because a vote for Atta-Mills/NDC is potentially a vote that could bring Rawlings and his Ewe cohorts into power with all the associated attributes of tribal discrimination, employment discrimination and violent atrocities against non-Ewes. Their record speaks or itself.

GOD BLESS GHANA AND ALL WHO BELIVE IN PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AND THE RULE OF LAW.

Onipa Ba