Ghana has come too far to relapse into the stinking and depressing ‘bugabuga’ and ‘patapaa’ unconstitutional government of yesteryears. In those days that Ghana bore a semblance of a banana republic with the rule of zombie boot marching men forced down the throat of Ghanaians, one palpable trait was the total disregard for the constitutional courts and the cold killings of judges. It was indeed an era unguarded power was vested in a brutish individual who wielded it as and when he pleased. Thank God Ghana has evolved steadily from that rustic dispensation to a more civilised democracy.

Nevertheless, some of these vulgarities of those dark days in Ghana are creeping subtly and sadly it is being exhibited by government appointees and politicians of this present government. I must put on record that I have no personal score to settle with Nii Lantey Vanderpuye whom I find very difficult to call honourable. I am only putting forth this piece to register my utter displeasure and shock about the fact that he has blatantly demonstrated gross disrespect to two superior courts’ orders for him to vacate the bungalow he is perching on. (See Jake Bungalow Saga: Only Works and Housing Minister can ‘eject’ me from bungalow, no court-Nii Lantey: myjoyonline.com)

The genesis of this No. 2 Mango Street bungalow saga as you may be aware by now began when Okudzeto Ablakwa and Omane Boamah who are now Ministers of State took the NPP National Chairman, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey to court in 2009 for having illegally acquired the said bungalow in controversy. The Supreme Court threw their case out as it lacked merit based on the fact that bungalow was legally acquired.

Inasmuch as I abhor the wanton sale of state property to politician while in office, there is also no justification for Nii Lantey Vanderpuye who is a legislator and Minister of State to defy two Superior Courts’ orders for him to vacate the bungalow he occupies. This is an act of impunity at its peak and must be condemned unreservedly by all Ghanaians. For Nii Lantey Vanderpuye to undermine the authority of the Supreme Court with the bogus excuse that it is only the Minister of Works and Housing who can eject him should raise some red flags among lovers of rule of law.

Is Nii Lnatey Vanderpuye suggesting to Ghanaians that the Minister of Works and Housing is more powerful than the Supreme Court and its orders? Nii Lantey Vanderpuye’s crude position and his continuous stay in that bungalow is an indictment on John Mahama’s image and that of the NDC. The President carries himself as a man of humility and a respecter of the rule of law. Why can’t he call his wayward Minister to order? The President’s prolonged deafening silence amidst the abuse of law and order clearly carves him as one who loves his appointees and party more than the sacred laws of the land.

The worrying bit of this phenomenon is just as Nii Lantey Vanderpuye brags about in his lawless mantra, ‘No court, No court’ can eject him, so have I heard prominent NDC propagandists claiming that no court can declare or remove the President from office and that it is only the Electoral Commission that can do so. Are these political fanatics suggesting in the event the Supreme Court rules in favour of the petitioners they are not going to accept and abide by the judgement?

The laws of the country and the interpreters of the laws must be respected irrespective who the law legally favours. That is why in the event of any verdict, aggrieved parties can still seek a review. As I have already stated, Ghana cannot be ruined by men who think that they are bigger than Ghana all because their party is in power. Nii Lantey Vanderpuye must bear in mind that from his lowly background of being a sports journalist to a Minister of State, it is the Judiciary that swore the President into office to complete his legitimacy. So for him (Vanderpuye) to utterly defy the Judiciary amplifies the notion the NDC is gaining notoriety for being a lawless party.

Pathetically, the law enforcement agencies that should have executed the courts’ orders are reluctant to do so due to the political dimension it has assumed. Now, it appears that political parties or party hooligans are bigger than the laws that control or check them into propriety. I simply cannot fathom the type of democracy we are practising as Ghanaians. The brutish, unrefined and flawed caricatures bark and all that we do is to hide without subjecting them to the full rigours of the law. No wonder, NDC foot soldiers exert themselves by destroying state property and the government seems helpless. In any case what has happened to those NDC thugs who destroyed state property in Nkwanta North?

The simple question I have for Nii Lantey Vanderpuye is: what will he lose if obeys the Supreme Court’s order to vacate that bungalow? This naked show of ‘patapaa’ or insolence perhaps confirms the perception that Nii Lantey is either lawless or a homeless bat that hangs on to a roof that is not his. By the way is that bungalow more dignified than his personal residence hence his tardiness in vacating from it?

Ghana deserves the best. And this can only be achieved when leaders become a shining example by respecting the laws of the land for their followers to emulate. And Nii Lantry is not an exception. State institutions must be respected for what they stand for and for what they do. Otherwise, our democracy will be left hands of anarchists who will retrogress the wee democratic progress made so far.

SOURCE: OKOFO-DARTEY SAMUEL

E-MAIL: sodesq2000@yahoo.com