By Kwadwo Poku

The past couple of days has really been an eye opener as I see the hypocrisy and the phoniness of Rawlings, Mills and the NDC. You see like the Bible says; BY THEIR FRUITS YOU WILL KNOW THEM. Not too long ago, the nation lost Major Courage Quashigah, and to date I'm yet to hear or read about a tribute from Rawlings or Mills. Since the death of this Rejuvenated patriot, I have been tempted to ask why Rawlings and his boys disdained his mortal remains by pretending he never existed in the first place, but the tributes paid to the late Nigerian President by these ingrates, exposed their vituperate cum pugnacious attitudes and the disrespect for a real fallen hero. Rawlings rushed a tribute to the Nigerian embassy whiles Mills declared three days of national mourning with immediacy upon hearing the death of President Ya'dua. Before I cut to the chase, let me go on record to say without equivocation that I'm not against the tributes and the mourning accorded to the fallen president. It is the tepidity shown to Quashigah in his death that called attention for this article.

If we are to accept the fallacy that Rawlings has a place in Ghana's history books, then why not Quashigah too. When Akata- Pore assembled his men in front of Gondar Barracks on the night of 28th October '82 to plan a coup, Quashigah led an equal number of troops to counter their efforts whiles Rawlings was on the run. When matthew Adabuga, Akata-Pore and the disgruntled middle ranking army officers staged a real coup on 23rd Nov '83, this same Quashigah's bravery acts rendered the coup unsuccessful. And where was Rawlings? Folks, these are not flights of fancies, they are documented history. The dastardly acts of Rawlings through out the regimes should place the names of people like Quashigah on the wall of heroes, if we are to continue to worship Rawlings as his disciples would want us to. I'm not against the tributes paid to the Nigerian President, but the disrespect for Quashigah even in death by the upper echelons of the NDC flies in the face of credulity.

Atta Mills could not declare a minute of national mourning for this hero but orders the nation to mourn three days for a President of another country we know diddly squat of. What a shame. I thought Mills was his own man, but I was wrong. He's proven to be incapable of divorcing himself from the unrepentant wastrel, so he should be prepared for the inevitable. That is digging his political grave by pandering to the dictates of a political has been, who prides himself as the owner of the NDC. Mills should be ashamed of himself for being a player in this political theatre. Truth be told, had it not been for the heroic acts of Quashigah, the attempted coups of '82 and '83 would have succeeded and Rawlings' fate wouldn't have differed from that of the Acheampongs and the Akufos, but because of Quashigah's political persuasion towards the end of his life, he was disrespected even in death. What a national disgrace. This man although he had a tainted past due to his associations with the regimes, sort to right the wrongs, and he did it with respect for democracy. Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe's tribute; A GREAT ENLIGHTENED PATRIOT brought me to tears, and every now and then I delve into the archives to honor him by reading it.

The Ewe community with the exception of a few who knows the left from the right would not get a pass from yours truly either. They are equally guilty for keeping silent whilst their Lord and saviour disdained the mortal remains of their bona fide hero. One would have thought in unison, they would have been outraged, and questioned Rawlings and the Mills administration on this matter, but no, rather they have allowed themselves to be used and abused by this mental midget who thinks they can't breathe without him. This article is not meant to arouse tensions, but to call a spade a spade.

Three days of national mourning for what? President Mills shame on you. If your pantings to honor the Nigerian President with three days of national mourning was an ingratiation of your Presidency on the international stage, then with all due respect you are not fit for this job, and if President Ya'dua deserved tributes and honor of this magnitude, then in the same vein Quashigah who was indeed a great enlightened patriot as Okoampa-Ahoofe succinctly puts it, deserved some form of respect and dignity. Those of us who valued the dedication, the patriotism and the renewed integrity of this great man of valor will continue to honor him. In life, you don't give up on people of whom you have greatly benefited in time past regardless of the persuasions they might have adopted. Major I salute you for your contributions to our great nation, I salute your participation in the democratic process and most importantly I salute your integrity, 'cause when you realized of your tainted past you did an about face and sort to right the wrongs. God's speed Major; God's speed.

Kwadwo Poku N Y