Opinions of Wednesday, 24 August 2016

Columnist: Agbenu, Charles

NPP look down on Voltarians vrs NDC look down on Asantes

National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party emblem National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party emblem

The Deputy Gen. Sec. of the NDC, Koku Anyidoho, the loud mouth cholesterol- filled butterball, at a press conference in Ho last week, made very serious and provocative ethnocentric statements which baffled my thinking. I think he should be challenged.

His basis was that, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP VEEP- hopeful submitted names of 76,000 supposed 'foreign voters' to the Electoral Commission for deletion on the grounds that their names appeared in the Togolese register and that they did not therefore qualify to remain in Ghana's Voters' register.

Aggressive and wildish Anyidoho then made some serious contentions:

1. that, that action exposes NPP's hatred for Voltarians.

2. NPP look down upon Voltarians and treat them with disdain.

3. Voltarians must reject the NPP in the upcoming December polls.

4. NPP look down and treat Voltarians with disdain.

Let's quote some of the effusions of Anyidoho –''Have we ever sat down to plot evil against the Ashanti region because it is the stronghold of the NPP, certainly not...it is now clear as daylight that Dr. Bawumia's evil agenda of presenting fake voters' register from Togo and making a false claim that thousands of Togolese have their names on Ghana's register (specifically from the Volta region) feeds into the UP tradition's sick thinking that the Volta region is not part of Ghana.

They insult us, they spit on us, they consider us to be Togolese ........ and when we refuse to vote for them, they say we are inward looking. Why shouldn't we look inward .....UP tradition agenda against Voltarians and Volta region."

He challenged Akufo Ado the NPP Presidential candidate, that there is no Ewe of repute in his inner circle. From all intents and purposes, Anyidoho used the occasion to bare his mind on his hidden deeper inner ethnocentric feelings.

I think Anyidoho did not act well. His tribal outbursts were unjustified and he should have been more cautious and diplomatic as an intellectual, to reduce tribal tensions especially when his bases were spurious and bogus.

I have lived many years as a Voltarian in Asante and I want to point out to Anyidoho as an individual that if he has reasons to believe NPP hate Ewes and Voltarians, any Asante individual can also cite several reasons to believe NDC hate Asantes.

If Ewes collectively have reasons that NPP hate them, then Asantes collectively and equally can advance reasons that NDC hate Asantes. That's the bitter truth and the unending cycle of charges can be advanced by both sides at all times. Anyidoho, an experienced politician should know this and therefore should have been more cautious and diplomatic as an intellectual, to speak to reduce tribal tensions especially when his basis was spurious and bogus.

Now, common sense should have informed NDC, Anyidoho and Asiedu 'Fur coat' Nketsia ( tell Asiedu that winter beckons) that, once the EC rejected the first batch of names Bawumia presented, it was a waste of time and resources if Bawumia had engaged further on other alleged false names in other places with the same methodology.

For what? At whose expense? I dare say that Anyidoho's repeated charge on Bawumia and wanting to take him to court on the matter does not make sense. The press conference was therefore a complete declaration of tomfoolery and a clowning moment in his life.

I will point out to Anyidoho why Asantes too can say NDC and their stock hate them and treat them with disdain. In 2008, late Prof Ata Mills, as NDC Presidential candidate, insisted aggressively that, the National Voters register should be changed because Asante Register was over bloated by more than 200,000. He did not talk of any other region. What did Mills mean by saying 'The great Asante Project?

NDC have plotted against NPP in their secret meetings with media men and their communicators held constantly to strategize operations against NPP that, they should continue to present Akufo Ado/NPP as hating people of Volta, create more hatred by using false monikers of Akan names to run derogatory comments against Voltarians in writing and radio call-ins with a view to generate more dissatisfaction amongst Voltarians about NPP.

NDC are taught to use ethnocentric politics to play strategic games against Asantis to confuse the other tribes that Asantis don't like them and it won't be in their interest to vote for a party where Asantis predominate;-such that a greater number of Asantis are kept out of central power. Even they are denied scholarships.

For instance, out or 250 Ghana medical students in Cuba, there are only 4 indigenous Asantes.. The rest of the Asante Region representation are the Adamus's, Issaka's, Dogbe's, Dzobenuku's, Fuseinis's etc who live in the region.

Anyidoho dwelt on, an individual, late Victor Owusu who in the 2nd parliament in 1971, described Voltarians as 'inward looking'. Anyidoho as mischievous as ever failed to tell Ghanaians what late Dr Agama said in the same parliament before Victor Owusu's retort. In any case, Victor Owusu apologised profusely for that, yet for that, Anyidoho still harbour animosity towards the Ashantis.

But it is recalled from history that in the 1970's, an individual, the late Prof Kofi Awoonor, published his theses about suppressing a so-called Ashanti hegemony in Ghana: that efforts must be pursued to keep Asantis out of central power at all costs to perpetuate a perennial Volta domination of the central government, Civil service, military, police, parastatals etc to serve to balance the forces in the country.

Asantis have taken this in their strides and lived peacefully with this dangerous ethnic-laden statement up to today. It was an evil plot against Asantes which Awoonor never apologized. Why Koku Anyidoho still harbor animosity, I don't understand.

Koku asks how many Ewes are in Akufo Ado inner circle. I ask Koku, how many Asantes are in Mahama/NDC inner cabinet? There is a certain Dr Agyemang Mensah in the Mahama cabinet of 19, a token for Asantes. The man has no mouth. I think Koku Anyidoho must shut up and apologise for giving Voltarians a bad name in his useless press conference.

Koku Anyidoho is desperate. We will never allow Anyidoho/NDC to fool us to vote for Mahama again in the face of these unprecedented, mismanagement, miseries and sufferings . I am a detribalized Ghanaian and will never be moved by the Anyidoho desperate tribal tantrums. A lot of Voltarians will similarly remain unmoved.

So I declare that NDC hate and look down upon Asantes so Asantes should reject NDC in the December elections.